A few days ago I had to swerve to avoid an oncoming lorry and dropped the nearside wheels off the edge of the road into a pothole. I don't think it was terribly deep but without time to brake it made quite a thump. Now it may just me being a bit neurotic but since then it sounds noisier inside the car and I could feel a slight vibration. Had the wheel alignment checked and been told it's OK and had the front wheels re-balanced  (I was told they were out "a bit"). That's got rid of a lot of the vibration and the tyre noise seems less inside but even on the smoothest roads I can feel what I can only describe as a constant irregular vibration - almost as though I'm driving on a well maintained stony track and it seems I can feel it more coming up through the seat rather than through the steering. The car's not pulling to one side or the other. 

 

Annoyingly the car was only serviced at beginning of the month and if had been the other way round I'd have got the dealer to take a look. 

 

I've had a look round and can't see anything untoward and am beginning to think it always drove like this and after the pothole I'm just looking for problems but I'm sure the ride was smoother than in the past.

 

Before I go rushing off to book myself in for what might turn out to be a painful lesson in "don't ask the dealer to fix it if it isn't broken" any thoughts as to anything that might have gone wrong but leave the car driveable but with a slightly "off" feel. Every chance if there is a possible problem I won't be able to fix it myself but at least I'd go in to the garage a bit wiser.

Since the tracking was done the tyre walls should be OK having been inspected at the inside tyre wall.

Best check again though for bulges.

 

Then maybe best have the wheel bearings checked.

My first guess would be you have damaged the tyre. It might be best to get it taken off the rim to see if there is any internal damage.

Thanks for your ideas gents and I'll follow them up. The easier one is to see if I've damaged the tyre internally as I've got a spare wheel. I've put that on in place of the front n/s and see how it drives tomorrow. (I can also have look at the tyre in decent daylight tomorrow). If I still have the problem I can try the same with the back n/s. After that I suppose I'll have to start spending money getting an expert to have a look. (I suppose trading it in for one of the last available Yetis might be a bit extreme).

 

Thanks again for your thoughts.

If your front tyres have any age, adjusting the tracking will move the wear path and can cause a rumble.

Also check that the wheel is properly and squarely seated on the hub.

It’s not just the wheel which can go out of balance. Driveshaft and /or brake disc could have been distorted or slightly damaged causing vibration

Whatever has happened, once again it shows that owners get left with the ensuing hassle and expense, not to mention downtime and damage to what in most cases are well serviced vehicles. 

 

On 11/02/2018 at 17:36, Paul52 said:

....I suppose trading it in for one of the last available Yetis might be a bit extreme)....

 

Just think what damage might have been done if you weren't a UK16"SpecialBuildClub member!  As a matter of interest, what tyres are you running?

Edited 16 February, 20188 yr by Brijo
Afterthought

52 minutes ago, Brijo said:

 

Just think what damage might have been done if you weren't a UK16"SpecialBuildClub member!  As a matter of interest, what tyres are you running?

 

That thought did occur to me, at least with 16" wheels there was a bit more rubber to absorb the shock. Still running with the Michelin Cross Climate tyres. Now done nearly 20,000 miles on them and no obvious signs of wear front or back. I've been pleased with the grip in both wet and dry and my only small gripe would be that the tread pattern seems designed to pick up and hold small stones - just abut the size of the aggregate they use when they dust over the road to pretend there's been some serious maintenance done.