Citroen DS4 Springs

A sudden clunk over a pothole, the car leaning to one corner when parked on level ground, uneven tyre wear and sometimes a scrape on full compression. The check costs nothing: turn the steering onto full lock and look into the wheel arch with a torch. A broken spring is usually visible at the bottom coil, and the broken end is often bright where it has been rubbing.

Gently, at low speed, to get home or to a workshop. Not beyond that. The loose broken end can move against the tyre sidewall and cut it — which is how a suspension fault becomes a blowout — and the corner is no longer controlling ride height, so handling and braking balance are both compromised. Book it within a day or two rather than a week.

The springs themselves are relatively inexpensive parts and our supplier network stocks them across the range. The labour is the larger and more variable half — the strut assembly has to come off and be compressed safely, which is about an hour a side. Ask through our form with your model for an all-in figure, and expect the quote to be for a pair.

Yes, always across an axle. A new spring alongside one that has settled over a decade gives you different ride heights and different spring rates on either side of the car, which shows up as a pull under braking and uneven tyre wear. The labour is already committed once the car is on the ramp, so the second spring costs comparatively little. Do both.

Either a spring has broken, or it has settled — springs lose a little free length over years, and a car that has carried a passenger on the same side every day for a decade settles unevenly. Measure from the arch lip to the wheel centre on both sides with a tape. More than about 10mm difference is worth investigating, and the fix is a matched pair rather than a single spring.