Potholes and punctures: A guide for SA motorists

Driving in South Africa presents several road hazards, including pervasive, problematic potholes.

If you manage to navigate the roads without hitting one, you likely have the precision skills of a Formula One driver. Sadly, most drivers know the nervous pinch in their stomachs all too well when a pothole has been hit and thoughts of costly repairs crowd their heads.

The damage may be externally visible or may result in the vehicle not handling as it should.

The sad reality is that potholes, caused by poor road maintenance, extreme rain and excessive heavy traffic, are here to stay.

Tyres, Equipment, Parts Association (Tepa) national director Vishal Premlall explains the most likely types of damage a pothole can do to your car.

“When a wheel hits a pothole, it drops into the hole and has to roll out of it. The damage is almost never due to the wheel entering the pothole, but rather the impact of it exiting the hole,” he says.

“The extent of the damage depends on a few things, such as the diameter of the tyre, the speed the vehicle was travelling at and the depth and length of the pothole. The smaller the wheel diameter, the more severe the impact – especially if the depth of the pothole is the same as the diameter of the wheel.

“But damage is often not only confined to tyres. Other components of the car also absorb the impact. Commonly, potholes lead to damage like the loss of a hubcap, a bulge in the tyre sidewall or even a punctured tyre, bent or broken rim, wheels knocked out of alignment, damaged suspension, bent steering parts and damaged shocks.”

So, what should you do if you hit a pothole?

Tepa vice-chairperson Les Richardson provides three tips:

1. Depending on where you are and provided that it is safe to do so, get out of the car and assess the damage. Even if it’s not immediately felt that there is damage, it is recommended you pull over and check for visible signs of impact, like a bulging or torn tyre, or a cracked or dented wheel rim. Obvious signs of damage include the steering wheel shaking, strange noises or skewed steering due to the wheel alignment being out.
2. If you believe the car to be unsafe, you must call your insurer or repairer to arrange to have it recovered. If you are insured, note that insurance companies will most likely not pay for consequential damage that may occur if you choose to drive the car after hitting a pothole.
3. Even if there are no obvious signs of damage and the car feels fine to drive, it is advisable to take it to an accredited fitment centre or workshop to be checked out as soon as possible.

Puncture repairs

Richardson notes that apart from potholes, nails and screws are common culprits when it comes to punctures.

“This is often because of construction vehicles dropping screws and nails onto roads. The most common areas to pick these up are on the extreme left-hand area of the road and the right shoulder of the highway, which is often littered with debris. This is the emergency lane so one should not be driving there anyway,” he says.

Richardson warns when it comes to punctures caused by a pothole, nails or screws, a push-in plug repair is not the ideal solution. In fact, there was a move for safety reasons to ban these products a few years ago, but the idea was abandoned.

“Push-in plugs should only be seen as an emergency measure to allow you to get to an accredited fitment centre or workshop so that the correct tyre repair can be performed.

“The problem with the push-in plug is that it can flex when cornering, braking and accelerating. This seal could be broken and air could escape, leading to a drop in pressure. This pressure difference can result in uneven handling and compromised safety,” he says.

Reduced pressure often leads to excessive heat build-up in the tyre, which results in its failure. He advises keeping an eye on your tyre pressure.

“A ‘mushroom plug’, as the name suggests, has a larger cap, which is bonded to the interior of the tyre and results in a much more stable and secure repair. This is appropriate to the tread area of the tyre only and should not be applied to the sidewall of the tyre, for safety reasons.

“Most sidewall damage to the tyre is considered irreparable due to the extreme flexing and pressure exerted on that part of the tyre when cornering or braking.”

Price to repair

Richardson highlights the cost of repairing a puncture with a mushroom plug versus a push-in plug is around double the price (R100–R150 versus R200–250).

“The reason for this is that when repairing with a mushroom plug, the tyre is removed from the rim and cleaned with a scouring disc before the inner mushroom and inside of the tyre are bonded together. This is then refitted to the rim, the wheel balanced and you are good to go.”

Premlall adds that a push-in plug should be regarded as a temporary repair.

“If you have no other choice, a push-in plug is advised. But then ensure you visit an accredited fitment centre or workshop as soon as possible and replace this with the more stable mushroom plug. This has an airtight seal and will be good for many years,” he explains.