It sounds like they're referring to the steel brake hydraulic lines. Around here in the northern U.S. That light corrosion occurs after a year or two and is harmless. In some states that doesn't happen so quickly and people there get all excited over basically nothing when they see one of our cars. My daily driver is 25 years old and most of the steel lines have been replaced once already when they sprung leaks. The last one was in July and it already has surface rust on it from driving in rain. There are electrically-coated replacement lines available that corrode slower, but you aren't going to stop it. It's rare here to find even a 15-year-old car on the road because they rust away so fast. If my car was run through your inspection, people would run for cover when they saw how much rust is on it. I just keep driving it because it has cost me almost nothing in repairs and it refuses to break down.
Coil springs have a coating on them to protect them from rust. I don't know how picky your inspectors get or how detailed the safety inspection is. We have some car models here that are known for breaking the front coil springs, then the sharp ends can tear up the sidewall of the tire leading to loss of control and a crash. Even when there's no sign of rust or that coating flaking off, there is likely to be rust hidden between the lowest coil and the mounting plate it sits on. If the inspectors have a legitimate concern, they should be totally disassembling the struts to look at the ends of the springs. That would really be getting carried away. Every car on the road would be getting new springs every few months.
The track bar attaches to the frame and front axle to keep it from moving sideways. It's extremely rare for the ball and socket to get so bad that it falls apart. You will have miserable steering wander long before it gets that bad. We have some truck models here that have a lot of steering wander when you can still barely see any play in that part, and we have some that can have a lot of play but the owner can't even tell there's problem until it's pointed out by a mechanic who briefly inspected steering and suspension parts during other routine service.
I can't judge the severity of these issues, but in general, if salt is used on your roads in winter, you may at least want to have the brake lines replaced if it will make anyone sleep better at night. I'd want to see the springs myself before I told someone they could be dangerous. From what I've heard about some inspections around the world, I think some over-zealous politicians need to be given some real work to do. Consider having the vehicle looked at by a mechanic at an independent repair shop. He will have seen this before and can tell you if there is a legitimate reason to be concerned.
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Friday, October 25th, 2013 AT 10:33 PM
