NHTSA Complaint #10234213 — 1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU

THE COIL SPRING ON THE PASSENGER SIDE STRUT SNAPPED INTO CAUSING A LARGE GOUGE IN THE TIRE DEFLATING IT IMMEDIATELY. LUCKILY, I HAD PULLED OFF INTERSTATE I-77 AND WAS IN A LARGE LEVEL PARKING SPACE. MY WIFE GOT IN THE CAR TO PULL UP AND PICK ME UP. AS THE CAR WENT LESS THAN A FOOT FORWARD A LARGE BANG WAS HEARD AND JOURNEY BEGAN TO GET HELP. TO AVOID RANDOM DETAILS OF 88 DEGREE HEAT AND HARDSHIP EVENTS, THE RESULT WAS A NEW TIRE, A NEW SPARE TIRE (DONUT), AN OVERNIGHT STAY AND EXPENSES AND A REPAIR BILL. THE STRUT WAS REPLACED WITH A USED ONE DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE WERE STRANDED AWAY FROM HOME AND HAD NO TIME TO WAIT FOR A NEW ONE TO BE ORDERED. WHAT REALLY DREW MY ATTENTION TO THE POSSIBLE SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM WAS THAT IN A SMALL REPAIR SHOP WITH ONLY 4 BAYS (SHEPARD'S REPAIR, PARKERSBURG, WV) THERE SAT ANOTHER MALIBU OF POSSIBLY THE EXACT MODEL WAITING FOR A NEW STRUT TO BE SHIPPED IN. THE ODDS ARE RATHER STAGGERING THAT THIS EVENT COULD BE SO RANDOM AS TO NOT IN SOME WAY POINT TO A MUCH LARGER SCALED PROBLEM WITH THESE COILS. BOTH SNAPPED IN APPROXIMATELY THE SAME PLACE (EXCEPT HIS WAS THE DRIVER'S SIDE) AND NEITHER OF THE STRUTS THEMSELVES WERE LEAKING OR WEAK. NOW HOW DO I TRUST THE CAR FOR FEAR THE OTHER STRUT WILL BREAK OR EVEN THE REPLACEMENT FOR WHICH I KNOW NOT WHAT MODEL CAR IT WAS DISASSEMBLED FROM. *TR