You are driving down the road and notice that your vehicle feels like you are driving down a bumpy brick road, but you aren’t. You are on flat level ground and there doesn’t appear to be anything to cause the roughness. What’s happening? This is alarming and not to mention uncomfortable for you as the driver and for all of your passengers. What is causing your vehicle’s bumpy ride?
What is Causing Your Vehicle’s Bumpy Ride?
Whenever you jump behind the wheel to hit the road, you are ideally looking for and expecting a smooth ride, so when that doesn’t happen, it is usually a signal that something is wrong. Have you noticed excessive vibrating, bumping, or wobbling? What is causing your vehicle’s bumpy ride?
If the road is clear and you can’t come up with a logical reason for the less than smooth experience, your vehicle is likely trying to tell you something isn’t right. Below we review some of the most common causes of a vehicle’s bumpy ride.
Tire Issues: Your vehicle’s tires are some of the most important parts of your car, truck, or SUV. They are the only parts of the vehicle that actually come in contact with the road, so if they are having issues, you usually know, and that signal can be in the form of a bumpy ride. Tires are usually the first thing to check if your car’s ride feels strange. A bumpy ride can be caused by a tire that has insufficient air, improperly aligned wheels, or even by tires that have rocks or debris stuck in them. Tire issues are usually pretty easy to resolve, so start here.
Suspension Problems: A vehicle’s suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems support both road holding/handling and ride quality. Worn suspension components in your vehicle may reduce the stability of the vehicle and decrease driver control (causing your vehicle’s bumpy ride), as well as accelerate wear on other suspension system components. Because your vehicle’s suspension is so important to your safety and comfort when driving, you should always watch for some common symptoms of suspension issues.
Transmission Issues: No one wants to hear that they have a transmission issue; however, your transmission can be just the thing causing the vibrations in your vehicle. When your vehicle is giving you new feels, there may be a problem with the transmission struggling to engage as it should, causing a rough ride. Many different components of the transmission could be creating this issue, one of the most common causes is the clutch. If there is an issue with your vehicle’s clutch it can cause your car to feel like it is shaking, grinding, vibrating, or shuddering. The longer you let a transmission problem persist, the more complex and expensive the repair may be.
There could be other things causing your vehicle’s bumpy ride than those that we have reviewed above; however, they are the most common reasons we see leading to a less than smooth ride. Whatever is causing your drive to feel more like a rollercoaster than a normal everyday drive, you will want to address the issue sooner rather than later. While the cause may be minor, it could also be a much bigger problem and you will benefit by having it addressed as soon as possible.
Advanced Transmission & Emissions is here for all of your Phoenix automotive needs. Whatever the issue, contact us today.
