Bent tire rim--how worrisome?

October 1, 2024 6:27 AM

I took my car (2016 Honda Fit) for its annual inspection and got the tires rotated. Had to take it back as there was a vibration/shaking at highway speeds between 55-60MPH. Mechanic rebalanced the tires and also said the rear right rim is "slightly bent"; they swapped the original tire back to that position, but it's still shaking at highway speeds between 55-60MPH and there's also a slight slapping sound when driving at local speeds.

Am I at imminent risk driving this car? What's the best way to go about getting this fixed? I'm not taking it on the highway currently. How urgent is this?

The mechanic is looking for a used rim to replace it with but not having much luck, hence the wait. Should I give up and take it to a tire shop?

posted by rhymedirective to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

If your rims are steel (and they probably are) and the rim isn't terribly bent, a professional tire expert should be able to repair it. I think you should absolutely take it to a well-regarded tire shop as soon as possible!!
posted by SageTrail at 6:53 AM on October 1 [2 favorites]

Get a new rim. That thing is spent.
posted by Max Power at 7:58 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Yes, I know I need to get it fixed, the question is can I drive the car at non-highway speeds in the meantime.
posted by rhymedirective at 8:20 AM on October 1

IME a bent rim is a genuine annoyance but not dangerous in the near or long term. They are also expensive to replace. Have you recently had a flat tire or a mishap like a deep pothole with that wheel? Do you have low profile tires? All of those are risk factors for a bent rim.
posted by DrGail at 1:10 PM on October 1

Were you not experiencing the vibration before you took it in the first time? It would be very odd for a bent wheel to not induce vibrations until after the shop had it.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:13 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

Something is wrong here. If the rim is bent and that's causing the vibration, it would have been noticeable before the tyres were rotated, although it may have felt slightly different. There is absolutely no way that rotating the tyres introduced this unless something went horribly wrong during the process. It is possible that a wheel weight was knocked off during the rotation process but, if the mechanic has actually balanced the tyres, that should have been resolved. The slapping sounds suggests you have a tyre delaminating.

I would take the car to a tyre shop and get them to have a look at it. It would be helpful for them if you can narrow down where the vibration is coming from - if it's a front wheel, the steering wheel will be shaking. If it's a rear wheel, the vibration may be more noticeable in the back seat.

I would not drive the car at highway speeds, but as short as possible trips at low speeds would be ok temporarily - the affected tyre will wear out much more quickly, but not immediately or anything.
posted by dg at 12:27 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Not all tire shops can straighten a rim. Definitely safe at low speed. I’ve gotten rims straightened a few times and always been really happy with the result. pretty much any tire shop will know who can straighten rims in your area if you can’t figure out online.
posted by creiszhanson at 3:43 PM on October 2