[ckunke002]

Today coming home from school, a construction zone was flagging cars. For whatever reason, a huge bump in the road that previously hadn't existed was right around the corner and took up the hole lane (like a speed bump but steeper and sharper). I smacked it pretty hard and the whole front of the car shot up a little and even stopped my stereo for a second.

My question in all of this is what should I do next? I've never had an experience like this driving before. Should I just forget about it and wait to see if any problems occur? What could I have potentially done to my wheels or tires or any other parts?

Thanks for your time!

 

[SD_GR]

You could have bent something. First, see if you can find something wrong yourself. If not, consider whether you want to take it to a shop and have it evaluated; if it is damaged, send the bill the appropriate municipality and be prepared to go to court to get your $

 

[ckunke002]

How much would I be looking to spend if I took it to be evaluated?

 

[SD_GR]

Sorry I don't know.

 

[teflon_jones]

Most shops will look a car over for free, but if they don't find anything wrong, or they find something wrong and you decide not to fix it, they'll often charge an hour labor or about $100.

The most common thing that will happen is a bent wheel and messing up your alignment. Drive it for a bit and see if anything seems wrong before you take it to a shop.

 

[Mikie13]

^^^This...if nothing feels or sounds wrong (shudder in the wheel, car pulling to either side, clunking from struts, etc)...then just continue driving as normal. Next time you get maintenance done, maybe throw in an alignment.

I just hit a huge rock on the highway here near Philly as I was changing lanes...I can see a minor dent in my wheel, but no pull any direction or any shudder. It's still holding air, so it was more or less just the outer lip of the wheel. Chalk it up as another battle wound...

 

[mangostick]

(like a speed bump but steeper and sharper). I smacked it pretty hard and the whole front of the car shot up a little and even stopped my stereo for a second.

hmm.. sounds like just about the entire road system around hampton roads Va..... I manage to hit stuff like this just about everyday (obviously not on purpose). Pay attention to it as said and make sure nothing is amiss.. if the car starts shuddering, pulling, shaking, howling or humming get it in and have it looked at. If none of those things happen you're fine.

 

[ckunke002]

Cool, thanks all!

Since I paid for oil changes and all the usual routine check ups at the subaru dealership, would it be reasonable for me to ask them to check it out?

 

[teflon_jones]

They usually look over the car whenever you bring it in since they'd like to find something wrong and charge you money to fix it. So it's not just reasonable it's expected.