skoda troubles: no life and busted suspension

otispunkmeyer

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
4,829
Location
Loughborough UK
Car(s)
'03 Skoda Superb (farewell :(), '06 Honda Civic ES
so i got back from SA yesterday and i find a note on my skoda saying basically "get out my parking space!"

now, i left my car in the far corner of the car park at my flat and i think my girl must of used it then parked, lazily, in someone elses space.

so, being nice i went to move the car. first sign of trouble... no response from the remote, then the central locking didnt activate when i used the key in the lock. then confirmation.... completely dead, not even a click when turned to ingnition on.

a pair of jump leads was procured and i started to push the car out of the space so i could jump it using my girlfriends car. then the 2nd problem hit me.... front lefts gone all dub style low rider on me!!! rear right corners gone all Dakar high lift!

so while its been sat for maybe 4 weeks.... the battery went completely flat and the front left suspension has collapsed. great. thankfully after we pushed it to a safe place i managed to get it started, so at least it will lock with the remote, but i dont have enough fuel to let it run and charge.

why would the suspension just collapse like that? its leaking some fluid becuase it left a trail wherever we pushed it. im guessing the damper just shat its innards out?

good job i earned double money for 3 months, my macbooks fucked and now my car is fucked and its out of insurance to boot!
 
Last edited:
Blowing a damper won't lower the car because the spring is what holds it up.

Could be a failed ball joint or something like that. Better jack up the car and remove the wheel to get a better look.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like the reason your girl left it parked like that is because she did something to your car. Unlike my ex-police Crown Vic, most cars do not respond well to driving over curbs - often showing exactly the same suspension issues you have described. It'll be something bent or broken in the front suspension - as others have said, jack it up and inspect. Pay special attention to the MacPherson strut bottoms and check the oil pan and transmission casing for damage and leaking.

I unfortunately have experience with girlfriends damaging my vehicles by accident and then trying to hide it.
 
I unfortunately have experience with girlfriends damaging my vehicles by accident and then trying to hide it.

May I ask what happende to them or are the cops still investigating their disapearance? :p
 
May I ask what happende to them or are the cops still investigating their disapearance? :p

No comment. :mrgreen: However, they were all alive the last time I saw them. Unhappy, perhaps, but alive. :p
 
Had to jump it again to get it to shut up, when I unlocked the boot the alarm went off and then it didn't have enough power to think properly and so wouldn't respond to any kind of input. Got it started and popped the the trunk to get the jack. Jacked it up, went full lock for a better view and bingo. Bottom of the coil spring is completely missing. Sheared off.

I don't think my girl damaged the car, she only drove it 3 miles once and then left it parked and didn't turn it over enough times to keep the battery alive.

Not sure what fluid it's been leaking, it's collecting water somewhere as a load of it sloshed out when I jacked it up.

So new spring and maybe a new damper. It's not a light car, and if it's been sat with significant weight supported by the damper alone then it may not be in the best of shape
 
But the spring doesn't just shear off from standing around, does it?
 
Last edited:
I have no idea how you would break a spring. That's just about impossible...

At least it won't be expensive to fix. Gotta find out what the leaking fluid is though. Does it have any colour or smell?
 
i took a photo of it, and it seems like rust.... looks like rust ate away at it until it couldnt support the cars weight.

whats more, ive had springs break, but the way they rest after that doesnt always make the problem apparent until later when a piece falls off.
 
I have no idea how you would break a spring. That's just about impossible...

At least it won't be expensive to fix. Gotta find out what the leaking fluid is though. Does it have any colour or smell?

i know several people who broke a spring, can happen from crawling over a speedbump at 5kmh

rust is a bitch!
 
Fair enough, cars don't rust too badly around here so I've never seen it happen.

But even so, an '03 model with that much of a rust problem...
 
Yeah I too am curious what the damage looks like. I've never heard of springs rusting to the point of breaking at least on that new of a car but it sounds possible.
 
ok so its back from the menders with new problems

on the spring. closer inspection of the photo - > i dont think it was rust. i think its just gone a bit rusty round the edges where the break has been exposed. the main cross section is pretty clean. something has happened while i was away or it broke long before then and just needed some persuasion to actually go fully wrong.

whats done is done and its been fixed.

they had to replace the battery, the old one wouldnt hold a charge and now i have a couple of warning lights on the dash and according to my girlfriend (who's just gone and drove the car home for me) theres an odd sound from the engine bay. the ABS light is on and a light this is a triangle with an exclamation mark in it and some other bits around it

im guessing this is the traction control or something.

now... why might they be illuminated? is it just a case of something needing a reset because of the new battery, did the menders forget to wire something up?
 
So in total:

- Spring
- Leaking Fluid (Coolant?)
- ABS and ESP lights (guess ring sensors are damaged)
- Battery damaged internally
- Some sort of engine damage

Check the relevant wheel and underside for accident damage, ban girlfriend from car as appropriate.
 
It all sounds like the car has been subjected to some massive kind of physical force in a way the constructor did not intend.
 
The triangle with an exclamation mark should indeed be the ESP/TC. That in combination with the ABS light makes me believe in an unplugged wheel rotation sensor.

Which as likely could be the fault of the mechanic fixing the suspension as it could be the fault of otis' girlfriend.
 
Top