# Hitting Potholes at High Speed

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/hitting-potholes-at-high-speed/61736>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** accord, tires, wheels, honda\
**Created:** [February 22, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hitting-potholes-at-high-speed/61736 "2011-02-22T18:55:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jj29096](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@jj29096](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jj29096)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hitting-potholes-at-high-speed/61736/1 "2011-02-22T18:55:02Z")

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Last night I was driving about 65-70 mph on the freeway when I heard an enormous BANG that sounded like a gunshot. I realized I had hit a huge pothole, but miraculously, the car kept going without any shimmying or shaking – the tire didn’t blow out. BUT, can this type of thing damage or weaken the rim or axle ?

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hitting-potholes-at-high-speed/61736/2 "2011-02-22T18:58:30Z")

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```
[i] can this type of thing damage or weaken the rim[/i] 

```

Sure can. I don’t know about the axle, I suspect it might depending on the axel design etc.

It certainly does no good to your car. I might add that standard cheap steel wheels are less likely to be damaged as they are stronger than most alloy wheels.

it also can damage the tyres.

It might be a good idea to have your car, wheels and tyres checked out. A good tyre shop should be able to handle it for you. Good Luck

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**Author:** ![andrew\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@andrew\_j](https://community.cartalk.com/u/andrew_j)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hitting-potholes-at-high-speed/61736/3 "2011-02-22T19:03:12Z")

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It can bend the wheel. It may have damaged the tire. Take a close look on both sides of tire for any sidewall buldges or splitting.

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**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/hitting-potholes-at-high-speed/61736/4 "2011-02-22T19:04:04Z")

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Yes. I would have the entire suspension system checked as soon as possible. If a tire blows or the suspension fails the next time you are traveling at 70+ miles an hour it can ruin your entire day or worse. That gunshot noise you heard was something on your Accord taking a direct hit.