It happens all the time. Boom, clunk, you hit a pothole. Try as you might, you can’t always avoid the evil pothole. Sometimes they happen exactly where you need to drive. The worst of the potholes will do some damage that needs to be repaired. Here are some ways to tell if you sustained injury.

The Telltale Pothole

You might think your car can withstand a little bit of being bumped around by some rough road, but sometimes it cannot. If you hit a pothole hard and fast, you’ll sustain some damage. And it must be repaired. Pothole repairs run around $900 a year for Bay Area drivers. Here are some telltale signs that the pothole got you in the pocketbook.

  • Excessively bouncing on rough patches of road, losing control or swaying on turns, or bottoming out when hitting a bump are all signs that your steering or suspension have been damaged. Given these are safety controls, you need to get this repaired as soon as possible.
  • The car starts pulling to one side when you’re driving in a straight line. Test your car when you’re on a straight road and release your hands from the wheel for a few seconds. If it continues straight ahead, you’re fine. If it starts driving to one side, you’ve got a problem with wheel alignment. This is going to damage your tires, so get it fixed promptly.
  • Check your tires and their pressure once per month. If you find bulges or blisters in the sidewalls or frequent low tire pressure go Reliant Auto to have us look at the tire. You probably need a new one. We’ll check the rims as well.

Where Are the Potholes Coming From?

When we have a rainy season in Silicon Valley, the water seeps into the pavement through cracks, making the ground under the road wet. Then the road starts breaking apart. It is a fact of life here in the Bay Area. Have your car checked frequently for pothole damage.