hi all,

today i hit a piece of wood (probably 3x3, if not larger) on an interchange. the impact left very strong. i stopped my car shortly after to check for damages. tires seemed fine, except some scretches on the tire wall. rims appeared to be ok, at least didn't looked dinted visually.

when i resumed my trip, i noticed i need to keep my steering wheel a little to the left in order to keep the car straignt. i also noticed a little more shaking than before (don't know if i became super sensitive afterwards or not).

i wonder if it's possible to damage control arm, ball joint, or any other suspension parts? i have already made an appointment at longo for alignment. i am also going to get my tires rebalanced just to make sure vibration is not coming from the tires.

anyone experienced similar event? any thoughts?

thanks in advance.

 

I'd bet a cup of coffee that all you need to do is re-balance your wheels and get an alignment.

 

umm let me guess, the piece of wood hit your pessenger side?

if so, i guess it's about balance and alignment. have the shop check on the wheel to make sure it's not bent (inside) or out of wrong, rebalance al the wheels.

and then also do alignment, see if ti's back to spec. hopefully you didn't bend the lower arm

 

it was actually on the driver side. it came up too quickly and i didn't have time to avoid it.

i have done the wheel balance already. the shop tech confirmed that those wheels on the driver side were out of balance. tomorrow i am going to longo for alignment. i will ask them to check the rims and all suspension parts.

will update with you all when its done.

 

you will definately want to inspect the tires themselves. An impact with a 3x3 piece of wood may cause the belts to separate and the tire will eventually fail. jack up the vehicle and rotate the tires to make sure you dont see any bulging or irregularities. Look on the inside of the tire also. Even though the shop balanced the wheels, sometimes their not always looking for these types of defects.

 

the costco tire center did look at those tires. tech didnt' notice any bulging. but they didn't take the tires off the rims and check from inside though.

man, i hope those tires will be covered under their road hazard warranty. those tires are brand new, only 2000 miles so far!

 

Not the actual insides of the tires but the inner side of the tire near the tie rod and suspension components. Best way is to roll the tire on the vehicle and look underneath the car for bulging of the tire. road hazard usually does cover separation of tire belts, so i wouldnt worry too much about it....

 

awww...

went to longo lexus this morning 1st thing. the alignment was done in 2 hours. there was no evidence of impact damages. what a relief!

this is my 1st time to longo lexus after they remoded! it's a beautiful place! you can see the mechanics working on cars right from the guest waiting area!! awesome!!

i will be going to longo again in a few months for the 30k service.

thanks everyone for sharing.

 

so there is no more vibration? glad to hear man

 

well, i think i might have been a little too sensitive. i think it comes from roadway. when i am on a smooth section of freeway, the car seems pretty smooth.

while driving home yesterday, i noticed the tech over corrected the steering position. now it tilts toward right while car is travelling straight. if i am in el monte area, i might stop by and see if they can do a quick adjustment.

a lesson learned - pay more attention while on the road!

thanks!!

 

just an update....

after driving the car for a few months, i still noticed some sort of vibration at freeway speed. i finally decided to take the car back in costco tire center to rebalance all 4 tires.

guess what!? 2 of the 4 tires were little off; one off by 1/2 oz and the other 1 oz. the tech said it shouldn't make that much of a difference, but appearently it did. after the rebalance, the car doesn't vibrate anymore at freeway speed.

 

good our cars are super sensitive to wheel balance