Hey everyone!

I have an issue with my 2010 Honda Fit Sport where I'm constantly having to correct the car so it will drive straight. This makes driving very annoying and also dangerous. I have had a wheel alignment and afterwards the car drove straight. However, only 2 weeks later, I hit an average sized pothole and the car went back out of alignment. I'm not interested in spending 100$+ every time I hit a pothole to fix the alignment. My tires are the correct pressure and they are all the same pressure. I'm reaching out here to find out what else could be causing this problem. How would one fix this problem? Anyone else have the same kind of problem?

Thanks.

 

How would I fix it? Get it aligned, inspected for worn or otherwise suspension components.

 

Yeah it sounds like you knocked the car out of alignment.

 

Agreed it sounds like the car is out of alignment again.

You might have worn or broken suspension bits also, so ask the mechanic to carefully look over your suspension and steering.

Driving a poorly aligned car can accelerate wear on tyres and suspension parts. And be dangerous so get that sorted ASAP.

The Fit Sport tyres are low profile. You may be able to switch to higher profile tyres; the increased sidewall may help absorb shocks and jolts.

 

I would recommend asking for a deal in places like firestone. They have alignment packages that cost about the same as going 2 times. And you csn bring it as many times as you want for the life of the car or until you sell it.

 

Hitting a pot hole can cause other issues like bending a rim, breaking a belt in your tire, bending suspension parts like tierods, besides simply knocking the car out of alignment. I'd go back to the alignment shop and explain what happened after your recent alignment, and ask them to thoroughly look over the car's suspension and rims and tires, and confirm if the car is still in alignment.

Doing a spin balance on the wheels can detect a bent rim and sometimes will show a damaged tire.

 

Worn struts up front can allow a car to go out of alignment more easily, as they are responsible for smoothing out the jolt of an impact both for compression and rebound. Worn tie rod inners or outers may allow play that could add to motion when a wheel/tire is impacted. Most suspension components are easy to diagnose. an alignment tech would be able to spot play in steering linkages, ball joints and such. As mentioned above, you can emphasize your concern.

If there are worn components, performing an alignment would be unethical.. but workers are subject to their employer's instructions and their customer's ability to pay, and sometimes assume a "screw it" attitude if they're accustomed to workin for broke folks or entitled folks.

The struts and shocks, I'm finding, can be more easily overlooked.. because it is hard to identify failure on modern bits. They may not leak, they may have partial failure that affects only severe or minor impacts (according to a video I watched from KYB).

To identify these kinds of faults, one has to drive the car and note any knocking or creaking, if backing up generates noise, what have you. If your mileage is high and they're still OEM, why, I'd just consider replacing them.. But that job prolly costs a fair chunk of change to have done vs DIY.

Unfortunately I cant confirm as to whether applying thread locker to tie rod nuts or other tricks would work, as i dont think any such thing could withstand the shock of some impacts. I think the answer to reducing likelihood of alignment buggery is making sure all components are in good working order (even the lower control arm bushings that often get ignored) and are of good quality..

Higher sidewall tires could also be of use and would be my next suggestion if roads where you live are particularly unforgiving.