The front-end broke while this car was taking a low-speed turn in Woodstock recently. The driver may feel that luck was against them. But, compared to what would have happened if they were driving at a higher rate of speed, they were actually very fortunate. This is a case where auto maintenance is critical.

When do you know that auto maintenance is worth the effort? When you see someone dealing with a mechanical failure, such as in the photo here.

This car came to an untimely stop for someone near The Woodstock Square recently. While making a left-hand turn, the driver had to notice that something didn’t feel right. Then, they must have felt the left-front of the car fall and would have heard a grinding noise as the car scraped to a stop.

What happened and what could they have done about it?

There are a number of things that can fail dramatically with the frontend and steering of a car: a ball joint can come apart, a tie-rod end can separate, bushings, control arms or bearings can fail.

What is uncommon about these kinds of problems is for them to occur spontaneously: everything is fine one moment and the next, your car hits a bump and a part of the frontend suspension or steering snaps. Mechanical problems, such as these, generally develop over time.

Through timely maintenance and inspections, these kinds of problems are unlikely to develop unnoticed. It is only through some sort of negligence that they customarily bring a vehicle to this unhappy conclusion.

If a car owner has the oil changed on schedule, they should insist that their auto repair technician look the vehicle over, including the front suspension and steering. Most reputable auto repair shops will do so anyhow without needing to be asked.

At least annually, a car owner should have the frontend aligned. This will extend the life of the tires while reducing wear and tear on the suspension and steering.

Some drivers may think that they’re saving money by not addressing concerns with their car’s suspension or steering. If they knew how quickly wear spreads from one part to another, including the tires, they would recognize that this reasoning is flawed.

More than that, this driver discovered that they would have to repair the part that broke, parts that may have broken as a result, parts that were wearing along with the part that broke, and they’ll have to pay for a tow. This doesn’t even address the interruption to their schedule. But, if the driver of this car thinks they were unfortunate, they’re mistaken.

In truth, the driver of this car was very, very fortunate. Just outside The Woodstock Square, the speed limit is 25. Additionally, they were just leaving a stop sign before their frontend failed. If the failure of the steering and/or suspension occurred while the vehicle was at higher speeds, the outcome could have been fatal for anyone in the car and anyone they might have hit.