Q: Damage to car after hitting pothole.

asked by on January 11, 2016

Damaged something on my car when I hit a pothole. The alignment is off and the top end pushes inward. When I drive over speed bumps, the car sounds and feels weird.

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I would first start with a steering, suspension, and brakes inspection performed by a professional from YourMechanic. Tie rods, ball joints, cv axles, brake parts, control arms, and otherwise could have been damaged during the impact. After the inspection is done and any obvious repairs are completed, have the alignment checked to diagnose any damage to parts that are not visible to the eye. Even slight movement in any particular suspension part outside its normal range of movement can drastically affect alignment angles. After all obvious repairs are done, it is quite likely that more parts will need replacement after the alignment is checked. If not, have the car aligned. If more parts are necessary to replace, then wait until after those are installed to have your vehicle aligned.

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