I was recently driving down the road in my Infiniti G37 and, when changing into the left lane, I hit some bump in the road causing my hand to jerk and making me lose control of the car. I immediately pulled the steering wheel back to the right to try to regain control but it was too late at this point; the car spun to the right even farther than it had to the left so I pulled back to the left and the car turned completely sideways, facing left now, and hit the curb, it drifted for another second or two before turning another 180 degrees to the left, leaving me sideways again but facing the opposite direction (facing towards the right of the road). I didn’t notice any damage apart from a dent in the rim of the front passenger side tire, probably from where it hit the curb, but the car felt strange driving afterwards and the orange slipstream/hydroplaning indicator was on for the rest of the drive home. The car was wobbly and just felt off. I’m not sure if this is because of damage to the axle caused by striking the curb or from the car briefly moving backwards while it was in drive… I’m no expert in cars by any stretch, any thoughts?
You could have bent suspension components to flat spotting the tires.
Take it in and get it inspected.
Tester
You may have a dented a rim and a bent tie rod end. It happens. It could be worse but that may be all. It needs a competent diagnosis.
How’s the tread on your tires?
You need to have a qualified tech take a look under the car. If you dented a wheel you very likely bent a suspension component and maybe the wheel, or hub or wheel bearing. You at least need an alignment. The warning light is telling you a sensor has failed. Don’t wait, get it checked out right away.
The tread on the back tires is almost new, while on the front it’s a bit worn but still good… Thank you all for replying so quickly, sounds like I definitely need to have it checked out. Alignments aren’t too expensive. I’m really hoping that’s all that it needs…
Good luck and please let us know what is found.
The steering angle sensor is out of calibration due to the damaged steering and suspension parts. After the damaged parts are replaced and the wheel alignment performed the steering angle sensor can be calibrated.
Another possibility, the wheel speed sensor was damaged and now isn’t registering the wheel speed correctly, which will confuse the computer. It might cause the ABS to actuate possibly too.
Whatever happened, get it checked out ASAP. Your alignment is probably way off now, so you’re probably wearing out one or more of your tires at a rapid rate.
At the very least, it probably needs a new tire and quite possibly tie rods . . . along with a steering alignment after all the damaged parts get replaced
So I just heard back from the Infiniti dealership and they’re saying it’s going to be $7,000 to fix! Like I said, I’m no expert on cars, but that just seems unreal. Do you think they’re just overcharging me as dealerships tend to do, or is it actually possible for repairs to be that expensive just from hitting a curb? I was ready to pay a couple hundred, even a thousand, but as I said, $7,000 just seems insane.
Yes it is . If you have full coverage insurance use it. If not then the term ( second opinion applies ).
No idea. You didn’t itemize the recommended repairs. If they didn’t itemize the repairs, they did you a disservice. You should get an itemized list of repairs and have them explain it to you. They earn the money by making the repairs and explaining the process so that you understand it.
I have performed $7,000 suspension repairs after a curb strike and the insurance companies paid for it. Suspension parts and wheels can be expensive, some insurance companies will only pay for used parts if available.
Well ?
I’ve repaired vehicles with his type of damage where the engine/trans axle cradle was bent from the impact. And the cradle was replaced with a used one. It still wasn’t easy or cheap. Many hours of labor.
If the vehicle sustained this type of damage, and the dealer is doing the repairs, it’s easy to hit that number.
Tester
This is the list of repairs that was sent to me:
1.)Left rear lower link, control arm. Special order 3 days out
2.)Right front wheel bearing and right front steering knuckle. Special order 1 day out
3.)Alignment
Sub total $2001.00
4.) 2 front tires 225/50R18 $523.47
5.) mount and balance 2 rear tires $60
6.) OEM staggered rear wheels are not available, recc to get all 4 same size
7.) BETTER OPTION = OEM wheel option all 4 = 225/45R19 $4213.64 plus 4 tires $990.80 Hankook Ventus. Wheels are special order 1 day out
Sub total $5204.44 for the BETTER OPTION
Sub total $2001.00
Sub total $7205.44 plus tax on partsAgain, seems like a lot just from a curb strike, but from what everyone is saying, it seems that it’s certainly possible…
@harrisonwolf42_151346 You have never answered the insurance question . But if this thing is drivable and you will be paying for it find an independent collision shop. You can get after market wheels of the same size and less expensive tires. The dealer is not really padding the costs it is just that a dealer has different guidelines as to the finished work.
I can’t remember whether or not the insurance is full coverage, I’m not sure… Either way, I don’t want to risk driving it and messing something else up, it’s not in a drivable condition. I might end up having it towed and doing that though. I appreciate the suggestions.
Well , call your insurance because you might be covered .