Bent Rims?

khai Dow · 07-07-2014, 09:41 PM

So I'm driving along the other day on a "motorway" - road quality is terrible here in Thailand. Going up an incline I hit a large bump, which I can only assume was a section of the road higher than the one I was on. It felt like mounting the kerb - i.e impact was simultaneous on the front wheels and then on the rear. After I was able to pull over, i saw a gaping hole in the drivers side rear tyre. I also had a chip in the windscreen which turned into a huge crack, and the impact forced the passenger side door to open to the point where the door open warning light came on. I managed to drive for another 20K before it started getting a little noisy, and having the family in the car I decided to send them on ahead and get a tow.

So, I get it back from the dealer and I now have wheel wobble above 60mph. They only replaced the tyre and not the wheels. Question - how do you check for bent rims and would it be obvious if they are bent? I had a look when it was up on the ramp, spun them round and all four looked ok, but I'm no expert. There are wheel weights on the inside of the rim with the new tyre so I assume they did balance it already.

Also the rain sensor no longer works - assume this is connected to the new windscreen film?

I have an ActiveHybrid 5, with 20" 451M wheels. Any thoughts would be helpful, I'm taking it back to the dealer again shortly and want to get it sorted out without any more time wasting trips.

Ben2k9 · 07-07-2014, 09:50 PM

it seems like this is something the dealer should have checked, so I would either take it back or take it to a good wheel/tire shop. it's almost certainly bent with such an impact. You'll have to either replace or have the wheel repaired. Repairing is much cheaper...

Simply spinning the wheels and looking for wobble or doing a road force test should discover the damage.

07-07-2014, 09:41 PM	#1
khai Dow First Lieutenant 336 Rep 340 Posts Drives: "Grey Goose" X7 40D, IOMG M4C Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: All around Asia iTrader: (0)	Bent Rims? So I'm driving along the other day on a "motorway" - road quality is terrible here in Thailand. Going up an incline I hit a large bump, which I can only assume was a section of the road higher than the one I was on. It felt like mounting the kerb - i.e impact was simultaneous on the front wheels and then on the rear. After I was able to pull over, i saw a gaping hole in the drivers side rear tyre. I also had a chip in the windscreen which turned into a huge crack, and the impact forced the passenger side door to open to the point where the door open warning light came on. I managed to drive for another 20K before it started getting a little noisy, and having the family in the car I decided to send them on ahead and get a tow. So, I get it back from the dealer and I now have wheel wobble above 60mph. They only replaced the tyre and not the wheels. Question - how do you check for bent rims and would it be obvious if they are bent? I had a look when it was up on the ramp, spun them round and all four looked ok, but I'm no expert. There are wheel weights on the inside of the rim with the new tyre so I assume they did balance it already. Also the rain sensor no longer works - assume this is connected to the new windscreen film? I have an ActiveHybrid 5, with 20" 451M wheels. Any thoughts would be helpful, I'm taking it back to the dealer again shortly and want to get it sorted out without any more time wasting trips.
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07-07-2014, 09:50 PM	#2
Ben2k9 Second Lieutenant 32 Rep 258 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 550i M-Sport Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Nashville, TN iTrader: (1)	it seems like this is something the dealer should have checked, so I would either take it back or take it to a good wheel/tire shop. it's almost certainly bent with such an impact. You'll have to either replace or have the wheel repaired. Repairing is much cheaper... Simply spinning the wheels and looking for wobble or doing a road force test should discover the damage.
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