Q: Tire damaged hitting curb.

asked by on January 13, 2016

The driver's side front tire hit a curb. It is now flat and we are afraid that it may have shifted the alignment. The car turns on and runs, but we can't drive it anywhere. The body of the vehicle does not look damaged, only the tire.

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After any sort of impact with the suspension you can have a series of parts that need to be replaced. When a mechanic comes across a situation like this the first thing that would be done is a visual inspection. If something is visually bent right from the start then those would have to be replaced. The weakest parts are the lower control arm and the strut. The wheel hub would also typically get bent. Once any of the initial parts are replaced and a new tire and wheel are installed then the vehicle can be put on an alignment machine to see if anything else is bent. You will need to take the vehicle to a shop that has an alignment machine that specializes in suspension repair, or a certified mechanic, like one from YourMechanic, who can repair your car.

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