All 4 shocks failed at 40k...

[Rif]

On it's first MOT my FR 150 was advised for a 4 shocks slight misting of oil. A few months later all 4 are properly leaking from the seals.

This seems premature even for wear and tear. Car is 6 months out of warranty. Wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar with damper life. Car is a 2015 model. Ta

 

[emesee]

Had the same. Mine is a 65 plate FR 150 petrol. Had an advisory on a service when around 26 months old for all 4 misting. To be fair to service manager he advised waiting a bit longer so that dealer could be sure of getting work approved as warranty by Seat (some nonsense about how many mm of misting needed to get approval).

In the end I got the front 2 replaced under warranty at my service and MOT a month before end of warranty. The back 2 were now apparently good enough to pass test....

Mine had done around 36K at that point, but less than 30K when first noticed. Seeing as most of my miles were on the motorway I thought wear and tear was unlikely.

I have never had shocks replaced on a car at this mileage before. I’d say the fact mine were replaced under warranty means some are faulty or not up to standard. Might be worth talking to Seat UK?

 

[Rif]

Had the same. Mine is a 65 plate FR 150 petrol. Had an advisory on a service when around 26 months old for all 4 misting. To be fair to service manager he advised waiting a bit longer so that dealer could be sure of getting work approved as warranty by Seat (some nonsense about how many mm of misting needed to get approval).

In the end I got the front 2 replaced under warranty at my service and MOT a month before end of warranty. The back 2 were now apparently good enough to pass test....

Mine had done around 36K at that point, but less than 30K when first noticed. Seeing as most of my miles were on the motorway I thought wear and tear was unlikely.

I have never had shocks replaced on a car at this mileage before. I’d say the fact mine were replaced under warranty means some are faulty or not up to standard. Might be worth talking to Seat UK?

Thanks for your reply mate. I share your concern that its way too early to be wear and tear, especially as I do mainly motorway as well. I wonder if Seat has dealt with a lot of these?

The problem for me is that I'm 6 months out of warranty and I bought the car used approved from a Peugeot dealer which is next door to the Seat dealer. The Seat dealer of course fobbed me off as I bought it from the other dealer. The upshot is that I'm still covered by the warranty given to me from the Peugeot dealer. I mentioned it was picked up on the first MOT in July. They want to inspect the car tomorrow so wish me luck

 

[DaveysFR]

My 2016 FR 150 TDI has the same misting of oil on the rear shocks. Its only done 43k miles. I recently fitted lowering springs to it (Eibach Sportlines) and noticed the misting just before installing them. I don't think my dealer will stand over it, even though the car is under warranty, as they will blame the lowering springs probably

 

[ZK_FR150]

Out of interest anyone know how much it would roughly cost to get all 4 shocks changed as mine are misting too and was advisory on last mot.
Cars on 126k TDI FR 150 and do u have to get springs changed as well at the same time or not

 

[Rooster]

Weepy shocks seem to be common unfortunately, and not model specific either.

 

[Compo1]

Good excuse to fit a set of Koni's

 

[Rif]

Are these weeping shocks a feature of the design or does it constitute a premature failure? It was advised as list misting (the only option you get when advising on the MOT) but now I feel as though they have got well passed the stage of "misting". The dealer (with whom I still have 2 months warranty) is trying to say only the offside front is leaking enough to warrant a change but below are photos of the other 3 shocks. I think there is clear evidence of leakeage (the dust covers on the rear shocks cover almost the whole lenght of the shock so hard to see the piston rod iselft but the evidence is clear imo)...

NSF

 

[EFF11]

Seat have issued Technical Product Information document 2026585/2 about this issue.

This is the text of the document: My copy is too faint to reproduce

A minor loss of oil (condensation) is normal and is not justification for replacing a shock absorber. A shock absorber is considered to have no defects if it meets the following conditions:

a) A minor loss of oil (Dark colouring of the shock absorber) visible but matt, weak and dry due to dust.

b) Loss of oil spreads in the area of the upper seal of the shock absorber (piston seal).down to,at most, the dished spring.

Observations

A slight loss of oil is beneficial, as it lubricates the piston seal, prolonging it's service life.

Damaged shock absorbers can be detected by knocking or detonation noises, usually together with visible oil leaks.


This is the official MOT Inspection Manual. See Section 5.3.2

https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/class3457/

 

[LouG]

That's very nice of them. Of course if your shocks lose enough oil they won't dampen any impacts.
I wonder if SEAT consider that a failure?

 

[Rif]

So the dealer approved the warranty but has negotiated just changing the fronts (to mitigate cost to them I guess) I can't be bothered to argue to I just accepted. the rears are not difficult to change so will do them myself at some point.

I'm aware hydraulic seals are lubricated by the fluid on the shaft my previous job was designing hydraulic clutch components but they should not allow this much fluid to pass. I refuse to believe this is indented by design.