Curb Rash

M

Marvin Gordon

New Member
I haven't scraped up wheels in MANY years. I've done it TWICE in my first 3 weeks of ownership of my new Clarity.

First time both right wheels. Got them repaired. Then a week later did it AGAIN to the rear passenger wheel. Decided to just live with it....

Just a string of bad luck or is this wheel/tire combo more susceptible to curb rash?

Absolutely love the car. Averaging about 62ish miles per full charge.
 
How do they repair the rims? I curbed my front wheel as well, the sides of the car are very high compared to my old car
 
Yes, I've done it twice (front right wheel) in six months. I haven't done that on other cars since ... well, I can't remember. The first time was a few weeks after getting the car, and I freaked out. However, I decided to just chill about it because it's not all that noticeable and because I don't want to fix it due to cost and the not insignificant probability that I'll scrape them again.
 
I hit something on the freeway on 7/5 that broke the two right wheels. The car was in the shop for a week and a half for the insurance company and repair shop to do their dance (and actually fix the thing.) I learned that wheels are expensive. So I was really sad when I scrapped the front right wheel on the first major drive after getting the car back (it couldn't have been before, noooooo). But I soldier on. Didn't know a repair (vs replace) was an option.
 
I know it is only a matter of time before I get a curb rash as well.
However, one thing I am now considering is installing Rim Protectors

Something like this or another possibly more well known option.
https://www.rimbladesusa.com/product/rimsavers/

2018-08-09 11_30_52-RimSavers _ RimBladesUSA.webp
 
High tech meets old school!
Let’s bring back curb feelers from the 50s!
Only our car is so quiet we’d never hear them touch the curb!
upload_2018-8-9_13-19-9.webp
 

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I got my right front wheel as well. The problem is the wheels stick out further than the tires. On previous cars I have owned, the tire stuck out more than the wheel so the rubber tire would hit first and protect the rim.
 
Odobo said:
Hmm.... Just a suggestion, you can turn on the side view camera by pressing the button on the tip of the turn signal.... That should help you prevent from scratching the view in the future
Click to expand...
Dang! great idea. I was using the backup cam estimating the distance...grrrr
 
pinrut said:
How do they repair the rims? I curbed my front wheel as well, the sides of the car are very high compared to my old car
Click to expand...
Google "Alloy wheel repair" and you should be able to find a local repair shop. They take the wheel off, and via sanding etc. they'll look like new. With a keen eye you can see that some aluminum gets removed. But the average Joe will never see it. I was charged $140 a wheel which I think might be a high, but the retail for a new wheel is something like $850 at the dealer!
 
My wife scratched the right side mirror against the wood driveway gate. Paint should be ok if I use some scratch remover, the plastic part has a little scratched off that made it duller than the rest.
I'm cool about that just told her it would happen sooner or later, and she said I knew but just too soon LOL

Same to the wheel rash, I never feel like I should spend money to fix that.
 
I curbed my front passenger wheel and ended up with a flat and a tow to get it fixed. Just today I rolled over a curb again, but escaped unscathed (was going very slow). When that happened, I was thinking the same thing you are- why is it that I keep clipping the curb turning right with us car when I have almost never done so with other cars? The only thing I can think of is that this is the first mid-sized car I’ve driven regularly, my past cars have been compacts. Or it may simply be that I am erroneously overcorrecting for what I feel like is a really long front end?
 
Ha, I did the same thing. Same tire. Front right. I usually park my rides at end spots and try to get far to the edge as possible to cut down risk of someone dinging my door -- and I go ahead and damage my wheel in the process. :-(
 
Same. Had been parallel parking fine with my 2003 accord for several years. Then got the clarity and scratched both driver side rims in the first month of ownership :(. Can we buy tires that are wider and protect the rims better?
 
SeeItAllWithTheClarity said:
Same. Had been parallel parking fine with my 2003 accord for several years. Then got the clarity and scratched both driver side rims in the first month of ownership :(. Can we buy tires that are wider and protect the rims better?
Click to expand...

I have the same question.
Every cars I have will have the wheel scratched sooner or later, so I got used to it. I think it's the downside of low profile tires.
It's never a problem with my Jeep, the wheel is well recessed from the thick tire wall.
 
Ok, thanks for this thread. Feeling better now as I was attributing my increased curbing in this car to getting older.

My wife and kids have all curbed it too. It definitely something about the design.
 
Marvin Gordon said:
Google "Alloy wheel repair" and you should be able to find a local repair shop. They take the wheel off, and via sanding etc. they'll look like new. With a keen eye you can see that some aluminum gets removed. But the average Joe will never see it. I was charged $140 a wheel which I think might be a high, but the retail for a new wheel is something like $850 at the dealer!
Click to expand...
Marvin Gordon said:
I haven't scraped up wheels in MANY years. I've done it TWICE in my first 3 weeks of ownership of my new Clarity.

First time both right wheels. Got them repaired. Then a week later did it AGAIN to the rear passenger wheel. Decided to just live with it....

Just a string of bad luck or is this wheel/tire combo more susceptible to curb rash?

Absolutely love the car. Averaging about 62ish miles per full charge.
Click to expand...
Rookies i say! i Have tons of driving experience. And realize this can happen to anyone. But i will tell you how to decrease the chances. It is simple. SLOW DOWN. Dont rush it when parallel parking or in any critical maneuver. This gives you time to make critical adjustments or pull away from the curb and start over. You will notice many truck drivers have learned this. They creep along very slow when backing up or nogotiating a turn and it does help immensly. So Slow the process down. My wife took the side mirror off a few times backing out our gate. But since i convinced her to slow down she has not done it again.
 
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