How to tell if winter took its toll on your suspension, steering or wheel alignment

The winter surely took its toll on our Wilmette roads by creating potholes, humps and bumps. These telltale signs of a Midwestern winter also might have done a number on your vehicle’s suspension and wheel alignment.

Many of us think shock absorbers and struts exist merely to provide a comfortable ride by minimizing the effect of all the above-mentioned “road warts.”

In reality, the real purpose of a strut or shock absorber is to keep you safe by ensuring tires maintain road contact and don’t bounce up or leave the pavement when a vehicle encounters bumps. Worn shocks also make it harder for a car to stop, adding anywhere between 10 to 20 percent to braking distance. That could mean the difference between an accident and reaching your destination unscathed.

At the very least, vehicles needing a wheel alignment or shocks or struts can drain your wallet due to poor gas mileage.

Fortunately, telltale signs exist to alert you to possible problems with suspension or wheel alignment so your friends at Hong Kong Auto Service can correct the problem.

Telltale signs of compromised shock absorbers/struts or a vehicle in need of alignment include:

• Nose-dives during braking.
• Vibrations and an unpleasant ride (including steering-wheel vibrations, rocking and rattling).
• Uneven tire wear or tire cupping.
• Excessive rough-surface bounce or “bottoming out.”
• Veering in side winds or swerving due to road conditions or steering activity.
• Traction loss during accelerating, braking or cornering.
• Tire noise, such as squealing.
• Vehicle pulls to right or left.
• Steering wheel is off-center compared to vehicle driving direction.

A good comparison is that of a person wearing shoes. If someone were to walk on his or her shoes’ inner or outer edges, she or he’d wear out the footwear prematurely. The same goes for a car’s tires put under the stress of an out-of-alignment set of wheels.

If you have questions on your vehicle’s suspension or shocks and struts, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re happy to help.