Potholes: How They Damage Your Car and What to Do About It

Potholes are a common sight here in the Philippines. Not only are they a sight for sore eyes, but they can also cause a significant damage to your vehicle.

Potholes occur when the soil beneath the concrete gets weakened or displaced. As they are continuously driven over by vehicles, and exposed to rain (water), cracks form in and on the surface of the concrete (pavement), which eventually becomes a hole that grows wider and deeper with time.

How potholes damage your vehicle

There are two factors that affect how serious the damage is. First, how fast you're driving. Second, how deep the hole is.

Generally, the faster you are and the deeper the pothole is, the more damage it can inflict on your car. Here are the most common parts affected when they happen:

Suspension

Sudden hits on potholes can include the suspension's most crucial parts, like tie rods, steering rack, shocks, struts, bearings, seals, and ball joints. They can cause different suspension problems, such as the following:

• Misalignment - steering wheel keeps going off-center, uneven wearing of tires, vehicle keeps pulling to one side, poor steering
• Broken ball joints, shocks, or struts - unusual sounds and vibrations, uncontrollable steering, rough/poor ride quality

Undercarriage

The undercarriage is one of the most damaged parts when your car hits a pothole because of its close proximity to the road.

Your car's undercarriage can get punctured when it hits a pothole. This can cause fluid to leak, and when left on its own, quickly form rust that can spread to nearby areas.

Tires and/or Wheel

Tire damage can occur, especially if the blow is hard enough to bend its rim. When this happens, the seal between the rim and the tire loosens, and causes the tire to leak air and flatten. Aluminum rims are the most vulnerable to this type of problem.

Another symptom of tire damage is a bulge or blister on your tire's sidewalls.

Exhaust System

One key indication that the exhaust system is affected is when you hear strange sounds coming from the exhaust.

How to lessen your chances of driving through potholes

It's not always easy to avoid potholes, no matter how careful you are. And they can creep up on you when you least expect them to happen. Still, there are things you can do to make things easier for you to spot them.

Clean your windshield and headlights

It's obvious, but there are still some who don't consistently practice it. A clean windshield allows you a clearer view of your surroundings--making you see better.

Clear headlights allows more light to shine through at night. This makes you see things better even when it's dark.

Check the cars in front of you

Do you see cars ahead of you suddenly swerving? It might be because of a pothole. It's best to follow their lead and remain alert at all times.

Be careful when driving on gravel roads

Gravel roads are notorious for having potholes, maybe because they're so susceptible to it. Practice caution when driving on them, especially at night.

Slow down when driving on wet roads

Heavy rains can fill up those holes, which can make them more difficult to see. Remain alert at all times when driving on these roads.

Maintain good tire pressure

Properly inflated tires not only make driving your car more efficient, but they can also act as a good buffer between a road depression and your car's rims.

What to do when you can't avoid running through a pothole

 

What if you accidentally run over a "crater"? Here are some things you can do to lessen the damage:

Slow down before you hit it

Take your foot off the accelerator, and press the brake gently and gradually.

Don't brake directly over it

When you push the pedal hard, it will cause your vehicle's entire weight forward, which can push it further inside the pothole. This will exacerbate the problem even more.

Remain in control

The best thing to do when driving over a pothole is to firmly grip the steering wheel so you will have better control of it as it goes down, and make sure to angle your car in such a way that it goes straight through the pothole (not diagonally or at any other angle). This will lessen the chances of damaging your tire's sidewalls and wheel.