Potholes can damage autos ... in so many ways
All types of vehicles are susceptible to blown tires, bent rims and misaligned or damaged suspensions
Without doubt, our favourite beef about the roads we drive on (other than traffic) has to be potholes. They can cause more damage, cost more money, and aggravate us with more inconvenience than just about any other road hazard you can think of.
As we’re in the middle of pothole season, a little knowledge on how to survive our broken black-top jungles might be in order.
The biggest cause of vehicle damage by potholes is the lateral force their forward edge can apply to our wheels and tires.
When you travel over a pothole, often your ride’s suspension can’t react quickly enough to get the tire and wheel assembly out of harm’s way. When the wheel drops into the hole it can hit the forward edge of the crater on its way out and, if the circumstances are right (or wrong, in most cases), this barrier can exert a tremendous amount of force backward on the wheel, causing one or more types of damage, including a blowout, damaged rim, and bent control arms and struts.
The repair bills can run high. But what can we do to avoid or lessen the mechanical mayhem when a pothole appears out of nowhere? Adam Ross, manager of OK Tire in Dundas, Ont., has seen it all and has a few tips to pass along.
First, he assures drivers everywhere, you can drive over a pothole and survive.
“Swerving to suddenly avoid a pothole in traffic can be dangerous and lead to far more damage (to your vehicle and others) than riding out the pothole itself,” he says.
As to the debate between slamming down the gas pedal or the brakes, he recommends neither. Two firm hands on the wheel and an attentive set of senses can go a long way to avoid catastrophe.
According to Ross, the most common thing to get damaged in a pothole battle is the tire.
“Usually they either suffer from broken belts or side wall beads or blowouts.”
From the countess vehicle victims he has seen in his shop over the years, no one type of automobile has a pothole advantage. Compacts, SUVs, crossovers, or trucks can all pay the price.
The best defence in the pothole wars, according to Ross, is a well maintained vehicle with properly inflated tires. He noted that while a vehicle with a good service history can be damaged by a pothole, one that is poorly maintained will usually suffer more.
He also wants to remind drivers that damage can be hidden, and just because there’s nothing obviously wrong, it doesn’t mean trouble caused by a misaligned set of wheels or something else isn’t coming sometime down the road.
He advises that if you get a bone-jarring hit, take the time to pull off into a safe parking spot to do a visual inspection of your vehicle and a slow road test to listen and feel for any changes.
Even if it seems driveable, he suggests you get it to your regular service provider for a proper inspection.