Broken Coil Spring and Worn Strut Mount Found on a 2019 Nissan Qashqai in Walsall

A 2019 Nissan Qashqai came into us here at Platinum Vehicle Services with a knocking noise that the owner had been noticing particularly when turning. It was not a violent clunk, more of a persistent knock that had been building over time. That kind of noise on a Qashqai of this age is something we take seriously from the moment it rolls through the door, because the front suspension on these cars takes a considerable amount of load, and when something lets go in that area, it can affect more than just comfort.

The Coil Spring Was Broken and Rubbing Directly Against the Chassis

With the car raised on the ramp and the front left corner accessible for a proper look, the cause of the knocking was not difficult to find. The coil spring on the front left strut had cracked and broken through. A section of the spring had separated and was sitting loose within the spring perch, and as the suspension moved through its travel, that broken segment was making contact with the chassis. You could see the rubbing marks on the bodywork where it had been catching. On top of that, the strut mount at the top of the assembly was showing excessive movement. When we manipulated the suspension by hand, the mount was moving in a way it should not be, which is what mechanics refer to as it dancing. A healthy strut mount holds firm and allows controlled rotation of the strut. When it is worn to this degree, it cannot do either of those things properly.

A Broken Spring Is Not Something You Can Leave and Monitor

I want to be clear about why this matters beyond the noise. A coil spring is doing a very specific job. It is carrying the weight of that corner of the car and absorbing the energy from the road surface. When it breaks, that corner loses its proper support, and the geometry of the suspension changes. The car will not sit level, steering response becomes unpredictable, and if the broken fragment moves further, it can contact a tyre. A piece of steel spring pressing against a rotating tyre can cause a blowout, and at motorway speeds that is a serious situation. The worn strut mount compounds the problem because it is no longer holding the top of the strut in the correct position. Between the two faults, the suspension on this corner was not functioning as designed, and the longer it runs that way, the more secondary damage builds up in connected components such as the lower arm bushes and the wheel bearing, both of which take on additional stress when the geometry is out.

The Spring and Strut Mount Are Being Replaced and the Shock Absorber Assessed Once the Assembly Is Stripped

The repair plan for this Qashqai involves removing the full front left strut assembly, which means the spring, the strut mount, and the shock absorber all come out together. Once we have it on the bench stripped down, we can assess the shock absorber properly. From the outside it showed no obvious leaking, but a shock absorber that has been working alongside a broken spring and a worn mount will often have taken damage that is not visible until you have it apart. Replacing the spring with a worn shock absorber underneath it is a false economy, so we will make that call once we can see it properly. The strut mount is being replaced as part of the job regardless.

If you own a Nissan Qashqai, a Juke, a Ford Focus, a Vauxhall Astra, or any car with MacPherson strut front suspension, the things worth listening for are any knocking or clunking when going over speed bumps or turning on full lock, a pulling sensation to one side, or a car that sits noticeably lower on one corner. None of those things resolve themselves. We cover suspension inspections and repairs for all makes and models here in Walsall, and catching a broken spring before it damages a tyre or causes further wear to the surrounding components is always going to be less expensive than dealing with those consequences. If your car is making a noise you cannot explain or you have not had the suspension looked at in a few years, book in with us at platinumvehicleservices.co.uk and we will get it on the ramp and tell you exactly what we find.