The main task of shock absorbers is keeping your tyres on the road and helping you control your car. Like other car components, they also suffer wear and tear. The rate at which this happens depends on many factors such as your driving style, car load and environment variables. Its important to pay attention to them as they directly affect your car’s safety and performance. Here are 10 signs to look out for:
Read: Symptoms Of A Faulty Radiator Cap
- Front nose diving when braking: Does your car dip forward toward the ground when you hit the brakes? Your front shocks are worn out.
- Increased stopping distance: Related to front nose diving is your car taking more time to come to a stop after stepping on the brakes. This is a dangerous scenario to you and other road users as the car will brake longer distance than your estimation.
- Rear squatting during acceleration: Rear worn out shocks causes your car to squat excessively towards the ground at the back when accelerating.
- Body sways and rolls when cornering: Excessive body rolls and swaying when cornering is another good indicator of bad shocks. The side of the car that rolls and sways the most is the side whose shocks have worn out the most.
- Increased instability at high speeds: Body rolls, sways, rear squatting and front nose diving creates a very unstable car especially at high speeds. You have less control of it and you should, therefore, remove it from the road until the shocks have been replaced.
- Uneven wear on tyres: Bad shocks causes the treads on your tyres to wear off unevenly as they do not evenly stay firmly on the ground. This reduces the level of control you have on your car which is potentially very dangerous.
- Leaking fluids: Hydraulic fluids leaking from your shocks and struts is a good indicator of sealants being worn out. This negatively affects the effectiveness of your shock absorbers in helping you control the car.
- Excessive bouncing: If after taking a bump or porthole your car continues to bounce, your shocks need to be replaced.
- Vibrations on steering wheel: If you feel vibrations on the steering wheel when driving on smooth road surfaces, hydraulic fluids may be leaking or parts worn out. Have them checked.
- Rattling noise: Vibrations go hand in hand with rattling noises. This become more pronounced when going over uneven surface.
If you are looking for a mechanic to replace your shocks (or do other repairs on your car), request for one here.
