Even though we use our cars on a daily basis for transportation, and even just for fun, it’s easy to simply put your car in Drive and not think twice about squeaking brakes or bumpy ride if you’ve been experiencing these issues for any time at all. Whether you’re just getting your license or you simply want to learn more about your vehicle, there are a few car basics that every driver should know. Understanding your car’s features, systems, and signs of suspension or brake problems and failure can provide you with added confidence and ensure your continued safety while driving.
What Should I Know About My Car’s Handling?
Clunking, shaking, or excessive noise and vibration can be concerning to any car owner. However, understanding the ins and outs of your vehicle’s steering, suspension, and brake systems can equip you with more information and knowledge about your vehicle and help you determine what issues require immediate attention. Though there are a variety of symptoms related to poor handling, better understanding your car's existing or potential issues can keep you ahead of more serious problems.
Suspension System Wear
Your vehicle’s suspension system helps absorb road shock, adjust for driving over uneven terrain or rough roads, and makes the overall ride more comfortable. The shocks and struts are one of the most commonly-discussed and important parts of your vehicle’s suspension, and for good reason. These components not only lessen road impact, vibration, and improve the overall comfort of your vehicle’s ride, but also help minimize movement due to inertia and reduce braking distance. Your suspension system also helps your tires maintain constant contact with the ground, ensuring that traction is maintained in any driving conditions. Suspension systems have a variety of moving parts that can suffer damage, loosen, or fail over time. Constant use, heat, corrosion, and more can make your car less comfortable to drive, and can cause safety concerns or more severe damage if not addressed promptly. Bad shocks, struts, ball joints, bushings, or suspension mounts can create noticeable issues with the way your car handles, and ignoring a bad or maladjusted suspension component can lead to damage to your tires and steering components.
Signs Of Failing Suspension Components:
- Excessive bouncing or loss of stability
- Pulling to one side when driving
- Swaying or rolling during turns
- Dipping or nose-diving in the front end while braking
- Knocking or clunking sounds from wheels or under the vehicle
- Bottoming out on bumps or uneven surfaces
- Wheel alignment problems or diminished steering
- Rear end squatting during acceleration
- Fluid or gas leaks from the shock absorber or grease leaking from suspension parts
Strut and Wheel Bearings
When talking about your car’s ride, it’s important to know about the various bearings in your suspension system, their importance, and what signs of failure can look like. Your vehicle, depending on its design, may have shock or strut bearings that are meant to secure the shock absorbers and struts themselves, but nearly every vehicle on the road includes wheel bearings or hub bearings that keep the wheels turning smoothly. Bearings can wear out over time or suffer damage due to a collision, lack of lubrication, corrosion, or your driving habits, and can seriously impact the comfort and safety of your vehicle. Failing to service or replace a bad bearing can cause an array of symptoms, and could eventually lead to metal-on-metal contact and suspension damage if ignored.
Signs Of Bad Wheel or Strut Bearings:
- Clunking, grinding, or knocking noises when driving or going over bumps
- Excessive vibration or wobble in the steering wheel or the wheels themselves
- Odd sounds from the steering or suspension systems
- Rapid shock absorber wear
- Uneven tire wear
- Steering wheel does not turn back and return to center when released
You can learn more about the difference between shocks and struts, the best shock and strut parts for your car, how to replace rear shocks, bad wheel bearing symptoms and replacement, and much more in the O’Reilly How-to Hub, where we provide easy-to-understand content and step-by-step videos to help you care for your car. If you don’t feel comfortable diagnosing a vehicle or performing repairs, we can even recommend a repair shop near you to help you get any repairs or maintenance done right the first time.
Steering & Alignment Issues
The steering system in your car helps move the wheels to turn, and is controlled by the steering wheel and steering column. Each time you turn your steering wheel, components like the steering column, tie rods, rack and pinion unit, and more help communicate this change in direction to your wheels, resulting in responsive and accurate steering control. Steering components can fail, corrode, loosen, or separate due to the constant use, heat, and pressure they’re under when in use. It’s important to inspect and repair steering issues or failures to avoid putting yourself and others in danger while on the road.
Signs your car may have steering issues:
- Diminished handling or less precise steering
- Pulling to one side or wandering
- Vibrations or looseness felt in the steering wheel
- Rapid or uneven tire wear
Your steering and alignment are closely related, and your vehicle not being properly aligned can lead to problems with the suspension. An alignment is a fine-tuning of your suspension system, which helps keep your wheels parallel and your suspension geometry within specification. Getting your vehicle aligned is a normal and necessary maintenance task, and is recommended once every year or two. Alignments may need to be performed more frequently depending on your driving habits, and if your vehicle is pulling to one side while driving, it may be a good idea to have the alignment inspected. If you’ve hit a curb or been involved in a collision or accident, it is also often a good idea to have your alignment checked and adjusted if needed. A misaligned vehicle can cause rapid or unusual tire wear, decreased gas mileage, and damage to other suspension, wheel end, and steering components. If you notice any of the symptoms of bad alignment listed below, be sure to get your car inspected and serviced professionally to prevent further damage or issues. It’s also important to note that your car will need to be aligned after any steering or suspension component replacement to ensure it continues driving safely and comfortably.
Signs of bad alignment:
- Vehicle pulls to one side
- Uneven or rapid tire wear
- Excessive bumpiness or vibration felt when driving
- Crooked steering wheel
Your steering and alignment systems are crucial to providing a safe and stable vehicle, and it’s not uncommon for these systems to need maintenance or repair. You can shop O’Reilly Auto Parts for the steering parts you need, including tie rods and control arms, to help you get the job done right whether you’re making your own repairs or having them performed by a professional. Visit our How-To Hub for helpful articles and instructional videos, like how to fill power steering fluid, how to replace tie rod ends, and much more.
Brake Problems
The brakes in your vehicle are a critical part of your safety on the road, and your braking system is designed to deliver responsive and smooth stops to help you avoid a collision. With constant demands, high temperatures caused by friction, and components that are likely to experience wear or corrosion over time, your braking system may need to be repaired or serviced several times over the lifetime of your vehicle. Parts like brake rotors and pads, brake calipers, the master cylinder, and brake fluid all work together to bring the vehicle to a slow and controlled stop. Leaks, damage, corrosion, and wear over time can lead to poor braking performance, which could put you and others in danger. If your car is exhibiting any of the signs below, it’s important to have the brakes inspected to look for damaged components that can contribute to an underperforming brake system.
Signs of bad brakes:
- Vibrations in the steering wheel during braking
- Vehicle pulls to one side when braking
- An illuminated brake warning light
- Grinding or squealing noises while braking
- Brake pedal feels softer or harder than normal
- Longer stopping distance or a complete lack of brake pressure
Read more about the symptoms of brake component failure and find other helpful topics in our How-To Hub, where we have a variety of topics to help you better understand and care for your car’s braking system. Learn more about why your brakes are grinding, when to replace your brake pads, how to bleed brakes, and much more. If you’re ready to tackle your own brake repairs, O’Reilly Auto Parts also offers brake drum and rotor resurfacing at select locations, as well the brake system replacement parts you need to help you sustain a healthy braking system.
Repair, Maintain & Learn About Your Car With O’Reilly Auto Parts
With all of its complex parts and systems, vehicle repair and DIY maintenance can seem like a daunting or hard-to-understand task. But with the resources, repair products, and store services from O’Reilly Auto Parts, we hope that you can feel confident repairing and driving your vehicle. If you’d like to learn more, check out our How-To Hub for topics from learning why your car won’t start and why your car rolls when put in park, to gas-saving tips to help you better care for your car. If you don’t feel comfortable performing repairs or maintenance tasks yourself, we can recommend a professional shop near you to give you more confidence during routine automotive projects. Trust O’Reilly Auto Parts for all of your maintenance and repair needs, and visit an O’Reilly store near you to find the best parts, tools, and service for your vehicle for added confidence and a complete repair.
If you’d like to learn even more about your car, continue reading our vehicle basics article series. Learn more about basic car safety as well as engine and transmission basics to help you maintain and identify possible issues when needed.