The saga of the pothole continues.

"sefeing, actually bought an E46" (sefeing90) 06/10/2014 at 21:36 • Filed to: wintersucks, pothole

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This is half asking for advice, half a rant. I copy and pasted what I posted to r/mechanicadvice since I didn't want to re-write the whole thing though.

Hey there. Another question for you guys. Back in March or April, I hit what may have been the largest pothole I've ever seen on my two month old car. Since then, I had gotten an alignment, a new rim, and most recently (today) and new tire.

The pothole knocked the car out of alignment and bent the rim. The separated belts in the tire didn't appear until more recently where it got worse and worse very rapidly.

Literally JUST got back from Ford, and am even more frustrated. They replaced the tire on the rear left. The mechanic had checked it out, to determine which tire was bad, and had selected this one. This fixed a lot of noise, however it has made another issue more apparent.

I am getting a circular rumble that I can feel in the floorpan at around 25MPH, getting quicker and quicker as the speed increases, to the point it develops a slight drone. I also get a shake in the steering around 40MPH, which continues up until somewhere around 70. I had thought that the sound was exaggerated when I made a right turn, but cannot confirm that anymore.

When I dropped the car off to have the new tire mounted and balanced, I mentioned the noise, but they couldn't duplicate. I also didn't have time to do a ride-along, since I was on lunch from work.

I am growing more and more frustrated, because of the amount of headache this god damn pothole has caused me. I bought a new car for it to be NEW and not have this many problems. It's been in the shop more than 7 times in the 7000 miles and 3 months I've owned it. I'm finding myself wishing I had bought a truck instead, just to deal with the terrible roads and winters.

From what I can think, this noise could be a bearing, which would make sense considering the size of the hole I hit. I wouldn't of been surprised it it bent the whole front left suspension out. I've had it checked more than once, and they keep telling me it's fine, but apparently it's not. At this point, I don't even care about a warranty claim, I'll pay the money to repair just to be able to enjoy my NEW car as a NEW car again.

My apologized for the rant, but I'm so damn heated right now. Any clue as to what could possibly be wrong?

Thanks in advance, for the help and letting me vent.

Squid > sefeing, actually bought an E46 06/10/2014 at 21:46

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If you do the NASCAR weave and the noise changes frequency then it most definitely is a wheel bearing.

On to the whole truck issue, maybe you should have gotten a bigger car, but that wouldn't make you immune to pot holes. Just keep an eye out for them and do your best to avoid them. Hopefully you can get all the damage fixed correctly and just make sure you bring the car in when you have the time to explain where, when, and how the noise happens.

sefeing, actually bought an E46 > Squid 06/10/2014 at 21:49

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Calling it the NASCAR weave made me laugh. Thanks for that haha. I think it does. If i turn, it seems to make it more apparent. I'm gonna try and go back Thursday or Friday to see if I can't get this all sorted out.

GeorgeyBoy > sefeing, actually bought an E46 06/10/2014 at 21:53

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Can only really be a couple things. Bad hub (wheel bearing) or still a wheel issue. It seems like 70% of the time it's usually always still a wheel issue, rim or tire. I'm not sure where you hit the pothole, but moving the wheels around could eliminate the possibilities.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > sefeing, actually bought an E46 06/10/2014 at 22:08

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Sounds very much like a wheel beating to me. But bad tires will occasionally make sounds vaguely similar to this. It is possible that you had/have more than one bad tire and the mechanic just missed it.

jalopanon-yow > sefeing, actually bought an E46 06/11/2014 at 14:19

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I feel for you, lost several rims over the years and have had to replace countless ball joints and control arms as well. Can't stand watching people (brainless? or either a lease....) hitting potholes that are VERY easily avoided....oh wait their tailgating and don't see what the road surface is.

sefeing, actually bought an E46 > jalopanon-yow 06/11/2014 at 14:26

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A friend actually just gave me a sticker of that. I haven't put it on my car yet, but I'm considering it.

jalopanon-yow > sefeing, actually bought an E46 06/11/2014 at 14:34

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Go for it! It's a fair warning to those who ride your bumper, I weave and slow down over dips (also drive offset on the road out of the tire ruts)....you'd be amazed how quickly drivers fall back and stay there, or pass you quick just because. Either way, ideal.