Hit a pothole: what to check immediately and what to check a week later

A pothole strike rarely causes a single item of damage. Usually the visible part is a tyre or a wheel, while the expensive part surfaces weeks later, once the connection to the event has been forgotten.

What to check immediately

Stop somewhere safe and spend three minutes.

Tyre pressure and integrity. A sidewall bulge is not “it will do until the weekend”, it is a deferred blowout at speed. A sidewall cannot be repaired.

The wheel. A dent on the rim edge, a crack, distortion. An alloy wheel cracks under a hard strike, and the crack may be on the inner face — invisible without removing the wheel.

Fluid leaks under the car.

Is the steering wheel straight? If it sits off-centre on a straight road, the alignment has already moved.

Knocks when pulling away — at low speed with the window down.

What surfaces later

This is the part that makes the article worth finishing.

Uneven tyre wear. Disturbed alignment consumes the tread in thousands of miles, not years. That is the most expensive deferred consequence.

A hum at speed — a damaged wheel bearing. It appears weeks later; covered in the humming article.

Steering vibration under braking — a distorted disc or damaged brake component.

A weeping damper — oil traces on the body.

Knocks over bumps — an anti-roll bar link or a top mount, the cheapest item on the list.

A steering rack leak — which does not appear straight away.

What the electronics see

A scanner is unexpectedly useful here: some consequences are logged by modules before any symptom is noticeable.

ABS sensor codes. The sensor sits on the hub; an impact shifts the gap to the ring and the signal becomes unstable. That is often the first objective sign.

Steering angle sensor codes. After the geometry changes, the wheel sits off-centre while the sensor still counts from the old zero. That needs calibration, not replacement.

Stability control codes. The module sees a mismatch between steering angle and actual motion.

The four wheel speeds in live data — a wheel with a distorted rim sometimes gives a wandering value.

Camera and radar codes — on cars with driver assistance a hard strike can upset the calibration.

The procedure

1. Inspect tyre and wheel immediately, both faces of the wheel.
2. Check the pressure — a drop tells you about the seal.
3. Drive on a level road: does it pull, does the wheel sit straight.
4. Read the codes — ABS, steering angle, stability.
5. A few days later, inspect the tread for uneven wear.
6. Get the alignment done if any symptom is present. It costs less than a set of tyres.

When not to drive on

• A bulge or a cut in the sidewall.
• A cracked wheel.
• A sharp knock in the suspension over every bump.
• The car pulling hard enough that you have to hold the wheel against it.
• Fluid leaking from behind a wheel — it could be brake fluid.

About claiming

If you intend to claim for a pothole, the case is won on the spot, not afterwards.

Record: a photograph of the pothole with recognisable surroundings, photographs of the damage, and its dimensions next to an object for scale. Then follow your local procedure.

In short

• The visible part is tyre and wheel; the expensive part surfaces over weeks.
• An alloy wheel crack is often on the inner face.
• ABS and steering angle codes often appear before any noticeable symptom.
• An alignment after a strike costs less than a set of tyres.
• A sidewall bulge cannot be repaired and will not “wait until the weekend”.

Download the app — ABS, steering angle, and stability codes are read with an ELM327 adapter over Bluetooth SPP on Android.