Why do axles break?

Axles can be found underneath cars near the wheels. They basically function to keep the wheels and gears in place.  Without axles, car wheels would not have a place for mounting or could not be rotated.  Regardless of gear location, car axles are designed to remain stable to ensure that the wheels are held properly.  With its location and purpose in the car, many axles will eventually break, and this could be caused by a variety of reasons.  One basic reason is car overload.  Axles are the shafts that literally carry the weight of the entire car and not only the wheels.  When there is too much load in the car, these axles may not have enough strength to hold the wheels in place and will, therefore, break. An overload may be in the form of too many passengers or too heavy of a load of things inside the car or in the trunk.

Another cause for broken axles is metal wear-and-tear or the so-called metal fatigue.  This is especially applicable to older car models.  As the car gets older, the axles may also become more brittle and may have some rusted parts.  If rusting or brittleness is present, the strength of the axles will be reduced, and they will have a higher tendency of breaking.  The wear and tear of this particular metal part will also accelerate if the car is used regularly or the car’s load is always heavy.

Severe bumps or off-roading conditions may also cause the car’s axles to break.  With too much stress and force being handled by the axle in carrying the weight of the car while allowing the cars to rotate, some axles will eventually give way and break if the roads are very rough or if the car gets a severe bump.  With these external forces, part of the axle may be moved out of place, and this will cause it to break easily.