Peugeot 308: Rear Trailing Arm Bush Separation

The 308 T7 rear suspension uses a pressed steel trailing arm with bonded rubber-to-metal bushes at the body mounting points. These bonded bushes are known to de-bond from the outer metal sleeve under the combined stress of New Zealand and Australian road surfaces. Bush separation causes the rear wheel to adopt an uncontrolled toe and camber position, producing unpredictable handling especially under braking and cornering. In advanced cases the trailing arm shifts enough to contact surrounding body structure. This fault is sufficiently common and dangerous that VTNZ and state-equivalent inspectors specifically target it during Warrant of Fitness inspections and many 308 T7s have failed WoF on this defect alone. The failure is not always accompanied by obvious symptoms before catastrophic bush separation.

• Knocking or clunking from rear suspension over road bumps and dips
• Rear-end instability or wandering under braking
• Rear tyre wearing unevenly on inner or outer edge
• Pulling to one side under braking
• WoF or roadworthy failure on rear suspension inspection

1. 1

   Inspect each rear trailing arm where it attaches to the body subframe.

2. 2

   Look for cracking or splitting in the rubber bush element, gaps or rust staining between rubber and metal sleeve indicating de-bonding, and check if the arm moves laterally under firm hand pressure.

3. 3

   Also inspect the front pivot bush of the trailing arm for similar separation.

4. 4

   Check for any service history entries noting bush replacement or suspension work.

$600 to $1,800 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

• “Have the rear trailing arm bushes been inspected or replaced?”
• “Has the car passed its most recent Warrant of Fitness without suspension advisories or conditions?”
• “Has the car experienced any rear-end instability, knocking, or uneven rear tyre wear?”

The failure described above is documented in published sources — owner forums, technical service bulletins, recall notices and workshop write-ups — held in our fault database. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them, and it is a starting point for an inspection rather than a manufacturer statement.