MOT advisory of corrosion to subframe

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

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I've got a MK6 2012 Golf TDI at 107k miles that i'd like to keep running for a good while longer if possible.

It's been a good runner and now only really serves to get me to and from work in the wintery/wet months which is a 13 mile round trip as we have a newer car for day to day bits.

It's been relatively good on MOT's however the past few have chucked up some advisories that I think I should probably look at if I want the car to last.

In particular, the most recent MOT in November the MOT had the following advisory:
  • Corrosion to rear subframe / rear wishbone arms
  • Both front shock absorbers leaking
The shock absorbers were an advisory on the previous MOT but not leaking then (light misting) so I was going to get the car serviced, get them replaced and at the same time probably get the timing belt done as this was done at 55k, but when I spoke to the garage about all of this they said they'd be reluctant to advise me to do all of this work if the corrosion to the subframe is bad as it could end up being written off at the next MOT if it gets worse.

This took me by surprise a bit as they were essentially turning down work and being quite honest about it all, but I was wondering, if corrosion to the subframe really bad or is it something blown out of proportion or is it something i'd need to get looked at separately to assess how bad it is? and are they right that if it is corroding its very difficult to save it?
 
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Problem with sub-frame corrosion it can be difficult without specialist tools to tell how weakened the underlying metal is and/or an MOT tester probably won't be doing an in-depth examination of it, until it is obvious, it could just be surface corrosion and might last years or it could be it is properly rusting through and easy to knock chunks out of it.

Best to get it looked at and treated first - though treatments like Lanoguard will only buy time and aren't a long term solution.

Front shocks usually aren't that expensive or that difficult to change yourself depending a bit on vehicle and depending on how honest the garage is probably not so prohibitively expensive as to be the end of the world if it only makes it to next MOT. Not sure on the belt.
 
Itc said:
New subframe will cost around £200 and four hours labour to fit
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Interesting that they didn't mention this as an option.

I've no qualms with spending a bit on it if it gets me a few more years of life out of it!
 
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R.O.S.S.I said:
Interesting that they didn't mention this as an option.

I've no qualms with spending a bit on it if it gets me a few more years of life out of it!
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For some reason a lot of places don't rush to do subframe replacements - you are probably talking more like £400 for the hardware and 8 hours labour (at probably upwards of £75/h) unless you get more involved and source the subframe yourself, etc.
 
Going to phone a diff mechanic and get a second opinion. May ask them to do the service and shocks and to give an opinion on the subframe.
 
What level of corrosion? Most modern cars are covered in surface rust underneath as everything is engineered to a price and then made in pressed steel.
 
I’d be absolutely astonished if a 2012 golf required a new rear subframe due to corrosion.
I see plenty of rusty subframes daily but none (apart from the usual Mercedes) are even close enough to fail an MOT.
In fact I’ve no idea why some testers even advice it as pretty much all cars will have corrosion underneath.
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
In particular, the most recent MOT in November the MOT had the following advisory:
  • Corrosion to rear subframe / rear wishbone arms
  • Both front shock absorbers leaking
......
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R.O.S.S.I said:
This took me by surprise a bit as they were essentially turning down work and being quite honest about it all, but I was wondering, if corrosion to the subframe really bad or is it something blown out of proportion or is it something i'd need to get looked at separately to assess how bad it is? and are they right that if it is corroding its very difficult to save it?
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These issues are no big deal. Corrosion to subframes and wishbone arms is common, the car will get rusty. However, if it's an advisory, it's not dangerous, otherwise they would have failed it. Making it an advisory means they think you have another year of safe motoring with it like that, but you could have had a chat with them to confirm this.

Same goes for shock absorbers. They are safe but not ideal. The worst that could happen is your ride gets a bit more bouncy.

Really it's up to you what you want to get done, because it depends on the economics of doing it. The subframes wouldn't worry me but I might get the shocks done. Personally I'm prepared to spend money on older cars. It's only not viable if you aren't prepared to spend the hundreds of pounds it might take - everything is fixable.
 
Hi, we had this on our 2012 Qashqai, never had an advisory in its life and had subframe and arm advisory.
I got a different garage I know to check it out, who said just surface corrosion like they all have, original garage was just being precautious (it had a record 11 advisories, two next mot and none after).

I stripped the surface rust back, painted it with a special rust killer, then undersealed. It was fine for the next five years and looks like it had an advisory again only last year.
If keeping long term could save a bit away to replace the subframe in the long run.

As for Golfs ours had misting shocks off and on for 3 mots at VW and then nothing, the rear arms looked corroded as hell to me, but VW always said it's fine.
So I would not worry, but put a plan in place if it is a long term keeper.
 
I needed a new subframe for my Corsa (common problem with them rusting), bought one of ebay at the request of my garage and they fitted it. Didn't take too long and in the grand scheme of things wasn't that expensive either, although it could clearly vary by manufacturer and model.
 
I would also like to know this,


My BMW 120d is currently at 140k miles, the last mot i had in dec, i had some exchaust welding that had to be done, but on advisory he put on there which was non critical but came as an advisoy and may need to be looked at in the future is


**Subframe corroded but not seriously weakened rear

If i have to renew in dec, they may pick up on it again,


i dont want to have to spend masses on this car as i may be buying something else


can i easily get a corrotion repair done on it without replacing a whole subframe and paying labour to replace it?
 
I'd see these advisory's on corrosion more as an observation to be aware of rather than needing immediate remedial work.
 
DJMK4 said:
If i have to renew in dec, they may pick up on it again,
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It's an advisory not a fail. As said above, some corrosion is normal, and it's acceptable as long as it can't affect the structural integrity. So, you could just leave it until Dec and see what they say about it then. Chances are it will just be another advisory, but if it's not, you can decide what to do then.
 
DJMK4 said:
**Subframe corroded but not seriously weakened rear

If i have to renew in dec, they may pick up on it again,
Click to expand...

This depends a lot on the vehicle, like JonRGV250 mentions - some vehicles have a know weakness and once it gets to that stage you are best looking into it, others will go on for years and years with just surface corrosion. For example I have that advisory on my D40 Navara and that it isn't wise to ignore, while if it was say a VW Amarok instead I'd not be too concerned and probably just get it cleaned and sprayed with something to protect it a bit.

DJMK4 said:
can i easily get a corrotion repair done on it without replacing a whole subframe and paying labour to replace it?
Click to expand...

Depends on the access to the subframe and what needs doing - you can have it steam cleaned and sprayed with something like Lanoguard and it will delay things a bit but it might need proper chemical dipping and/or sand blasting and proper layering up with a zinc primer and chassis paint, etc. but if there are bits which water can get into but aren't easily accessed with an easy on vehicle process they might still rot out.
 
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I would be more worried about the timing belt.if it brakes it would be an issue
I would be painting any rust underneath with old engine oil. Does the job for me.
 
sub-frame bushings and rear trailing arm bushings were more worryingly dilapidated when I had inspected my old 3er, but the MOT never picked them up,
had wondered how much they impacted ride/noise/handling - so if they are visibly degraded on OPs car would be an opportunity to renew them too.
(RTAB on one side did then fail which fortunately only ended in a grass verge excursion. )
 
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