So, I remove my wheels to detail the wheel wells and I came across this, a broken Hotchkis front sway bar. It just ruined my day. I searched the forums to see if there were any other similar incidents and the resolution that Hotchkis provided. Ill be calling today to see if I can get a replacement even though I purchased this when it was first released back in like 05.



Keeping my fingers crossed and annoyed thinking that I have to remove and reinstall this. Pics of the bar too. I will keep everyone updated on how it goes with Hotchkis.

 

It's a common problem with hotchkis front sway bar cuz there is no stopper like the rear one and it moves side to side when turning your wheels and puts a lot of stress on the bar.

I know most of ppl with this problem got a replacement bar from Hotchkis. Best luck to you, man.

 

Just got off the phone with Hotchkis, I need to find my sales receipt from years ago and snap a couple of shots of the vehicle so that they can replace it. If not, $170 is the price tag that I am looking at.

 

Wow! Makes me worried about mine now...

 

at least they will replace it if you can find the recipt.

 

I just saw another thread with the same issue. I hope this doesnt catch on...

 

I think mine was the first case of this happening, yea they will send you a new one just get the receipt.

Or leave it un-attached, you will find your autocrossing times improve from the over steer =D

 

just curious on how you didnt know before it broke,cant you tell a difference or know if that broke in half while driving or something...

 

I literally Broke it in the middle of my autocrossing session with the bmw club, they were sure surprised thats for sure!

 

So I found out 1 session after it actually broke in which my autocross run resulted in my faster time. Then after I found out it broke I gave it the beans and it worked out really well haha

 

holy crap!

Did they give you any indication on what caused the stress to the point of the part completely failing?

I have the same Hotchkis TVS Stage 1 on my 08 tC that I had for many miles on my 06 tC, I maintain my vehicles extremely well... of course not saying that you don't do that too... and I have yet to see any signs of abnormal stress or change in the suspension parts or functionality of them thus far. And combined between both of my tC's I have close to 80K on the Hotchkis parts.
Just curious, what setting did you have your Hotchkis sways on when the failure happened?

 

No indication, the issue is, the bars for the earlier models were made to save weight (very little) hence they were hollow. I had my front sway on the softest setting when this happen.

here is my original Post,

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...light=hotchkis

I have always maintained my car properly because I autoxed it (dont own the car any more) and this was due to a bad design flaw. To my knowledge now Hotchkis has replaced the design with a solid bar (as progress) and it is very reliable.

 

I couldnt tell the difference for the life of me. Not even sure how long its been broken.

 

I always had it on the stiffest setting.

 

Update, I never could find my sales receipt but Hotchkis still sent me a replacement sway bar. Big props to Hochkis for taking care of the customer. Now time to do the swap.

 

thats sucks...All of the front sway bars break? or just Hotchkis?

 

This is an OLD issue everyone. The bar originally lacked the stops, causing it to move to one side and rub, eventually breaking. They revised the bar early onto fix this, so the replacements have the stops on them.

 

That is correct^

Havent heard or seen any other issues with the newer revised sway bars.