Bent my Steel Wheel and Lost a Hubcap

[Dabullfrog91]

Hey everyone,

So this morning I lost a hubcap after hitting a pothole on the way to work. I was only doing about 35mph best guess. It happened in Indianapolis which is an absolute abyss of potholes right now. My questions are as follows:

1. Where do I get a new hubcap for cheap?
2. The tire is holding air, am I safe to drive on it?
3. Just lip of the rim appears bent, can it be hammered out?
4. If it needs repaired or replaced, how much am I looking at?
6. Is the tire damaged? How do I tell?
5. Any other recommendations?'

***I have steel wheels on a 2017.

Thanks everyone!

[tomrad]

Hey everyone,

So this morning I lost a hubcap after hitting a pothole on the way to work. I was only doing about 35mph best guess. It happened in Indianapolis which is an absolute abyss of potholes right now. My questions are as follows:

1. Where do I get a new hubcap for cheap?
2. The tire is holding air, am I safe to drive on it?
3. Just lip of the rim appears bent, can it be hammered out?
4. If it needs repaired or replaced, how much am I looking at?
6. Is the tire damaged? How do I tell?
5. Any other recommendations?'

***I have steel wheels on a 2017.

Thanks everyone!

Either ebay or here:
http://car-part.com

[tomrad]

and yes, some places fix wheels. It may be possible to straighten it. As far as the tire, feel the sidewall and make sure it doesn't have a bubble or bulge in that spot. They are tougher than you think but don't take a chance if it looks damaged. Put that tire on the back also, if you can.

[Top_Fuel]

Take a look at the tire where the rim is bent. Is the tire cut or gouged? Does the sidewall seem OK in that area (not bulging, etc)? You may want to remove the wheel to closely inspect the tire. Keep a close eye on it for a while. If you aren't comfortable doing any of this, take it to a shop you trust and pay them to do it.

The tires on a Mirage (Dunlop Enasaves) are extremely light duty and they don't have a lot of meat in the sidewall. If the tire has been damaged, get it replaced.

If the lip of the wheel is bent a little, that can be bent back into shape. But if the wheel was hit that hard, have a tire shop spin the wheel on a wheel balancer to make sure it's still straight. The cheapest source of a new wheel and/or hubcap is going to be eBay or a local auto recycler (aka junk yard).

Now would be a good time to have your alignment checked. Even if your Mirage only has a few thousand miles on it, many Mirages aren't properly aligned from the factory.

[Dirk Diggler]

Take a look at the tire where the rim is bent. Is the tire cut or gouged? Does the sidewall seem OK in that area (not bulging, etc)? You may want to remove the wheel to closely inspect the tire. Keep a close eye on it for a while. If you aren't comfortable doing any of this, take it to a shop you trust and pay them to do it.

The tires on a Mirage (Dunlop Enasaves) are extremely light duty and they don't have a lot of meat in the sidewall. If the tire has been damaged, get it replaced.

If the lip of the wheel is bent a little, that can be bent back into shape. But if the wheel was hit that hard, have a tire shop spin the wheel on a wheel balancer to make sure it's still straight. The cheapest source of a new wheel and/or hubcap is going to be eBay or a local auto recycler (aka junk yard).

Now would be a good time to have your alignment checked. Even if your Mirage only has a few thousand miles on it, many Mirages aren't properly aligned from the factory.

Exact same thing happened to me today. G4 lost a front left OEM hub cap. I decided I didnt want to spend $100 at a dealership for one so bought some 14 " cheap ones at Walmart, put them on but noticed the back left wheel looked slightly bent around the lip. Put it on any way and did a small trip on the highway to test it out. Sure enough the back left wheel hub cap feel off. Does this steel wheel look that badly damaged and if not, what can I do to keep a hub cap on?

[Mark]

Exact same thing happened to me today. G4 lost a front left OEM hub cap. I decided I didnt want to spend $100 at a dealership for one so bought some 14 " cheap ones at Walmart, put them on but noticed the back left wheel looked slightly bent around the lip. Put it on any way and did a small trip on the highway to test it out. Sure enough the back left wheel hub cap feel off. Does this steel wheel look that badly damaged and if not, what can I do to keep a hub cap on?

I would surely start with what Eggman suggested. If you strike out there, I bought a pair of steel rims from "onlywheels.com". They were $50/rim with free shipping when I bought them. I checked, & they still carry them. Selecting the right steel rim for a Mirage wasn't working for me on their website tonight. I would consider calling them if that is the case.

I say this, because these 14" steel rims come in 2 different widths, 4 different bolt patterns, 3 different offsets, & 5 different hub bore openings. Thus, you want to make sure you order the correct steel rim. I bought the 5.5" wide steel rims. 165-185 width tires will mount perfectly on them. There are no brake clearance issues (2017+ Mirages have larger front brakes), & the factory hub caps fit in them just fine. Those were my two concerns when I order them.

Even though these steel rims came from Canada, I got them within a few days. I share all this, because I wouldn't pay more than $50 for a used rim when you can get a new one for that price.

[Mark]

I would surely start with what Eggman suggested. If you strike out there, I bought a pair of steel rims from "onlywheels.com". They were $50/rim with free shipping when I bought them. I checked, & they still carry them. Selecting the right steel rim for a Mirage wasn't working for me on their website tonight. I would consider calling them if that is the case.

I say this, because these 14" steel rims come in 2 different widths, 4 different bolt patterns, 3 different offsets, & 5 different hub bore openings. Thus, you want to make sure you order the correct steel rim. I bought the 5.5" wide steel rims. 165-185 width tires will mount perfectly on them. There are no brake clearance issues (2017+ Mirages have larger front brakes), & the factory hub caps fit in them just fine. Those were my two concerns when I order them.

Even though these steel rims came from Canada, I got them within a few days. I share all this, because I wouldn't pay more than $50 for a used rim when you can get a new one for that price.

P.S. - I would take it off & wail on it with a small sledge hammer first & see what happens? If I had some doubts afterwards, I would take it over to any tire shop. I would ask them to rebalance it and check it out. Then use it or replace it.

[Fummins]

Get a block of wood and a big hammer. Sometimes you can straighten them pretty easily depending on where it's bent. I've done it many times, the gf hit a pothole(in her Optima) the other day:Attachment 11669 Attachment 11670 otherwise look at car-part.com look up wheels for 14-18' Mirage. They all interchange.

[Mark]

Hey everyone,

So this morning I lost a hubcap after hitting a pothole on the way to work. I was only doing about 35mph best guess. It happened in Indianapolis which is an absolute abyss of potholes right now. My questions are as follows:


***I have steel wheels on a 2017.

Thanks everyone!

If you end up replacing the steel rim, I bought a pair from onlywheels.com last December. I used them to mount a pair of snow tires.

They were $50 each (with free shipping). I believe they were shipped from Canada, but I got them within a week. They are 5.5" wide, and stock steel rims are 4.5". This was a non-issue. I had standard size 165/65r14 snow tires mounted on them. Since they are slightly wider, an upgrade in a wider tire size would fit on them better than the factory rims.

Big plus - balanced easily, no clearance issues with larger front brakes on 2017/18 Mirages, & factory hub caps fit inside of them. I will copy & paste the rims I bought below.

There may be better deals out there, but I know this steel rim will work on your 2017 Mirage for sure!

Sorry about your wheel misfortune! Hope everything works out for you!

https://onlywheels.com/wheels/steel-wheel-14?cid=1301

[roosterk0031]

Crescent wrench works great for straightening the lip, you will have to dismount the tire, don't try to do it in on bend, take your time and multiple little bends. If it's holding air I don't think a bent lip will affect the tire roundness.