@jkerian Breaking down an application doesn't have that meaning for me in English, either.

@jkerian Yep, those are common for sure.

Of course, those aren't the same thing as breaking down an application.

Actually saying an application broke down is understandable with the intended meaning but a little weird, but without down it's perfectly normal. Make it transitive and retain the preposition and it ceases to be understandable for me.

But of course break and broken are perfectly normal and common.

On the other hand, break down does work transitively with a different meaning (break it down into its pieces, for example if you're analyzing how it works or deciding how to structure it).

I think it's the same reason a car can break down, but you can't *break down a car. Or rather, you can, but not with the intended meaning; you can only break it down into pieces.