Hit a Pothole? Here's What Might Have Been Damaged

Bad pavement can affect tires, wheels, steering, and suspension.

Benjamin Hunting | 

Oct 2, 2024 | 3 min read

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Hitting a pothole is cause for alarm, especially at higher speeds. The potential for potholes to damage tires, wheels, and suspension components is real and needs to be taken seriously after a particularly hard hit. Here's what to look for following a collision with a pothole.

Bent or Scraped Wheels Are Common

Wheel damage is one of the most common casualties after colliding with a pothole. Especially considering how many modern vehicles come with large-diameter wheels wrapped in thin-sidewall tires that offer less to cushion any impact, a pothole hit with enough speed at just the right angle can bend, scrape, or even crack a rim.

Damaged wheels can usually be spotted visually, but a vibration from the offending rim while driving is another sign that something has suffered structurally.

A Torn or Bulging Sidewall Is a Bad Sign

Serious damage to a tire's sidewall is also common after a pothole encounter. Sometimes, jagged concrete or asphalt can tear a chunk out of the rubber itself, while in other cases, the force of the impact can damage the tire internally and cause air to leak into the sidewall area, creating an ominous bulge. Damaged or bulging sidewalls are serious and typically require that the tire be replaced.

Pothole-Damaged Tires Can Pose Dangerous Risks

Hitting a pothole at high speed can, in the worst-case scenario, lead to a blowout. This is the term for when the tire is incapable of absorbing the force of the blow and completely fails, causing a minor explosion as the pressurized air inside of it tears through the rubber.

A blowout usually makes itself known through a loud sound followed by a steering wheel jerk toward the side of the car where the damage has been done. More extreme blowouts can even cause body damage as strips of the tire's carcass are flung up inside the fender.

It's also possible for an impact to knock a tire off its bead or give the rim a nearly imperceptible — but still seal-breaking — bend, allowing air to slowly escape until the tire goes flat.

Steering and Suspension Can Suffer After a Blowout

Your vehicle's tie rods help keep its steering centered and connected. The force of impacting a pothole can bend a tie rod just enough so that it no longer guides your steering straight and true, pulling the wheel to one side or causing it to shake.

Other suspension components that can be damaged by a pothole include control arms, which can be bent by a collision, and the end links, which connect sway bars on either side of the vehicle and can snap or suffer from bushing failure.

Underside Components May Be Damaged or Even Lost

If the pothole is deep enough, the impact may bottom out your suspension completely. When this happens, the underside of your car could scrape along the asphalt.

Anything hanging low can be exposed to a serious shock, with oil pans, exhaust piping, and mufflers at particular risk of being dented, cracked, or even knocked off the vehicle.

Benjamin Hunting

Benjamin Hunting is a writer and podcast host who contributes to a number of newspapers, automotive magazines, and online publications. More than a decade into his career, he enjoys keeping the shiny side up during track days and always has one too many classic vehicle projects partially disassembled in his garage at any given time. Remember, if it's not leaking, it's probably empty.