But often, the damage will be harder to see, yet still necessary to fix, according to Michael Janson, service manager at Gerber Auto Care.

“We haven’t seen much, really in terms of damaged rims or anything like that,” Janson said. “But what will happen a lot of times, there are suspension parts up front that can bend much easier, and that will affect your alignment. We have seen some of that.”

There have been some problems this spring, but not a lot, Janson said, as Webster City crews worked quickly to fill the potholes.

“The big ones we saw, they had them filled up pretty quick,” he said. “When everything cleared out in town, there were a few days or maybe a week the city was still playing catch-up with everything.

-Photo by Chad Thompson
A bent rim like the one shown here can be the result of running over a pothole. The rim is held by Colten Hoover, certified technician at Graham Tire Co., 110 S. 25th St.

“So we didn’t see too many issues, but when that sort of thing does happen, you can bend a wheel, and you can do some suspension damage that can affect your alignment.”

Cars with low profile tires are more at risk, he said.

“So 18 to 22-inch rim, where there’s just not much between the tire and the wheel,” he said, “those will typically bend somewhat easy.”

In Fort Dodge, Rick Carle, retail sales manager for Graham Tire Co. said business has been steady.

“We have had some with damaged or bent rims,” Carle said. “Some tires that got blown out due to hitting a pothole at a fast speed.”

He added that hitting a pothole or damaging a tire in another way can be costly.

“It can bend the rim, along the lip of the rim,” he said. “On an aluminum wheel, it can actually crack them. If a rim is cracked, it can’t be repaired and you have to get a different rim. Sometimes when you damage the rim it will also damage the tire, so then they have to buy a tire and a rim.”

The cost to replace a tire could be anywhere between $100 to $150 depending on the size of the tire, Carle said.

“Tires used to be 14-inch, 15-inch, 16-inch,” he said. “Now some are 18, 19, 20.”

Carle said the shop hasn’t necessarily been busier because of drivers hitting potholes.

“I wouldn’t relate it to potholes,” he said.

Instead, Carle said the winter time can be busier.

“If you get a lot of snow and real cold weather, it seems business picks up because people realize their tread on their tires are slipping and sliding,” he said. “A lot of snow helps the tire sales and really cold weather is hard on cars too.”

Janson said the shop is busy pretty much all year round, but if people have been putting off regular maintenance, now is a great time to get caught back up.

“It’s just a lot of people go into fall and say I don’t want to mess around with it on crapy, cold winter days,” he said. “The maintenance for a lot of people’s vehicles sometimes goes by the wayside when the weather is bad, so it’s really good to get them in in the spring and have everything checked over so you have it in tip-top shape.”

Miles Rogers, owner of Rogers Tire Service in Fort Dodge, said his shop hasn’t seen too many vehicles with damaged tires as of late.

“Usually you will see a damaged tire or wheel,” Rogers said. “I haven’t seen too many. I’ve heard of some.”

Instead, he said people often call asking about alignments.

“We don’t do them here, but they ask who we would recommend, and those can result from potholes too,” Rogers said.

He said his shop gets busy during the spring.

“Spring time is usually busy with farm service, truck service,” he said. “Fall is busy for people getting ready for winter. Every year is different, so we never know what to expect.”

One thing people should stay aware of–changes in temperature can cause changes in tire pressure, so it might be necessary to check those out, Janson said.

“It fluctuates a lot in the cold and the warm,” he said. “A lot of vehicles anymore have indicators on there to tell them, so that’s something everybody can see.”