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Pothole season is upon us and as much as we try to steer around these obnoxious obstacles, sooner your later, we're bound to hit one. As soon as you hit a pothole and say to yourself “uh oh, that didn’t sound very good” you will need to inspect your vehicle for damage or stop by Hilltop Tire and have one of our experts take a look.

Here are the parts on your vehicle that take the brunt from these giant craters.

Tires – Your tires don’t need to “blow-out” to suffer damage. While a blown-out tire is a worst-case scenario, potholes often have hard edges and hidden sharp spots that can cause air loss, separated tread, or bulges. You don’t want to wait until your tire blows. If you see a bubble or damaged tread – get it replaced right away.

Wheels– Hitting a pothole can also cause damage to your wheel, such as a bent, chipped, or cracked wheel. This creates a problem if the damaged rim cannot form a seal with your tires to hold in the air. If your tire keeps losing air pressure, get your wheels checked by our tire pros to see if you need any wheel repair. If you’re lucky, we can straighten out some bent rims, if you’re not so lucky, you’ll have to replace it.

Suspension – Potholes can affect the steering and suspension system such as causing your car to be knocked out of alignment, damage to shocks and struts, ruin ball joints – you name it. It is recommended to have your suspension system checked if you hit a pothole. Our skilled technicians can get your vehicle back into alignment before the misalignment chews through tires causing more damage.

Exhaust– If a pothole is extremely deep, your vehicle could “bottom out”. This means that your exhaust system comes in contact with the pavement which can rip holes in the pipes. If this happens, listen for unusual noises while driving, which can mean the exhaust system has been damaged and needs to be repaired.

If you hit a pothole, stop by Hilltop Tire Service for a complimentary vehicle inspection. Our technicians know what to look for and are experts in fixing up pothole damage. As always, we will never recommend a service you don’t need and it’s our goal to keep you and your family safe, even if some roads have other intentions!