Listening for Pothole Damage
After you hit a pothole, your vehicle may begin making a clunking noise. It could also start grinding, whistling, or humming. A clunking sound is bad. It may indicate severe damage to the car’s suspension system, the components of which can bend or even completely snap after an especially rough collision with a pothole. Unfortunately, hearing grinding, whistling, or humming noises instead of a clunking sound might indicate just as serious a problem.
A clunking noise can indicate an issue with:
- Your vehicle’s wheel bearings. Since bearings help you maneuver your car side-to-side, they play a significant role in your ride’s performance and safety.
- Your car’s wheel alignment. Audible humming from your vehicle as you drive (and the feeling that it's pulling to one side) may indicate a problem with wheel alignment, which can prevent you from keeping the vehicle headed in a straight path.
Looking for Pothole Damage
Even if you don’t hear anything that indicates pothole damage to your car, that’s not to say none occurred. This is why it’s important to visually inspect your INFINITI’s undercarriage and tires after a rough encounter with a pothole.
Be on the lookout for:
- Bent wheel rims
- Cracks along the tire sidewalls where the rim lip meets the tire
- Bulges or blisters on the tire sidewalls
- Pieces missing from the tire (as if chipped away)
Today’s tires and suspension systems are designed to withstand a great deal of stress. But even those components have their limits and should be looked over after striking a pothole as well as during regular vehicle maintenance inspections.
You may also spot damage to your INFINITI’s bumper or side skirts, such as chips, cracks, and indentations. Be careful when examining your vehicle for these, since running your hand across an unseen crack can cause injury.
Feeling Pothole Damage
Hitting a pothole can cause problems with your car that your sense of touch will also help you identify, including:
- Excessive vehicle vibration, sometimes felt through the steering wheel
- A bottoming-out sensation, with accompanying impact, after traveling over even modest road bumps
- Brakes that respond more slowly than before when you hit the brake pedal, making it take longer for the car to stop
Excessive vibration may indicate a wheel alignment problem, bent wheel rim, or damage to your car’s suspension system that occurred upon impact with the pothole. Colliding with a serious pothole could even bend a control arm — the part of the suspension that maintains the vertical position of your wheels when your suspension bounces.
Damaged suspension components and shock absorbers may also cause the underbelly of your vehicle to scrape the road surface beneath it (the previously referenced “bottoming out”).
One of the elements that interact with the calipers in your car’s braking system — such as a pin or wedge — can become dislodged following a pothole collision, interfering with the vehicle’s braking ability. Another potential roadblock to brake performance is road debris kicked up upon impact that finds its way into the braking system.
From DIY to PDQ
Are you taking care of INFINITI pothole damage fixes at home? It’s possible if you’re looking at a relatively straightforward issue with damaged exhaust components or a bent wheel rim. Depending on the extent of any damage to the suspension, you may be able to address the issues yourself with the right INFINITI steering and suspension parts. Consult your owner's manual. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to have a trained and qualified mechanic inspect your vehicle.
When you need the support of a professional, stop by your nearest INFINITI service center. The friendly and professional repair technicians there will get your vehicle back in top condition.