NHTSA Complaint #10668533 — 2009 NISSAN VERSA

RECENTLY I NOTICED A PIECE OF METAL NEAR MY MAILBOX. LOOKING AT IT I QUICKLY REALIZED IT WAS PROBABLY A PIECE OF MY NISSAN VERSA HATCHBACKS LEFT COIL SPRING. SURE ENOUGH, THE BREAKAGE MATCHED WHAT WAS ON MY CAR. WHY DID I SO QUICKLY GUESS THAT IT WAS FROM MY CAR? BECAUSE MY RIGHT COIL SPRING WENT AT ABOUT 39000 MILES AND I HAD READ UP ON NISSAN VERSA HATCHBACKS AND SURE ENOUGH, A BUNCH OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM (I ACTUALLY WAS WAITING FOR IT TO HAPPEN). MY RIGHT COIL SPRING BROKE MORE DRASTICALLY WHEN I WAS GOING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND I WENT ONTO A BRIDGE. THERE WAS A LOUD CLANG AND MY ALIGNMENT WENT WHACK. LATER UPON INSPECTION AT A REPAIR SHOP, I REALIZED THAT I COULD HAVE HAD A VERY BAD CRASH SEEING THAT THE SHARP PART OF THE BROKEN SPRING COIL WAS ONLY A FEW INCHES AWAY FROM MY TIRE (IT WAS PRETTY UGLY BREAK). THE REPAIR COST ME 200$ WITH A STUDENT DISCOUNT, WHICH I VERY CHEAP, SOME PEOPLE FAIR WORSE. THE MORE RECENT LEFT COIL SPRING BROKE WITHOUT ME EVEN NOTICING ANYTHING, I ONLY FOUND THE BROKEN PIECE ABOUT HALF A RING SIZE. SINCE IT WAS NEAR MY MAILBOX, IT MUST HAVE BROKE OFF AT LOW SPEEDS, PROBABLY WHEN I DROVE OVER THE LITTLE TROUGH IN FRONT OF THE DRIVE WAY FOR THE DRAIN. SOMEHOW THE REST OF THE SPRING JUST RE-ALIGNED ITSELF SO I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO DRIVE MY CAR WITHOUT NOTICING ANYTHING WRONG. I OBVIOUSLY WONT DRIVE IT NOW UNLESS ITS TO A REPAIR SHOP. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE, I AM A 4TH YEAR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT AND I AM DISAPPOINTED AT THE ENGINEERS WHO DESIGNED MY CAR. OTHER VERSA DRIVERS HAD THEIR WHEELS BLOWN BY THESE BROKEN COIL SPRINGS FROM WHAT I HAVE READ, I HAVE JUST BEEN LUCKY. I AM SURPRISED THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL YET BY NISSAN OR ATLEAST SOME WARNING, PERHAPS NO ONE WAS SERIOUSLY HURT YET. WHEN I GET OUT OF COLLEGE AND LOOK FOR A NEW CAR, I DON'T THINK I WILL CONSIDER NISSAN. THANK GOD I WASN'T HURT BY THESE FAILURES. *TR