I have a 2003 Jetta GLS.
The other day my brakes locked up going down a hill and I slid into a snowbank/curb.
now there is a continuous thunk/knocking sound coming from the front right tire. I googled a bunch of stuff and I think it may be a bent axel or messed up tire bearing but I honestly am unsure.
Any advice?
The best advice that anyone could give you is to drive directly (very slowly and very carefully) to the nearest competent mechanic for examination. You could have a bent wheel and/or a damaged wheel bearing and/or a damaged CV joint and/or damage to steering components. Translation: The car is a potential safety hazard at this point.
The best course of action would be to have the car towed to a mechanic before you cause an accident.
Good advice there. No point taking risks.
+2 Drive only on surface streets to avoid fast traffic. The car needs to be on a lift for a thorough inspection of the drive train and suspension. You might see something if you can crawl under it, but don’t count on it.
The only thing I’ll add is that you should have never driven this car home. You should have had your insurance company send a tow truck and take it directly to a body shop.
+3. Especially on the towtruck
You could also have damaged a ball joint, and if you’d ever seen one of these that let go and allowed the wheel to fold up under the car, you would not have driven it home.