It could have something to do with driving your car, truck or SUV on rough roads after this McHenry winter

Jarring! Jolting! Shocking! Those are some of the words to describe how the road may feel when you pull out of the driveway by your McHenry home. It’s springtime and it’s customary for us to experience the effects of winter on the roads.

The question to ask is whether your car, truck or SUV’s shocks and struts survived the winter in reasonable condition or not. The effects of winter are hard on a vehicle’s suspension system.

The cold of winter, with contraction, can create cracks in the road. As road salt melts ice and snow, the residual water drips down into those cracks. When it freezes again it further ruptures the pavement or concrete.

In other words, once a crack is started, it tends to expand and grow. The worse a crack gets, the more likely it is to develop into a pothole. And once a pothole develops, the hole is liable to get bigger and deeper. 

Potholes are the bane of healthy shocks, struts and suspension systems. That jarring feeling you experience sitting in the front seat of your car, truck or SUV is transferred to you through your suspension system.

The suspension system is designed to dampen the jarring nature of rough roads. When the suspension is in good condition, you may hardly notice a rough road. But, as the shocks, struts, and suspension system wears, it loses its ability to smooth out those potholes. You’ll start feeling them more and more.

The more you feel the quakes of bumps in the road, the more those potholes are beating up the rest of your car, truck or SUV. In other words, your suspension system isn’t just to make you comfortable while you drive, though it is certainly designed to do that, too.

Your shocks, struts and suspension system are also designed to protect the entire vehicle from the effects of a rough road. More than that, they’re designed to ensure that a particularly rough spot in the road doesn’t cause you to lose control of the vehicle.

And a McHenry winter puts all of that to the test. So, now that winter is passing, you may want to pay attention to how the bumps feel as you drive down the road. You might also want to bring the car into a trusted auto repair shop where they’ll give the suspension system a post-winter grade.