Wife Hit A Curb

[Robl45]

Wife tells me she ran over a small curb (she couldn't do this with the rental 400H right? She had to do it as soon as we get ours back) Anyway, has anyone done this and did it cause any suspension damage, frame damage etc?

[denslexusgx470]

It depends on how tall the curb was, and how fast she drove. First thing, see if the alignment is still straight. When there are no cars on the road, try driving (at a moderate speed) and let go of the steering wheel. See if it will veer to any side. If it quickly swerves into one side, right or left, definitely alignment. There could possibly be some Rim damage, but then you'd have to remove the tire from the rim(s) to check.

[Rx330driver]

surprise surprise...lol jkjk

i agree with the alignment. My uncle did that one time doing a U-turn and hit the curb really hard and the tire broke, and we had to get the spare out. she probably wasnt going that fast...and it will probably be perfectly fine

[katzjamr]

alignment is good advice, if you have pulling, my 400h showed tire wear with no pulling or handling issues and still was out of alignment. another telltale sign of a problem is if the steering wheel itself is off center after the incident, that is when the car is pointed straight, is your wheel also straight. if it isnt then that is a sign of front suspension damage.

the bottom line is how fast was she going, how hard and what angle did she hit the curb. with these low profile tires with little side wall and sensitive aluminum wheels its easy to do. remember the spare has a brand new wheel and if the scrape is too unsightly you can always make the damaged wheel the spare. i feel the spare should be used in rotation anyway, but lexus is typically too lazy to include it during rotation unless u make a fuss.

full disclosure: during this last week of ice and snow in seattle my right front tire touched a curb while negotiating one of those infinitely stupid traffic circles we have here. i was traveling about 10mph with my wheels turned left as the car slid on ice. this caused the car to touch the curb at low speed instead of traveling where the wheels were pointed. inside the car by the way, you get beeping and lights on the dash as the systems realise you are such an incompetent driver that there is nothing that can prevent an imminent disaster. (i do not have a spouse to berate me however the dog did give me an odd look)

at the Lexus dealer, the one service advisor i trust said he had never seen one of these with out tie rod and ball joint damage and he prepared me for the worst. i said ok, however i want to see the damage with the technician on the lift before i authorize repairs. half an hour later my advisor told me they had centered the wheel and aligned the tires and since he had not advised me on cost it would be no charge. (he claimed the tech did the work without authorization so he couldnt charge me) to be safe since the camber was still slightly off on the one wheel they sent me to a high end collision shop who inspected again and found no problem, they did this as a courtesy to the dealer. (yes i will go to to another shop that does the computer triangulation under there to see if something is wrong that cannot be eyeballed.) that is my story and im sticking to it.

[Robl45]

well wife says she just drove over a small curb going real slow. She didn't hit the rim or anything so hopefully its okay. I know its her car, but maybe I shouldn't let her drive it. Women just can't seem to get it right. ;) She can't even figure out the electronics, calls me complaining about the A/C not working because she didn't hit the right buttom. I think maybe she should stick to her Jeep wranger. she can hit everything and not break it. hehe Just kidding around of course.

[Rx330driver]

theres truth in every joke...lol

[Robl45]

well I drove the thing tonight and it seems to be pulling hard to the right, she ran over the curb on the right side. Of course the roads are all sloped to the right here too for rain runoff so I can't tell if its just the road but I don't remember the rental 400h hybrid that I was driving last week pulling like this. I think we might take it to lexus for an alignment. I doubt my wife did anything, she said it was a small curb but we only drove the car like a day or so when we got it a couple weeks back and its been in the shop since waiting for the new roof rack so it was probably like this from day one.

[Husker4theSpurs]

Check it on the Interstate and see if there's a shimmy ... align it somewhere else imho and save yourself LOTS of money if you decide to do so.

[Gryphon]

I'd get the alignment check, regardless of how it drives. And I never use the dealer for alignment work, rather a well-known independent alignment-only shop. I've been using the same one in Phoenix, AZ for 27 years.

Tom

[Robl45]

We took it took it to lexus Monday night I believe it was and the valve stem was leaking on the right front tire, explains why the pressure in the right front tire was 25 instead of 32 like the rest. Clearly my wife didn't make the valve stem leak. Anyway, since we bought the car recently and its been in their shop more than at our house, they took care of the valve stem and did the alignment for no charge.