has anyone seen issues with front lower control arms or springs breaking?

 

I havent heard of either happening, but with the control arms what usually happens is the bushings wear out as the miles rack up.

 

yes we see the bushings die often but never the actual arm breaking without an accident. there is a bushing repair kit but they usually are very tough to get out and we end up replacing the arm instead to save hours of frustration.

 

I had the passenger side lower control arm break and it appeared to have rusted from the inside out. The part from Chrysler is $1100 but I was able to get the identical one fro MB for $350. The driver's side looked like the other one but just hadn't broken yet so I replaced it also. The car has been driven in rain and snow but is kept in a heated garage.

 

I'd like to see a picture of that control arm. Could you post one please.

 

The OP's statement is a bit ambiguous, it can be read as issues with the control arms, not breaking. The springs being the part that is breaking, and springs have been known to break on here.

 

Concur, post #1 is ambiguous, but post #4 states the control arm broke and rusted from the inside. I would like to see a picture of that if the OP could please take a photo.

 

I must get my eyes tested, I rolled right over that post.
Keeping a car in a heated garage encourages rust, especially with salt or brine on the roads and therefore on the car itself.
Underground parking lots where encouraged by the auto makers as they led to more new car sales.

 

I kept the old one. I'll send photos.

 

Thank you! I'm sure many on the forum will be interested to see those.

 

Here is a photo of the broken control arm. It appears to have rusted from the inside out. The other side was also rusted (as seen by remote camera) but hadn't broken yet. I replaced both, just to be safe. (sorry for the delay in getting photos out)

 

thank you for the pictures, as far as you know has the car always been an Ohio car (never lived next to an ocean or been flooded with salt water), driven winters and thus gotten salt from the road? (happens here to us in Michigan for sure) what year is the car? thanks, rob

 

It's a 2004 and was purchased in 2005 with 22K miles. It's lived it's entire life in Ohio/In and has been parked in a heated garage with in-floor heat. Driven all year long but appears to dry out overnight from constant, even heat emitting from concrete..

 

A picture is worth a thousand words; Thanks for posting!

 

Heated garages are the worst for corrosion from salt, the heat speeds up the corrosion and while the car may look dry the nooks and cranny's keep moist for a long time and the salt just has its way with the steel. It would still rust below freezing as the salt solution is still not frozen, the corrosion will still be active in the summer until the salt has been removed or exhausted its corrosive powers. No water in the area? No problem as salt attracts moisture on its own.
This is a point to remember when buying a car from the North, it may look good but the salt may still be active or done a good job of eating the car.

Look at the wheel arch lips, these hold the salt and road grit really well, as do the bottoms of the doors behind the seal.

On the upside, as cars rust away they get lighter and the gas mileage goes up.

 

On the upside, as cars rust away they get lighter and the gas mileage goes up.

theres always a positive side to things