[850CSi]

Okay, I was being an idiot today and experimenting in the snow when I took a turn too hard, tailed out, and slammed my left rear tire sideways into a curb. No visible damage done to anything but the rim and tire. The rim lost a good part of its outer lip, the tire seemed to be somewhat bent out of shape. TPMS didn't go off, so I'm assuming the tire, while the sidewalls might have been damaged, didn't lose any/much air.

I took it out for a longer drive and noticed that the car is off balance (i.e., when I center the wheel, the car drifts to the right). Someone please tell me I didn't mess up my suspension...

Could a messed up rear tire account for off-center steering?

I'm taking it to a mechanic tomorrow.


I feel like a moron because this is the last thing I need right now.

[murellus]

you'll probably just need to get an alignment done. $100 from the stealership.

[khoda355]

i had same thing done with my BBS CH and my front right rm got bent and i guess tires not holding air, rear is fine no problem also aligment is perfect, but the light came on i think its for the tire low on air? yes? plz!!!

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by murellus

you'll probably just need to get an alignment done. $100 from the stealership.

wow, that's cheap up in PA.
It was $169 in TX, same here in FL...

[thegeneral101]

you may have bent something like a strut behind the wheel or it could be an alignment issue. either way i think you need to take it in and pay out of your pocket so you don't have to report it to insurance. bet you wont do that again

[hov333]

u may have bent some of the alignment parts which will definately through the car off on the highway

[trick50]

Originally Posted by 850CSi

Okay, I was being an idiot today and experimenting in the snow when I took a turn too hard, tailed out, and slammed my left rear tire sideways into a curb. No visible damage done to anything but the rim and tire. The rim lost a good part of its outer lip, the tire seemed to be somewhat bent out of shape. TPMS didn't go off, so I'm assuming the tire, while the sidewalls might have been damaged, didn't lose any/much air.

I took it out for a longer drive and noticed that the car is off balance (i.e., when I center the wheel, the car drifts to the right). Someone please tell me I didn't mess up my suspension...

Could a messed up rear tire account for off-center steering?

I'm taking it to a mechanic tomorrow.



I feel like a moron because this is the last thing I need right now.

I did that once in my old car 2004 Acura RSX Type S and from the way it sounds I didn't hit it nearly as hard as you did (I just had a scuff and cut on the rear rim)..After that about a year later I brought the car in for service and an alignment and they were unable to align the rear saying that the frame of the car was bent. The car always drove fine so I never did anything about it, but there could be more damage than you think. I wouldn't bring it to the stealership I would take it to a reputable shop that has a high end laser alignment machine or whatever it is called (not really sure of the terminology). But I wouldn't wanna take it to the dealership in fear that some how they would try to void a warranty or something...

Not trying to scare you just sharing my similar experience.

Good luck.

[dmichael]

Originally Posted by trick50

I did that once in my old car 2004 Acura RSX Type S and from the way it sounds I didn't hit it nearly as hard as you did (I just had a scuff and cut on the rear rim)..After that about a year later I brought the car in for service and an alignment and they were unable to align the rear saying that the frame of the car was bent. The car always drove fine so I never did anything about it, but there could be more damage than you think. I wouldn't bring it to the stealership I would take it to a reputable shop that has a high end laser alignment machine or whatever it is called (not really sure of the terminology). But I wouldn't wanna take it to the dealership in fear that some how they would try to void a warranty or something...

Not trying to scare you just sharing my similar experience.

Good luck.

I strongly disagree with your assessment and I think you leading the OP down the wrong path. If only the wheel was involved in the "accident", then it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY there is any frame damage. Wheel/suspension parts are designed to bend or give on impact to minimize or avoid serious damage in a minor accident such as this. As a result of this type of damage, usually the repair is not so expensive or extensive since the suspension parts are designed this way. The dealer is best equiped to handle this type of repair, they have the best alignment machines available, they KNOW the oe spec and if they can't get the car into spec via adjustment the worst that could happen is he needs a new trailing arm or shock assembly or some other suspension parts. I've never heard of a dealer voiding a warrantly for accident damage, which is exactly what this is.

Take it to the dealer, it probably only needs an alignment done. If it needs parts, I'd trust the dealer to be able to take it apart and put it back together the way its suppose to better than any independent would cuz they can't know the car as well as the dealer.

[trick50]

Originally Posted by dmichael

I strongly disagree with your assessment and I think you leading the OP down the wrong path. If only the wheel was involved in the "accident", then it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY there is any frame damage. Wheel/suspension parts are designed to bend or give on impact to minimize or avoid serious damage in a minor accident such as this. As a result of this type of damage, usually the repair is not so expensive or extensive since the suspension parts are designed this way. The dealer is best equiped to handle this type of repair, they have the best alignment machines available, they KNOW the oe spec and if they can't get the car into spec via adjustment the worst that could happen is he needs a new trailing arm or shock assembly or some other suspension parts. I've never heard of a dealer voiding a warrantly for accident damage, which is exactly what this is.

Take it to the dealer, it probably only needs an alignment done. If it needs parts, I'd trust the dealer to be able to take it apart and put it back together the way its suppose to better than any independent would cuz they can't know the car as well as the dealer.

See next post oops.

[trick50]

Originally Posted by dmichael

I strongly disagree with your assessment and I think you leading the OP down the wrong path. If only the wheel was involved in the "accident", then it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY there is any frame damage. Wheel/suspension parts are designed to bend or give on impact to minimize or avoid serious damage in a minor accident such as this. As a result of this type of damage, usually the repair is not so expensive or extensive since the suspension parts are designed this way. The dealer is best equiped to handle this type of repair, they have the best alignment machines available, they KNOW the oe spec and if they can't get the car into spec via adjustment the worst that could happen is he needs a new trailing arm or shock assembly or some other suspension parts. I've never heard of a dealer voiding a warrantly for accident damage, which is exactly what this is.

Take it to the dealer, it probably only needs an alignment done. If it needs parts, I'd trust the dealer to be able to take it apart and put it back together the way its suppose to better than any independent would cuz they can't know the car as well as the dealer.

Not an asessment simply an opinion and sharing my own experience. Having done the same exact thing..granted it was a different car...a much different car..but I was shocked when I found out that the car had frame damage from it...and it was the dealer who told me about it...and they insisted that the car must have been in a bad accident and was not repaired properly. Even though the car clearly had never had any paint work etc..they still gave me a hard time about it.

[Chowbow]

When cars slam into curbs you can actually sustain quite substantial damage... Could be an alignment, could be control arms / bushings, or shock mounts, etc. I don't think the frame will bend, the rear suspension components are pretty chintzy honestly, and they probably break and bend pretty easily.

[335i4u2nv]

ya there not meant to hit things from that angle... u shouldnt have been driving like that to begin with... but im sure if u could come up with a good story maybe the Stealership will fix it if their slow

[John 070]

Sounds to me like the alignment is the place to start. I'm a relative newbie to BMW since my car hasn't really been serviced, but I'd imagine the rear is adjustable. So I think there's hope. If the sidewall looks damaged I'd replace the tire. If the rim also, there's a chance even a new tire will leak, but also some of the lip is cosmetic (I've damaged or had damaged 2 18" rims--both times bent lips with no damage to tires). Good luck...

[Majikthese42]

Some years ago I did something like that with my Volvo, except maybe harder and faster. You really couldn't see anything was wrong just looking at the car. $7500 and 4 weeks later the car was fine. Lightweight suspension components and subframes bend very easily.

Like others said it could just need an alignment. Or more. Good luck in any case!

[BMW F22]

Try taking it to an independent shop to see what's wrong with the car. If it only needs an alignment, also take it to an independent shop to get it done because the dealer will charge you about $200 for it.

[Remonster]

I had a pretty serious crash including crashing into a curb backwards hard enough to bend my left rear tire maybe 20 to 30 degrees outwards and bending both front tires all the way to the left when the steering wheel was pointed to the right. The repair shop said they replaced the entire suspension along with a whole mess of other things for about 7 or 8 grand (covered by insurance) so I hope your suspension is fine.

[850CSi]

Okay, here's the deal. I went to the stealership today and had them check it out, figuring they would know the car better than anyone.

They put it up on a lift and gave it a visual inspection, the service rep said there was nothing wrong with the suspension from what they could see (although he did remark that it can be a little hard to tell because 'some of the parts are curved'). The service rep told me that they couldn't test the car's alignment because the left rim is messed up and probably bent in. They wanted to replace the rim and then test the alignment, which I'm not willing to do because they charge an outrageous amount of money for that (the estimate was over $700, I can get a full set of slightly used wheels/tires here for less than that). He claimed that the rim and bad alignment could be more than enough to cause the car to drift (what do you guys think?). I drove it at highway speeds today and nothing felt unusual other than the steering correction I had to make. The rep did remark that they've gotten "a little lucky" with some of the E90s, he said a similar case came in a couple of weeks ago and there was no significant damage.

Now, my question is this: I know nothing about suspensions. How much assurance does a visual inspection provide? If something was really messed up (be it a control arm or the camber pivoting, etc) would it show?


What do you guys think the best course of action is? Should I take it to an independent mechanic and see what they say, or should I just get a new wheel and hope that all the car needs after that is an alignment?


Thanks for your help guys.

[hl0m4n]

drifting in the snow right . i had same thing happen to me. i drifted in a large parking lot but there was ice on top of snow and i slid into the curb. all i had was a bad curb rash and a free wheel bearing replacement from dealer.

when you turn the wheel when driving and hear a vibrating sound...then most likely you got the same.

[850CSi]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

when you turn the wheel when driving and hear a vibrating sound...then most likely you got the same.

I doubt this is a bearing problem. I've had bearing problems before in an A4... This is different. No vibrations, no noise, no nothing. Just a rightward drift.

[AWD Addict]

If all you're experiencing is a little pull to one side, I don't think anything major is wrong, especially if there was nothing out of whack when it was up on the lift.

how fast were you going when you hit the curb?

Why can't they do an alignment on a wheel that's holding air? Because it's "messed up?" If it's out of whack (or "bent in") then that's what hte alignment machine is for! Castor, Camber and Toe readouts will tell them exactly how the wheel is "bent in."

Sounds wierd.

[BretNJ]

Sounds like just alignment. I smacked a curb doing the same thing in an old Mitsubishi when I was young and the control arm was damaged. I had to drive with my wheel sideways to make the car go straight. I'd assume you'd have a similar experience with a damaged control arm on this car.

[850CSi]

Guys, If I do this on my own and take it to an independent place to get it aligned, they aren't going to give me any warranty trouble, are they? (given that they know about the issue now)