What hitting a pothole will do other than the alignment!

[hallmarc47]

My truck is a 2015 Ram 1500 Crew Cab 4X4 with 123,000+ miles. A couple of days ago I couldn't avoid hitting a pothole because of oncoming traffic. I thought I had inched over enough to miss it, but Bang, it got the right front wheel. Immediately noticed the steering wheel was not level, and it slightly pulled to the left. The next thing I noticed was the Stabilizer light was on and wouldn't turn off. Then discovered that the cruise control would not engage. When I started the engine, two advisory messages come up on the dash saying "Service Trailer Brake System" and "Service Electronic Brake System". I looked at the fuse for the cruise control and it looks good. Brakes are working as usual. Of course, like many of us, I want to avoid going to the dealership. This morning I took it to a local tire and service shop that I've used before. Wanted them to at least do the alignment and I believe it is time for front brake pads. He said he wasn't sure he could do anything about the stabilization or cruise control. My OBD scanner showed no codes. Does anyone have some idea about the connection with the pothole hit and the malfunctions?

 

[crazykid1994]

If the alignment got whacked out or if it damaged the suspension and is not tracking straight it the abs will not function properly as it may see one wheel moving a different speed than the rest and could fault out on that. Just a guess.

 

[GTyankee]

you do or did have a trouble code, or the Cruise Control would work

there is a good chance, you may have a bent stabilizer bar

 

[crash68]

My OBD scanner showed no codes

you do or did have a trouble code, or the Cruise Control would work

Chances are the OBD reader used can't read ABS module error codes as a lot of them only read "P" codes

AlfaOBD is capable of reading the codes from along with reading real time data

 

[inuyasha-rules]

Could have also damaged a wheel speed sensor. That's pretty common when wheel bearings go out, so it's plausible that the jerk did similar damage.

 

[hallmarc47]

Ok...I have an update for my problem and resolution. I dreaded the outcome and was seeing large $$$ signs in my future. Took it to a local tire shop that has a good reputation in the community and left it. The next morning the guy called me and said it was ready and everything was corrected. They did an alignment and didn't find any of the running gear needing repair!! He said the mechanic "went inside the system" and reset all the items with lights and warnings. Total cost $77. He said that hitting that pothole must have jarred some things out of normal. Well, everything was back to normal to include the cruise control. Now a week later, it all remains working correctly. Think I dodged that bullet. So watch out for those potholes.

 

[hunterdan]

Lucky, I hit a pothole and it took out my steering rack.

 

[fireflymedic]

It's a car but I hit a pot whole got abs red light came on and several messages started scrolling on dash, no power stearing, no abs, no Electronic stability control.

Ended up being it knocked a magnet out of front hub so no speed sensor info from front left tire. So computer just quit doing all those functions.