Posted on 1/30/2026
Hitting a pothole is usually a quick jolt, then you keep driving and assume you got lucky. A lot of the time, the real issues show up later, once the tire cools, the suspension settles, or you’ve put a few more miles on the car. That delay is what throws people off. If you know what to watch for during the next few days, you can catch damage early, before it turns into uneven tire wear, a steering shake, or a tire that keeps losing air for no obvious reason. 1. A Slow Leak That Starts After The Tire Cools Down A pothole can pinch the tire against the rim hard enough to disturb the seal where the tire bead sits. You might not notice anything on the drive home, then the tire starts losing a few pounds of air over the next day or two. This can also happen if the valve stem gets stressed or the rim edge gets slightly bent. If you keep topping it off without finding the source, the tire can end up running low again at the worst time, usually on a longer drive ... read more