By paNOW

What can spring potholes do to your vehicle?

Mar 20, 2014 | 12:41 AM

Under layers of slushy snow and puddles the melt is revealing a lot of potholes covering the streets of Regina.

It can be tough to avoid all of them but driving over too many, or even one depending on how deep it is, could cause some serious damage to your vehicle.

“It definitely breaks things like springs and struts and shocks and stuff like that. It changes wheel alignment which wrecks your tires,” said Roy Currie, an auto technician at Auto Electric.

He said now that the frost is mostly out off the ground and in the road, as more potholes emerge, he’s starting to see more people come in with tire or wheel-related problems. He’s not absolutely swamped right now but said this is the season for these kinds of repairs.

“If you’re lucky it’s just a tire. If it’s really, really bad it’s a rim,” said his co-worker, Larry Hammett.

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Just one tire and a rim could cost a couple of hundred dollars but the cost could rise if there is a more serious problem. He said the suspension could fall apart after a more long-term wear and tear of driving over many potholes. That’s especially after a long-term wear and tear which could cause the suspension to fall apart.

It’s not uncommon to get caught in a situation where you have to drive over a pothole, so Hammett explained one major sign that could mean something is wrong.

“When you’re going straight down a good road and the steering wheel is vibrating, going back-and-forth, back-and-forth by itself,” he said.

Aside from avoiding potholes, Hammett explained there are two effective ways to reduce damage. The first one is to make sure your tires are fully inflated. He said if you have a low tire and hit a pothole it will likely hit the rim and bend it. The other option is to simply slow down.

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