You are driving at normal speed, you notice a pothole too late, and you hit it at full force. The car bounces, something bangs underneath, and you wonder whether everything is fine or you have damaged something. This is extremely common on BiH roads, especially after winter when the asphalt breaks apart. Most drivers keep going and hope for the best, but that single impact can cause damage invisible to the naked eye that gets worse day after day.
What actually happens when you hit a pothole
When a wheel drops into a deep pothole, the tire deforms sharply and presses against the rim almost to its edge. At that moment all the kinetic energy transfers to the wheel, then to the wheel bearing, tie rods, ball joints, and shock absorber. The deeper the hole and the sharper its edges, the harder the impact.
Low-profile tires (45 series and lower) have a thinner sidewall and absorb far less of the impact. With them the energy transfers almost directly to the rim and the suspension, so damage is both more frequent and more serious than with tall tires (60 series and above). If you drive a car with low-profile tires, pay extra attention to everything that follows.
Right after the impact - what you can check on the spot
Pull over to a safe place as soon as conditions allow. Walking around the car takes two minutes and can save you from a bigger problem.
- Visual tire inspection. Look at the sidewall of each tire on the side that hit the pothole. Look for bulges, sometimes called "bubbles." A bulge forms when the tire's internal structure breaks and air pushes the rubber outward. A bulge on the tire means the structure is permanently damaged and the tire can blow out while driving. It cannot be patched, it cannot be ignored, replacement is mandatory.
- Rim inspection. Alloy rims crack, steel rims bend. If you look at the rim's edge and see a visible deformation or crack, that is a problem. A damaged rim causes slow air loss and vibrations in the steering wheel.
- Tire pressure. If you have a gauge or a compressor in the car, check the pressure. A sudden pressure drop on one wheel points to tire or rim damage. Even if the pressure seems normal, note the reading and check again in a day or two.
- Underside of the car. Crouch down and look under the car as much as you can. Look for hanging plastic pieces, fluid leak marks, or anything that looks different from usual.
Symptoms in the first kilometers and days after the impact
Some problems do not show up immediately. Internal shock absorber damage, a hairline crack on a spring seat, or a slightly bent tie rod may only become noticeable once the car warms up and you cover a few dozen kilometers.
Watch for the following symptoms:
- The car pulls to one side. If you were driving straight before the impact but now the steering wheel sits slightly crooked or the car drifts left or right, the wheel alignment has shifted. Even a single hard hit can move the suspension angles enough to feel it.
- Steering wheel vibrations. A damaged rim or a tire with a bulge creates an imbalance that transfers to the steering wheel, usually at speeds above 60-80 km/h.
- New knocking or squeaking. If you hear a noise over bumps that was not there before, it is possible that a shock absorber is damaged, a spring has cracked, or a tie rod has loosened. You can read more about diagnosing such noises in the guide on knocking over bumps.
- Uneven tire wear. This is not visible right away, but after a few hundred kilometers with misaligned wheels, the inner or outer edge of the tire starts wearing faster than the rest. Inspect the tread surface after a week or two.
What a mechanic checks on the lift
A roadside visual inspection is useful but not enough. On a lift the mechanic can do what you cannot: load and unload every suspension joint, see the inner side of the tire and rim, and measure the alignment.
A standard post-pothole inspection covers the entire suspension on the side of the impact. Ball joints, tie rods, bushings, the stabilizer bar, the shock absorber, and the spring are each tested for play and damage. The rim is removed and inspected from the inside, because cracks on the inner edge are not visible while the tire is mounted. Alignment is measured and compared against factory specifications.
This inspection is neither complicated nor time-consuming. If the car is healthy, the job is done quickly. If something is found, you know exactly what needs replacing instead of driving with damage that keeps getting worse.
When it is probably fine, and when you must visit a workshop
If you hit a shallow pothole at low speed (below 30-40 km/h), your tires are high-profile (55 series and above), there is no visible damage, and the car behaves exactly as it did before the impact, everything is probably fine. Monitor the situation over the next few days and inspect the tires.
You should definitely visit a workshop if you notice any of these signs: a bulge on the tire, visible rim damage, pulling to one side, steering wheel vibrations, new knocking or squeaking over bumps, or a drop in tire pressure. Do not wait for the symptom to "develop" because with a damaged tire, waiting means the risk of a sudden blowout, and with misaligned wheels every kilometer accelerates tire wear.
Also, if the impact was hard but you do not notice anything unusual, it is still worth getting a check. Internal damage to springs and suspension joints can be invisible from the outside but start causing problems after a few hundred or a thousand kilometers.
BiH roads, especially local and regional ones, are full of potholes that appear overnight, particularly in early spring. Driving slower over rough patches and avoiding sharp pothole edges is the best prevention, but when the impact has already happened, a quick check can prevent a far more expensive repair. If you are not sure whether the hit left any damage, stop by the workshop and we will check the suspension on a lift - it is better to know than to guess.