Misting on front shock absorber

[Sheppy72]

After some advice and thoughts on this one.  Sit down grab a cuppa its a long story.

I took my car in for service last week and upon collection was told that there was a leak on the N/S/F shock absorber and needed to bring it back the following week for them to investigate.

So Yesterday I took it back as instructed and left it with them all day from 9 and said would collect at 5pm.  I arrived around 5 and saw my car been driven in to the workshop.. Odd I thought.

Went in and saw service department and was told the technician would bring it round shortly...  I asked if the work had been carried out and as it was still in warranty I would be covered.  Service bloke went to check and 5 mins later came back and said they had done no work as the leak was not bad and was only misting and this was normal and they would not be able to do this under warranty!

This I find unacceptable that last week it was needed to be investigated and needed to bring it in and secondly surely any misting / leak on a car that is less than 2 years old is not normal.

 

Am I been fobbed off?  Like to know your thoughts.  I did say that if this is normal then surely there would be misting on all shocks and not just the one.

Oh and just to add to the poor dealer service When I took my car in last week they "accidently" set my service to fixed from variable.. Luckily I spotted this and told them to correct it.  Was initially told this was not possible until I bought it back in when indicator came on!!  I knew this was wrong and told them such.  Amazingly they then found away to correct it and could not understand how it happened.

 

 

[jjc]

I had the same on my Octavia 3 they said misting was normal, I said OK then but if this develops more then it would be coming back under warranted even though the car is over 3 years old now.

 

John

[Boxerdog1]

They actually admitted that the Shock absorber was leaking on first visit and the diagnosis was downgraded to 'only misting which is normal'  on next visit - Utter *******s on their part and I am sure you know already that your are being fobbed off .  There is a leak , albeit only light at moment , which will probably deteriorate soon .  I'm not 100%  sure  if you will be able to claim under warranty as the dealer could allege accidental damage and not a manufacturing defect but I'd definitely get back on to them and insist that a replacement is fitted , actually a pair as would be the norm when replacing shock absorbers . Fact that they also messed around with your servicing schedule will give extra ammunition if you have to escalate matters to Skoda Customer Services. 

[Bap33]

Hi all,

 

I had my first visit for "Technical check", which seems to correspond to your MOT, as far as I understand.

Big disappointment: Both front shock absorbers (DCC version) start leaking. According to the bloke, it's the very beginning, so no big hurry to replace them, but he recommends to do it before mid 2022... He also said this is quitte common on several VAG models.

My Mk3 is only 65700 km, and is mainly driven on motorways and alone (thus very rarely fully loaded, only for holidays with whole family and luggage), I'm very surprised.

 

I already had to replace the coolant pump 3500 km ago, it starts nerving me 🤬! Very disappointed compared to my former Mk2, which had no issue!

 

Regarding replacement, any advice whether going OEM or rather another brand?

Thanks for your advices guys!

 

[MartiniB]

@Bap33

 

just one huge problem - spare parts shortage 😞

i placed order in august:
F11-85-043-02-FA Eibach Pro (front)
F11-79-008-01-HA Eibach Pro
23-254343 Bilstein B6 Damptronic (front)
20-267537 Bilstein B6 Damptronic

 

but delivery date is moved forward several times,
past week i asked seller to cancel rear dampers,
to able start upgrade at least with front axle.

 

another unclear question is which exact damper for rear axle
Bilstein suggests 20-267537 while couple of other sellers suggest 20-254353

(both are out of stock)

 

probably, must be cross compatible for these MQB platform cars
20-254353         Arteon; Golf; Passat; Octavia
20-267537         Arteon; Golf; Superb; Touran
 

[Shugmo]

My mechanic tells me that misting is often misinterpreted as leaking.

 

Any shock that has been over-compressed (pot hole etc) will have a slight bit of misting, and isn't always a cause for concern.

 

I ran a Vauxhall Astra in the 90's where misting was mentioned on every MOT the car had whilst I owned it.

 

The last service on my Superb said misting but the MOT said nothing.

[0094994]

26 minutes ago, Shugmo said:

My mechanic tells me that misting is often misinterpreted as leaking.

 

Any shock that has been over-compressed (pot hole etc) will have a slight bit of misting, and isn't always a cause for concern.

 

I ran a Vauxhall Astra in the 90's where misting was mentioned on every MOT the car had whilst I owned it.

 

The last service on my Superb said misting but the MOT said nothing.

 

To add to this, in many of my previous cars (inc Seat Ibiza, VW Golf and Vauxhalls Zafira and Corsa), I've had misting as an advisory at MOT at various points.  It never materialised into a serious leak on any but the Corsa (which let go and leaked all over my driveway during lockdown in April 2020) before the usual old age symptoms (corrosion) got hold of them, often several years down the line.

 

A lot of this stuff is mileage and type of driving dependent.  If you do a lot of miles or have to travel over heavily potholed roads (or roads with loads of speed bumps), then this will become a bigger issue faster.

[Bap33]

They've become keen on speed bumps in the neighborhood indeed! 🙄

My local dealer is OK to have a closer look on 1/3rd/2022. I'll see what they say then.

[ApertureS]

I’ll be honest, most VAG cars will have a  set of shocks in their first 4/5 years as the quality is terrible.

that being said a slight misting is also very common and won’t always mean failure 

[J.R.]

19 hours ago, Shugmo said:

My mechanic tells me that misting is often misinterpreted as leaking.

 

Any shock that has been over-compressed (pot hole etc) will have a slight bit of misting, and isn't always a cause for concern.

 

 

The highlighted text is incorrect, is that your belief or what the mechanic said?

 

Damper seals are operative over the full operating stroke, if the bump stop is deteriorated the road spring would usually go coilbound before the damper runs out of travel, front struts are packaged with the piston rod fully compressed and retained by a wire clip, they will have been bumped around, travelled upside down, been in the unpressurised  hold of cargo aircraft at altitude and will not have leaked.

 

I do agree that slight misting is common these days and not a cause for concern unless excessive or damping is affected, suspension that goes over a lot of speedbumps or off road will create higher peak internal pressures than a vehicle on motorways all its life, that will reduce the life, they should not mist but they all seem to now.

 

I am off out now in 1°C temperature to change my front suspension struts (3rd attempt!) they were fine when I bought the vehicle 2 years ago with 79K miles and 4 years old, perfect damping and no misting whatsoever, they remained fine until a couple of months ago when I noticed a pitching motion when towing a large heavy trailer, on testing them they were completely shot, no damping whatsoever, they dont look oily but everything is damp & dirty in these winter conditions, I will study them closely once removed.

[Shugmo]

Not my belief, as I'm not a mechanic, it what I was told by my mechanic and replies that I have read from other mechanics on similar forums as this.

 

[Shugmo]

https://powertorque.com.au/misting-shocks-are-often-misdiagnosed/

 

"It is a fact that misting shocks are often misdiagnosed as failures, however this is a normal and necessary function, and there’s a bit of a debate among mechanics between misting and leaking shock absorbers requiring replacement during shock absorber inspections. 

As the shock absorber rod moves out, some of the hot oil coating the rod evaporates before condensing in the cooler outside air onto the shock absorber body. Shock absorber rod seals rely on this thin film of oil to keep the seal lubricated and to prolong seal life."

[J.R.]

Lets stop using the mantra that they are all trotting out, "misting" is leaking, calling it by another name is a diversion tactic like "global warming" becomes "climate change".

 

Front struts never used to leak systematically from the get go, after the initial bad old days of the late 60's early 70's they would usually go on for years remaining dry and oil tight, a decade in the case of my MK1 Octavia, once you see some evidence of minor leakage its only a matter of time, any oil seal once it starts to leak gets worse fairly quickly as the oil attracts dust & becomes an abrasive paste, the strut will continue damping until sufficient fluid has been lost for it to lose  damping initially on bump & then rebound.

 

When VAG vehicles were racking up lots of warranty claims where shocks were leaking on or before the first MOT they coined the get out of jail phrase "misting" to refute claims.

 

My front struts removed today at 102K miles & 6 years old were completely foutu, precious little oil remaining, gas capsule non pressurised, no damping on bump, a tiny bit on rebound.

 

I lifted the gaiters to inspect them at 4 years old 79K miles, they were dry as a bone, damping was fine for a further 18 months when I started to notice some pitching when towing a large overloaded single axle trailer, in short order it was doing it when unladen & not towing, I think from the start of the leak to dangerous was less than 12 months.

 

Anyone mechanic or otherwise who says or writes on a forum"Any shock that has been over-compressed (pot hole etc) will have a slight bit of misting" is talking out of their backside although its probably written in the book of excuses that the service receptionists trot out and they are usually of a type to try so hard to appear knowledgable and convincing that they end up believing what they say.

Edited 21 December, 2021 by J.R.

[J.R.]

4 hours ago, Shugmo said:

As the shock absorber rod moves out, some of the hot oil coating the rod evaporates before condensing in the cooler outside air onto the shock absorber body.

 

More Google Guff, relevant if you are talking about a cooker hood over a wok or chip pan, a road vehicle never heats the damper fluid to even a fraction of its boiling point, the seals would have let go well before that.

 

Misting is a mantra, when the seal wears the fluid leaks and seeps through gravity to around the lower part of the strut and spring pan, when it really starts leaking it will spray from the seal when the strut compresses very fast which it will do once the bump damping is compromised.

 

When oil evaporates from a chip pan it rises like any vapour and condenses on a cool surface higher up, the ceiling, cooker hood, cupboard bottom etc, VAG & the internet would have you believe that this evaporated oil vapour defies the laws of physics and falls to condense on the shock absorber body!

Edited 21 December, 2021 by J.R.

[Shugmo]

Wow, you're a credit to the forum.

Thanks for sharing.

[Shugmo]

 

I know who I'll believe.

 

Over the past 35 years Powerdown has developed the most comprehensive range of truck, trailer & bus shock absorbers designed specifically for “Excellence in Performance, Safety & Value” 

 

 

[J.R.]

If you don't have a knowledge of the physics involved, if you cannot relate to the everyday example that I used to illustrate, if you don't recognise the exact same words (mantra) always being used by all the manufacturers, then I completely understand that you would choose to believe those who have a financial gain to make by disseminating the fairy tale over some bloke on a forum.

[ApertureS]

I would very much like to see a 'over compressed' shock as it would have to have no bump stop or spring or top mount to even attempt such a thing.

Ive had cars with 200,000 mile shocks on them with no misting at all.

 

Put simply, any VAG car after around 2015 onwards - the shocks are terrible quality and will weep/fail/mist at the slightest wiff of being on a road.

[ArisaigDavid]

1 hour ago, ApertureS said:

I would very much like to see a 'over compressed' shock as it would have to have no bump stop or spring or top mount to even attempt such a thing.

Ive had cars with 200,000 mile shocks on them with no misting at all.

 

Put simply, any VAG car after around 2015 onwards - the shocks are terrible quality and will weep/fail/mist at the slightest wiff of being on a road.

 

Is that still the case now, or have VAG replacement items been improved in the meantime?

[J.R.]

I fitted my dirt cheap aftermarket shocks Tuesday and they have transformed the vehicle, not only the pitching but the general suspension harshness and crashing over anything but a billiard table surface.

 

My UK neighbour has a low mileage 2012 Octavia which is the same vehicle under the skin and it has always really crashed over bumps, he blamed it over having the tyres inflated for towing. 2 years ago when I got my Yeti it was far more refined than his car and his wife wanted him to sell it, I persuaded him (he is a very nervous type) to let me fit new rear springs and bump stops as it was dragging its ar5e like a dog with worms, the ride improved when towing but still crashed over all the bumps.

 

My shocks were fine on a bump test when I got the vehicle at 4 years old, in hindsight they deteriorated after 6 months and became crashy and noisy, I blamed it on the continued deterioration of UK roads while I was away, the car ran smoothly on French roads, it gradually got worse and I am very embarrassed to have found that they were completely shot before I realised from the pitching motion, in my defence I no longer drive like a hooligan.

 

I expect the cheapest pattern part shocks I fitted will outlast the OE ones.

 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361319373042?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

[Bap33]

On 18/12/2021 at 12:01, Bap33 said:

Hi all,

 

I had my first visit for "Technical check", which seems to correspond to your MOT, as far as I understand.

Big disappointment: Both front shock absorbers (DCC version) start leaking. According to the bloke, it's the very beginning, so no big hurry to replace them, but he recommends to do it before mid 2022... He also said this is quitte common on several VAG models.

My Mk3 is only 65700 km, and is mainly driven on motorways and alone (thus very rarely fully loaded, only for holidays with whole family and luggage), I'm very surprised.

 

I already had to replace the coolant pump 3500 km ago, it starts nerving me 🤬! Very disappointed compared to my former Mk2, which had no issue!

 

Hi,

 

I went to my local dealer this afternoon to have both DCC front shock absorber inspected.

And surprisingly, they didn't see anything wrong. They even proposed me to check by myself and I didn't see any spot of grease on both side indeed. I touched the rod on both sides but no sign of any oily film on them.

Thus I'm really asking myself what the bloke from the MOT had really seen... 🤔

[MarkyG82]

Could be a few things. My suggestion is they had seeped a bit (which is normal for lubrication) and the tester wiped them clean. Then they haven't had a chance to seep any more (likely based on the usage you describe).

 

Or they have leaked so much that there is nothing left to leak, unlikely unless you are having trouble controlling the car.

[J.R.]

If they had leaked everything they would be soaked as mine were, you know how much oil spreads when it is spilled.

 

Your first suggestion sounds plausible otherwise the guy was drumming up work for the future.

[Bap33]

14 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

they have leaked so much that there is nothing left to leak, unlikely unless [...].

Not my case. They behave normally.

The guy from my Skoda dealer showed me a shock absorber, which had leaked and that they had changed from another car. The strut is all soaked, you can't miss it. I don't have anything like that.

Anyway, this suits me. many hundreds of € saved!