What would cause an axle to snap?
#11
11-13-2013 | 06:05 PM
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 6
From: Western Massachusetts
Hey, I just looked at your photos and I am surprised the broken had no paint left on it ad the other one did. Did these two come from the same car? That is odd and makes me again wonder if your car was in an accident and the other axle was replaced. There may be other reasons why one may have been replaced too.
#12
11-13-2013 | 06:13 PM
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 6
From: Western Massachusetts
It might have started with a notch from being hit by something? Gouge through the paint with pliers or vise-grips? Who knows?? Seems like Goodyear wouldn't have any reason to mess with the axle that far inboard so I don't really see any way to blame them.
So what can you do about it? Probably nothing except keep your car in a climate-controlled museum & never drive it...
It's just scary to me that Honda can't notify me that there's a safety issue until it breaks. I can only blame my ignorance but I was under the impression that as long as I had my car inspected and maintained regularly, the chances of something dangerous going wrong would be minimal.
#13
11-13-2013 | 06:25 PM
Super Moderator
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 18,398
From: Wisconsin
Seems like it was hidden by the balance-weight in the middle of the axle-shaft.
Like the guy said, it's not a common failure, but it CAN happen to any kind of car. Not a Honda thing. I had the black paint peel pretty badly on a Jetta, but dum luck the axle didn't break.
Seems to me that driving it with a loose wheel wouldn't do that. If anything, it would be limited to any structure that the wobbling wheel can touch.
Like the guy said, it's not a common failure, but it CAN happen to any kind of car. Not a Honda thing. I had the black paint peel pretty badly on a Jetta, but dum luck the axle didn't break.
Seems to me that driving it with a loose wheel wouldn't do that. If anything, it would be limited to any structure that the wobbling wheel can touch.
#14
11-13-2013 | 08:01 PM
Almost A Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 262
From: Orchard Park NY USA
I hate to say it but most of the drive/in/out car repair places don't spend a lot of time on whether or not the wheels are torqued correctly. Do yourself a favor and get an click stop torque wrench to make sure that it's done right. Last time I had my tires rotated they rode a little rough. I went to re-torque the wheel and snapped my breaker bar trying to get the front tire off in my garage. Seriously, 150+ ft/lbs on a wheel that should be 85.
#15
09-25-2017 | 09:41 PM
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 1
BROKEN AXLE 2002 Honda Accord photo
My 2002, manual transmission Honda Accord with about 280,000 miles was stopped on a steep hill. I put on the emergency break, really hard, put the car in 1st gear, took my foot off the clutch BEFORE I turned off the engine. There was a sudden very unfamiliar noise. I had absolutely no warning that there was anything wrong with the axle before this happened. In fact, only a couple weeks before, I had the car inspected at a Honda Dealership. They said there were no issues at all.
#16
10-30-2017 | 08:35 PM
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 1
Hi Everyone:
2004 Accord EX 4 Cyl AT. On my way to work this morning, my driver side front axle snapped in half. Luckily it happened as I was at a stop sign about to turn left. I had the car towed to Honda for repairs. Honda claims that there is no way to prevent this from happening because they cannot detect problems with the axle until it breaks. They also said it is very rare for this to happen. I want to know if this could have been prevented somehow. There were no signs or symptoms leading up to this happening. No weird noises, etc. Some history that may or may not be related:
July 2013: Had tires rotated by Goodyear. Usually I have this done at Honda but I wanted to take advantage of the free rotation service with tire purchase.
3 Days later: Wheel almost came off because of loose wheel nuts on driver front side. I had the rotation done on a Friday and drove about 200 miles over the weekend until Monday when it suddenly felt like I had a flat tire. Goodyear said the wheel wasn't mounted flush due to corrosion and that caused the nuts to loosen. They cleaned it up and said it was fixed. I took the car to Honda to check for damage just in case. No problems found.
October 2013: Took the car in for a major service. I was told to replace both control arms (which I did). Also replaced drive belt. They said I would need front brakes in a few months but no other problems were reported.
My questions: Is this a rare problem? They told me I only needed to replace the broken axle but I asked them to replace both (the paranoia will kill me). It scares me that this could happen when I'm so meticulous about keeping my car serviced and safe. Also, is there any way the previous wheel issue and control arm repair could have lead to this happening?
I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you.
2004 Accord EX 4 Cyl AT. On my way to work this morning, my driver side front axle snapped in half. Luckily it happened as I was at a stop sign about to turn left. I had the car towed to Honda for repairs. Honda claims that there is no way to prevent this from happening because they cannot detect problems with the axle until it breaks. They also said it is very rare for this to happen. I want to know if this could have been prevented somehow. There were no signs or symptoms leading up to this happening. No weird noises, etc. Some history that may or may not be related:
July 2013: Had tires rotated by Goodyear. Usually I have this done at Honda but I wanted to take advantage of the free rotation service with tire purchase.
3 Days later: Wheel almost came off because of loose wheel nuts on driver front side. I had the rotation done on a Friday and drove about 200 miles over the weekend until Monday when it suddenly felt like I had a flat tire. Goodyear said the wheel wasn't mounted flush due to corrosion and that caused the nuts to loosen. They cleaned it up and said it was fixed. I took the car to Honda to check for damage just in case. No problems found.
October 2013: Took the car in for a major service. I was told to replace both control arms (which I did). Also replaced drive belt. They said I would need front brakes in a few months but no other problems were reported.
My questions: Is this a rare problem? They told me I only needed to replace the broken axle but I asked them to replace both (the paranoia will kill me). It scares me that this could happen when I'm so meticulous about keeping my car serviced and safe. Also, is there any way the previous wheel issue and control arm repair could have lead to this happening?
I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you.
#17
11-30-2017 | 09:06 AM
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1
2008 Acurat TL
Early this year 2017 at about 110K miles, I had the passenger drive half shaft snap in half on my 2008 Acura TL. A clean break. About 3/4" of steel sheered right thru. Yesterday at 117K miles the drivers side drive half shaft sheered in half. It's always the same situation. Come to a stop, then proceed into a turn. Blammo! Snap!!! All I can say is that it is probably a design flaw. I have read about it on the internet in several places. The good thing is it is relatively inexpensive at about $350 each out the door near me at Accorn Goodyear, and the universals get replaced. The universals would have to be replaced any way between 100K and 200K miles. So not such a big deal I guess. Oh yah, the break wasn't in the union. The break was as pictured here, right in the middle of the shaft. It does appear to be a narrower diameter section of the shaft. But the narrowing might have happened during the twisting of the shaft.
Last edited by Joseph Gannon; 11-30-2017 at 09:16 AM.
#20
01-02-2019 | 06:07 PM
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 1
wheel bearings are a common reason
Hey, I just looked at your photos and I am surprised the broken had no paint left on it ad the other one did. Did these two come from the same car? That is odd and makes me again wonder if your car was in an accident and the other axle was replaced. There may be other reasons why one may have been replaced too.