How Missouri Potholes Damage Your Suspension — And How to Fix It

The reality of driving through a Missouri winter is no stranger to any resident, and it includes the inevitable accumulation of potholes that seem to spring up overnight and become exponentially numerous as the weeks pass. The small bump one encounters while driving could be causing much greater damage to their suspension system than they realize. If drivers have experienced too many potholes in their time on the road this year, this is what it means for their vehicle and when they need suspension repair services.

Why Missouri Potholes Are So Bad 

The process of freezing and thawing in Missouri seems like a pothole-making machine. The process involves water getting into tiny cracks on the roads and freezing during the night to expand, thaw, and weaken the roads until it ultimately gives out due to traffic pressure. This process usually occurs during late winter and early spring when most motorists notice potholes all over.

In addition to this, having commuter traffic on the roads makes the potholes deeper and more frequent than motorists in other climatic regions experience.

What Happens to Your Suspension 

The suspension of your car is made to absorb shock and provide you with comfort during the journey, but the impact of a pothole occurs much quicker than the system is able to handle, especially when driving at high speed. Among other things that can be broken because of hitting a pothole are:

Strut or shock damage. The shocks and struts absorb the shock from bumps, but a hard impact from a pothole may bend or damage them inside, thus making your drive uncomfortable.

Control arms damage. The control arms are responsible for connecting the suspension with the car's frame, but hitting a pothole can bend or break them, causing some alignment problems.

Wheel or rim bend. An edge of a pothole is able to dent or bend a wheel rim on collision, causing vibrations, air leak in the tire, and uneven wear.

Wheel misalignment. Even if there is no visible damage, a hard collision with a pothole is capable of misaligning your wheels, thus causing unequal wear and pulling the car to one side.

Tires damage. It is possible to damage the tires by a hard impact, causing cracks, bulges, or even explosion of a tire sidewall.

Signs Your Suspension Has Been Damaged 

Signs to be careful about after hitting a pothole include:

• A bumpier ride Car drifting towards one side while driving

• Premature or uneven tire wear

• Loose steering and poor responsiveness of the steering system

• Swelling or visible damage to your tire's side walls

• Strange noises coming from the tires while hitting bumps

It is recommended to get your car checked if you see any of these signs, regardless of how severe the damage seems to be initially.

What a Suspension Inspection Involves 

The following is what a proper inspection for pothole damage should entail:

• Inspecting your struts, shock absorbers, and control arms for any bends or leaks

• Checking your tires and wheels for any bulges, dents, or irregular tread wear

• Running an alignment check to ensure your wheels are aligned correctly

• Taking your car out for a drive to inspect its handling and ride performance

Undergoing such an inspection when you have been in a severe pothole bump is one of the best ways to detect and fix minor problems early on.

Why Prompt Repair Matters 

Suspension issues not only lead to poor handling but can be the beginning of many other problems. The misaligned wheels cause unequal wear on the tires, reducing their life expectancy by a great deal. The damaged struts increase the load on other components of the suspension system, causing other expensive repairs further down the road.

It is always more cost-effective for car suspension repair St Charles motorists should perform after a bump into an undesirable pothole than to wait until the problem worsens.

How to Minimize Pothole Damage Going Forward 

Although there is no way to escape all the potholes, some of the measures that can prevent one from being caught off guard are:

• Maintain safe following distance so that you can anticipate the potholes coming in your way.

• Drive slowly if the road is full of bumps and potholes especially during the last days of winter and first days of spring.

• Tire pressure should be maintained at optimum level because under-inflated tires are prone to suffer from damage due to impact.