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The Symptom Table and the Pothole Check
The driver's diagnostic skill is a short table, felt through hands and seat:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Urgency |
|---|---|---|
| Steady pull to one side, hands loose, straight road | Wheel alignment (Lesson 5.3) — often a pothole/kerb strike | Soon — wears out tyres, tires you |
| Pull only under braking | Uneven braking across the axle (Lesson 5.2) | Promptly — a braking defect |
| Wandering — constant small corrections to hold a line | Worn steering linkage/bushes, or severe under-inflation | Promptly — worsens; check pressures first |
| Play — steering wheel moves before the car responds | Wear in the steering mechanism | Promptly — slack steering is delayed steering |
| Vibration in a speed band | Wheel balancing (Lesson 5.3) | Soon |
| Knocks/clunks over bumps | Worn suspension joints or shock mounts | Promptly — joints fail progressively, then suddenly |
| Floaty, bouncy ride; nose bobs after a bump | Worn shock absorbers | Soon — sooner if rough-road driving is routine |
| Nose-dive under gentle braking beyond the normal dip | Worn front shocks | Soon — it's also lengthening your stops |
The two questions that make the table usable:
- When did it start? Suddenly after a pothole or kerb strike = alignment/suspension damage; gradually = wear.
- When does it happen? Always / braking-only / in a speed band / over bumps only.
Those two answers locate almost every fault above — and they're the reason the same "pull" can mean alignment (constant) or brakes (braking-only), and the same vibration can mean balancing (speed-band) or something else.
The pothole aftermath check — the single most Kenyan entry point into this lesson. After any hard pothole or kerb strike, at the next safe stop, look at the struck wheel and tyre (sidewall bulge, rim dent); then over the following kilometres, actively feel for new pull, vibration, or wander. A strike hard enough to jolt the wheel is hard enough to bend geometry, and the damage announces itself quietly — through the table above — to drivers who are listening.
Key takeaways
- Two locating questions place almost any fault: when did it start (sudden after a strike = damage; gradual = wear) and when does it happen (always / braking-only / speed-band / bumps-only)
- After every hard pothole strike: look at the struck wheel, then feel through your hands for new pull, vibration or wander over the next few km
Quick check
You hit a pothole hard; over the next few kilometres the car develops a steady pull to one side on a straight, flat road. Most likely?