Possible Issues after Hitting a Pothole In Chandler

Spring is here! Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping in their nests, and bees are buzzing. It’s a scene right out of a Disney princess movie out there!

While you’re driving down the road enjoying the beautiful Chandler, Arizona sunshine, you are likely to encounter something else for which the spring is known: Potholes. After the long winter, the increasing temperatures cause the pavement to shift. The expansion and contraction can weaken the pavement and the ground underneath it, allowing the increased precipitation to damage the asphalt.

Possible Issues after Hitting a Pothole In Chandler

Hitting a pothole isn’t just a minor annoyance. Depending on how fast you’re going and how big the pothole is, you can do major damage to your car. Here are just a few of the issues you might be facing after hitting a pothole!

Chandler, Arizona

Hitting a pothole isn’t just a minor annoyance. Depending on how fast you’re going and how big the pothole is, you can do major damage to your car. You could be looking at a major body repair bill.

Here are just a few of the issues you might be facing after hitting a pothole:

Tire Damage

Tires are likely to take the biggest beating from hitting a pothole. With a strong impact, the tire could easily pop or blow out. With a lesser impact, the pressure may cause tread to show or could cause a slow leak that will result in a flat days or even weeks later.

Hitting a pothole can also result in damage to the rim, depending on how the tire hits the hole. The edge of the rim could become bent, which can compromise the seal with the tire and cause a leak.

You may be able to take the rim to a Chandler body repair shop to get it fixed, but depending on the severity of the damage, you may have to have it replaced.

Steering and Alignment Issues

Hitting a pothole can cause your suspension and alignment go out of balance. Even minor impacts can damage the tire tread, which can cause uneven wear that leads to alignment issues. Harder impacts can affect the suspension and alignment directly.
Pay close attention to how your car is handling after you hit a pothole, no matter how minor you may think the incident was. If the car is pulling to one side while you are driving, have both the steering and the alignment checked. Also check the suspension.

Make sure that the steering and suspension systems are thoroughly checked before performing a new alignment. Steering and suspension are often the culprits for poor alignment, and if they are not corrected, they will only continue to throw the car out of alignment. You will just keep spending money on new alignments and keep having the same problem if you don’t address the root cause.

Damage under the Car

Hitting a pothole causes your car to dip down on the one side. If the pothole is shallow enough, the dip is nothing more than a little bump along the way. If the pothole is really deep or wide, hitting it can cause your car to scrape along the asphalt on one side.

You may not notice this damage right away since you likely aren’t in the habit of getting on the pavement to look under your car. But if you hit a pothole, you need to make a point to look under there to make sure that everything is OK. If you don’t, the damage could go untended and become worse over time.

If you aren’t sure what to look for, just take your car to a Mesa collision repair shop near you. The technicians at the shop will also be able to raise the car up to get a better look at the full undercarriage to find any potential damage. This simple step could save you thousands in repairs because issues were left unaddressed.

Excel Collision and Glass Centers can check out the undercarriage of your car after hitting a pothole and look for any other signs of damage. The earlier we make the mechanical or body repair that’s needed, the better. We can also repair your car after other collision damage, such as hitting a tree after bouncing out of a particularly bad pothole or after an accident with another car. Our experienced technicians will ensure that your vehicle looks as good as new and is safe to drive again. Give us a call to get an estimate today.

Published By:

Excel Collision and Glass Centers – Tim Stone