bob2011

Hey guys, so my dad came home in his E550 with a bent front right rim. Slight bend, tire is ok. He said he hit a deep pothole at like 40 miles an hour, the car seems to drive fine, he has the airmatic suspension and everything seems fine. Car lifts up, drives fairly straight, and no rattles or irregular noises. However could something still be damaged in the suspension or axle department?

TeeEl

From the posts/people on here this is a pretty common issue. No one has ever mentioned additional damage, just having to take the rim to a dealership or indy wheel shop to get it repaired.

bob2011

In a sadistic sort of way, that's kind of a relief to hear lol. Rim repair will probably happen this weekend, until then is it ok to drive short distances? And we plan to get it aligned again just to be sure, anything else you feel we should do, just to be on the safe side?

cetialpha5

It's probably ok to drive long distances. Maybe not great for the tires. Usually when you get it aligned, they inspect for suspension damage, but not all shops do that so you might want to ask. Lots of places do alignments like Goodyear, Firestone, NTB etc and they offer 3-5 year alignment warranties so you're all set the next time you hit a big pothole.

kajtek1

Bend rim lip doesn't mean the tire is off center.
Is the car having spare? If so, I would not hesitate to drive it, but without spare it is a risk.

bob2011

Called a buddy of mine that works at the local MB dealer and he said to bring it on in and he'll do the alignment to see what's wrong! So that's definitely happing lol, but he needs to drive the car until Friday, with the bent rim. Not far about 20 miles in total a day. Do you think It'll make it?

bob2011

Car does have a spare, but it's the donut wheel lol. Do you think if the wheel took a dent, anything in the suspension could be shattered/bent?

kajtek1

The suspension can take lot of normal bounces.
The only time anybody in my family bend suspension was my wife, who years ago skid Volvo and hit a curb sideways.
Still inspection is good idea.

Mud

Potholes are devious ba$tards…..
Not saying this is your case, but tire bead or sidewall can be damaged by an impact that bends a rim. But this can be hidden from outside view, if in doubt check the tire closely while the rim is off. The lower the profile the higher the possibility.
Front struts can sometimes be a weak link in the front - the spindles are very robust, and the front control arms may be ok if the strut has taken the impact. I don't have airmatic but the left front strut on my car has a slight tweak from a PO impact somewhere. Not enough to change it out, but enough that a good alignment tech can find it (and in my case make a slight compensation for it).
Just some additional considerations.

Darel

I've had so many bent rims that no matter what, my car has consistently been driving on at least one bent one for about two years. No worries.

bob2011

Update guys, dad hit an even bigger pothole, completely broke the rim lip. Towed car to MB dealer to get stock rims put back on, and alignment done. Also dad needs glasses lmao

TeeEl

Glasses and a booster seat so he can see what's on the road. Jeeze.

bob2011

Lol you're preaching to the choir! I scheduled him for an eye exam for next week. Now about that booster seat...

rustybear3

You live in Ca for goodness sake! Compared to the Northern states, your roads are fantastic. You'd never survive the multitude of potholes here.

Trsut me I know! I've lived in LA for a time.

TeeEl

To be fair, we get TONS of logging and quarry trucks that **** up the roads. Probably not as badly as snowplows and chains, but I lived in the NE for a year and it wasn't as bad as everyone on here wants to make it sound.

Not to mention CalTrans has little to no interest in actually repairing any of our roads. They just want to close down major highways and **** up everyone's commute.

kajtek1

California is big state with thousands of miles of roads and different jurisdictions.
I spend long years east of San Francisco and road were far from good. Even freeway 24 was completely repaved like 4 years ago, it it teeth grinder.
Now electric company in CA goes bankrupt, so question is when Caltrans will follow?
Once you cross Nevada state line from CA, you feel like in car heavens. Still far cry from autobahns, where you can put glass of water on dashboard at 220 kph and it will stay there unless you hit the brakes.