Your car’s suspension plays a key role: It keeps your car up off the road and helps provide a comfy and stable ride. It should keep your wheels firmly planted over bumps and through curves.
Your suspension system has many parts. It’s basically everything that connects your wheels to the car’s frame. These are heavy duty parts that do a lot of work. They need to be inspected for damage and excessive wear at least once a year. Colorado driving with it’s multitude of potholes, road debris, rocks, ice and other obstacles can really take a toll on suspension systems, so at John’s Auto Care we feel it’s important to inspect at every oil change service.
Here are some warning signs that your suspension may have problems:
- the car pulls to one side;
- it wanders;
- the steering is erratic;
- you see uneven tire wear;
- you experience a poor ride or handling;
- you see oil leaking from shocks
. . . You just don’t feel in control when you’re driving.
Some suspension parts just wear out with use. Shocks and struts will eventually lose their ability to control your ride. Wheel bearings need to be repacked every couple of years. And some suspension pieces need to be lubricated when you get your oil changed. This is an important function of a professional oil change service that many do-it-yourselfers neglect – which ultimately leads to suspension part failures.
Your suspension can be damaged or knocked out of alignment in an accident. Even a minor “accident”, like hitting a curb or pothole when driving around Boulder and surrounding areas can mess things up. With a minor accident it’s tempting to just get an alignment or wheel balance to correct the problem. But if there’s some damage, a simple alignment won’t actually fix the problem, and you’ll just have to align it again after the repairs are made. So if you have an accident, get your suspension system inspected right away. Suspension problems should be fixed immediately because they can lead to unsafe handling.
One big cause of suspension damage is potholes – those nasty magnets that seem to draw our tires right into them. Well, Here are some tips for avoiding damage from potholes: First, keep your tires at their full air pressure. That gives tires their maximum resiliency and will hopefully keep your wheels or other suspension parts from crunching on a big hole. Next, just pay attention. When you see a hole you can’t miss, slow down before you hit it. Driving at a slower speed will limit the damage, and may keep your drink from spilling. But don’t brake directly over the pothole. That will cause the car’s weight to shift forward and add to the potential damage.
John’s Auto Care Give us a call today at 303.442.2932. Or stop by at 1900 55th St. #104, Boulder, CO 80301