What to check?

[yinlun]

Yay for New Jersey roads! I was driving on the highway this weekend and I hit a nasty bump from the uneven pavement of road construction. This thing sent a serious jolt through the car. After I hit it, I felt some wobbling. Both through the steering wheel and through the body of the car. I pulled over to the shoulder and did a quick check. No body damage visible. The rims were in one piece and no flats. I let it sit for a while to make sure there wasn't a leak that I missed.

I then drove it for a couple more minutes and did the same above. Then drove it for even longer until I got to a gas station and did a closer inspection. No visible damage. The vibrations went mostly away, comes back around 60mph. It's been a couple days and I checked the tire pressures - no leaks. The car pulls very slightly to the right, so I'm pretty sure an alignment will be needed. I'll probably re-balance the wheels as a pre-caution as well.

Is there anything else I should check? Tie rods? Strut caps? etc? What could be damaged from a jolt like that?

[desmo4]

How many g's was the bump? Only kidding. You might have flexed a wheel and lost the balance weight, that would account for the resonance at a particular speed.

Jonathan

[My_yella_s2k]

Steering wheel off center?
Id get a 4 w/a and rebalance all 4 wheels to start

[yinlun]

How many g's was the bump? Only kidding. You might have flexed a wheel and lost the balance weight, that would account for the resonance at a particular speed.

Jonathan
My iphone measured exactly 1.02485838927834G's. But only at the EXACT center of the car .0247862 seconds into impact. :think:

Steering wheel off center?
Id get a 4 w/a and rebalance all 4 wheels to start

Steering wheel is spot on. The wobbling went away once I started to drive again. The car however feels more numb now, not as sharp as it was (maybe this is mental?) and not as much road feedback.

[repiv]

If the car rolls down the road straight and true with no pulls to one side or the other while steady state cruising, then you probably dodged the bullet. After an episode like this, your mind tends to dream up stuff that wouldn't normally be there, so it's tough sometimes to be objective.
I'd check the torque on the bolts in the engine bay at the top of each shock tower and a good visual and manual check of all ball joints and connectors on each suspension. If in doubt or if evidence presents itself, then a wheel alignment and closer examination by a professional is in order.

[s2kobsessed]

you might have bent an arm but go get an alignment and see if everything can be put back to spec. If not, then you may have bent an arm.

and also as mentioned above, get your tires re-balanced! They may be warped a bit or lost a weight plate

[whitemike711]

did you check the tires for "lumps" you may have a bubble that is throwing it off.

[yinlun]

Ahh i should update.

- I've been trying to not drive the car since then while trying to find a Honda dealer that offers a loaner car or a shuttle service (Scary how I have 2 dealers within 5 miles of work and neither will drop me off)

- I finally took the car out this past weekend. The car wasn't pulling right anymore, but there was still a slight vibration that kicks in around 50mph. It was a short drive to just fill up the tank (couldn't resist gas prices went down) When i got to the gas station, I noticed the back right rear was low. I inflated that tire and decided to check it when I got home. That's when things got scary...

The vibration now comes at low speeds. You feel it at about 15mph, and it gets extremely bad at 30. I crawled home. The VSA light and check engine light came on from the vibration. The car probably thinks the vibration is a knock. I can't quite figure out why inflating that tire would cause this, but I finally got an appointment and will not be taking the car out again until it's fixed.

[repiv]

How low was that tire and did you check ALL the tires? Get the codes read. The knock sensor on the engine won't likely pick up a vibration at the other end of the car.
You may have run over a nail or a screw.

[yinlun]

All the other tires were fine. I run them at 32psi in front and 34psi in the rear. The right rear was down at 20psi before inflation, and I pumped it up to 34. I did pull off that wheel and I didn't see any nails or punctures. I did not do the bubble check yet though.

[repiv]

Not all punctures are immediately visible . Time to get a tire shop to take a good look at it.