Most people don’t think about their car, truck, or SUV’s suspension until there’s a problem. This isn’t always a good thing, as catching suspension issues early can reduce the damage to other parts. We can inspect your vehicle’s suspension if you think there might be something wrong. We can also maintain it for you so you can avoid the following five signs of suspension problems.
Fighting to Drive Straight
When you drive straight your vehicle should go straight without a fight. If you find yourself constantly righting your car, truck, or SUV, you have a suspension or wheel problem. A vehicle that isn’t aligned properly will head to the right or left even though it’s being steered straight. Pulling to a side can also be caused by bad or underinflated tires or a problem with the steering rack or tie rods.
Feeling All the Bumps
Unless you actually are off-roading you shouldn’t feel as if you’re off-roading. Your vehicle’s suspension is designed to suspend road bumps. In other words, your wheels, shocks, and struts should absorb the bumps so you don’t feel them. You’ll feel them a little bit but all the time. If you have a severely bumpy ride, it’s probably your shocks and/or struts or a leaf spring that has worn out.
Vehicle Sits Weird
If you have a broken suspension spring, your vehicle will sink lower on that corner. Each wheel has a spring, so if you broke the right-front spring, your vehicle will tip to right-front when it’s parked. It’s important to get the spring replaced as soon as possible because it can cause problems when you drive. Shock absorbers oftentimes break suspension springs if they compress them too tightly.
Vehicle Moves Too Much
Just as your vehicle’s suspension is designed to help absorb bumpy roads it’s also designed to absorb stop-and-go movement. If your car, truck, or SUV didn’t have a suspension system, it would nose dive every time you put on the brakes. It would lean to the side when you turn a corner. Finally, it would squat when you step on the gas. If these things are happening, your suspension is shot.
Steering Is a Chore
Your steering, whether power or manual, is part of your vehicle’s suspension system. If you are having trouble steering your vehicle, or if the steering wheel is off-center, something is wrong. You might feel your steering wheel slip when you turn it, or you might feel it catch. You may also hear grinding or clunking noises. These are all bad signs that need to be looked at right away.
Give Auto Solutions a call to set up an appointment and we’ll check your vehicle’s suspension. We can fix whatever is wrong and also maintain the other systems in your car, truck, or SUV.
