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I own a low-mileage (52500 miles) 2015 Kia Cadenza that underwent a front suspension coil spring failure on the left front driver’s side of the vehicle. I had just exited my driveway onto a state highway and suddenly heard a loud grinding noise. My speed was less than 15 mph before braking. The ABS and ESC warning lights immediately illuminated and I could smell burnt rubber. I investigated my left front tire and noticed that a groove was scraped into the sidewall of the tire (on the backside of the wheel). The coil spring had broken in two places and was tearing into the backside of my tire. Additionally, the ABS sensor wire harness had been ripped in three places, and had I not immediately stopped the brake line would have also been punctured.
If I had been driving at highway speed unaware of the danger, it would have cut my tire in half and ruptured the brake line causing me to lose control of my vehicle and potentially causing a catastrophic accident. I brought this to the attention of Kia and the National Transportation Safety Board as they might wish to investigate to prevent an occurrence on other vehicles produced with the same lot of coil springs. I have retained them should Kia wish to perform stress analysis, chemical analysis, microstructure observation, and hardness measurements. It is my opinion that the steel had a quenched and tempered manufacturing defect that caused this untimely fracture.
If I had been driving at highway speed unaware of the danger, it would have cut my tire in half and ruptured the brake line causing me to lose control of my vehicle and potentially causing a catastrophic accident. I brought this to the attention of Kia and the National Transportation Safety Board as they might wish to investigate to prevent an occurrence on other vehicles produced with the same lot of coil springs. I have retained them should Kia wish to perform stress analysis, chemical analysis, microstructure observation, and hardness measurements. It is my opinion that the steel had a quenched and tempered manufacturing defect that caused this untimely fracture.