Below are the 14 signs of car frame damage to help you answer the question, “how to know if your car's frame is damaged?”
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- Squealing tires
- Visible damage
- Bent or damaged frame
- Cracks
- Uneven fit
- Strange noises
- Uneven shocks and suspension
- Abnormal car noises
- Pulling to one side
- Uneven wear
- Alignment issues
- Misaligned wheels
- Doors not closing properly
- Misaligned body panels
Your car's frame is a critical component that you have to maintain all the time. It serves as the skeleton of your vehicle; without it, your car will not have its shape, and you'll deal with severe safety issues.
After a collision, chances are that your frame might get impacted. If you think this impact is minor or major, it's your responsibility as a car owner to check it and confirm that it's not in a situation that might impact our safety.
This article provides a detailed summary of the 14 most common signs of car frame damage to help answer the question, “how do you know if your car's frame is damaged?”
How do you know if your car's frame is damaged?
Since the car frame is critical in your vehicle and impacts your safety severely, anytime you deal with a collision or a situation that you suspect impacted your car's frame, you must check for any symptoms indicating these damages. Otherwise, it can be extremely dangerous and sometimes illegal for you to continue driving this car.
The following list summarizes the 14 most common signs indicating A damaged car frame. When any of those signs show up clearly, you must consult your mechanic and have him perform a detailed inspection to see whether your vehicle is repairable.
1. Squealing tires
In normal situations, your tires should not make any noise because they should be perfectly aligned with your vehicle and each other. If your car tire started making squealing noises after the collision, that could indicate a damaged frame, even if it's not visible.
Remember that squealing tires might only sometimes relate to a completely damaged frame. In other words, it could be a problem you could fix by inspecting and realigning your tires or something major. So, you'll have to confirm with your mechanic and determine the culprit of the problem.
2. Visible damage
Another easiest thing you can do to confirm that your car has frame damage is to perform a visual inspection. Typically, the frame damage should show if it's critical. In other words, you'll see some major cracks and visible damage within the frame.
If you confirm the issue, it's important that you do not ignore it because even if your car is driving, it doesn't mean that it's safe. If you get involved in another collision, you are impacting your safety and the safety of other people driving with you.
3. Bent or damaged frame
If the frame is not completely damaged or needs to show visible major cracks, it could be a simple bent that you might underestimate. Even if there is a minor bend, you have to talk to the mechanic and see if it's OK to continue driving this car because sometimes, if your vehicle is not aligned completely, this simple bend can cause many problems.
4. Cracks
If you do not see any bends but still see some minor cracks, it might indicate that the vehicle is OK at this point, but probably in the near future, it might not be safe to drive. That's why it's still important that your mechanic looks at these cracks, and if they are associated with other symptoms that we were listening to in this list, it might indicate an early sign of car frame damage.
5. Uneven fit
Your vehicle is designed so that all the parts should fit together completely. There shouldn't be any parts not aligning with others, and if this happens after a car accident or after some problem that could have impacted the car frame, it might indicate major car frame damage.
For instance, if the hood is not closing properly or there's an issue with other components not aligning the way they should before the collision, please check on that frame and confirm it's not damaged or about to get damaged.
6. Strange noises
While we discussed the squealing tires, sometimes, when the frame is damaged, you notice additional, more severe noises. In other words, something like rattling, creaking, or other weird noises associated with the vehicle whenever you drive it is not a good sign.
7. Uneven shocks and suspension
Even if you see that your vehicle does not have any issues with fit or alignment, sometimes the issue could be hidden. In other words, a problem might be impacting the internal suspension system, including the shocks. Take a closer look at these components and see if they're out of alignment or not setting the way they should.
If that's the case, it might be a problem with the suspension, but it could also be related to the frame, especially if you have hit it anytime recently.
8. Abnormal car noises
People mentioned that when their vehicle got involved in a car accident, they started hearing additional noises than the ones we discussed. For example, they mentioned that rubbing metal against each other is not good. As you might already know, any metal rubbing against another metal results in friction, and that could make parts overheat or result in early damages that might not be something you should deal with.
9. Pulling to one side
Car frame damage can easily lead to your vehicle pulling towards one side more than the other. That is a very common problem you might also experience in other problems, including issues with the alignment or troubles with the tire. Therefore, your mechanic needs to take a closer look to confirm the faulty component before you assume your vehicle has a measure of frame damage.
10. Uneven wear
If your car is pulling towards one side more than the other, there is a very common issue that you will also notice down the road. For example, you'll see that your tires are not wearing out the same way. Some of the tires might be about to get completely wiped out, while others might be in good shape. If that is the case, you might need to check on the frame and other components, like the issue with alignment or probably a problem with the tire itself.
11. Alignment issues
We have already discussed many problems related to your vehicle's alignment. Although the alignment is a separate problem, sometimes, A-frame damage might impact your vehicle's alignment. It is one of the very common consequences of getting involved in a car accident. That's why your mechanic will need to check on the alignment and will most likely revisit it and fix it anytime your car gets involved in a car accident.
12. Misaligned wheels
The alignment might impact the overall vehicle, but it could only impact the wheel. Depending on the collision's severity and where exactly your vehicle hit the other car, the problem could be different. Therefore, performing a thorough and detailed alignment of all components is necessary anytime your car gets involved in a car accident.
13. Doors not closing properly
One of the easiest things you could do if you suspect your car has a damaged frame is to check how the doors are closing. In many instances, A damaged car frame can easily prevent your car from closing the different components, specifically the doors. If so, your mechanic must confirm that the frame is in good shape. Otherwise, it could be a simple problem in your door that you could fix easily.
14. Misaligned body panels
Finally, if you want to take a detailed look at your car, you might want to look at all the panels and confirm they're all set the way they should. If they're not sitting properly, your mechanic might choose to fix the frame itself, but it could be an issue with the door or the panel that got hit by the other vehicle. In that case, it might be a simple fix to the bend and ensuring the body panels are closing and aligning properly.
Final Thoughts
As you might know, it has many symptoms that could indicate problems with your car frame. So, you'll need to familiarize yourself with these symptoms to hopefully detect the problem as early as possible so you don't impact our safety.
Suppose your mechanic confirms that your car has critical frame damage. In that case, you must evaluate their repair costs, and if you confirm that those are very high, it can be the perfect time to sell this vehicle and buy a new one.
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