STORM2K

On Wed, Dec 10, my husband and I were driving to a town called Bowling Green to visit a friend that we gave our dog to and to take their kids some presents and the dog a present. As we drove down the road at a speed of about 60 mph, the whole car started to shimmy and shake violently. We slowed down to under 55 and the car drove normally. At speeds over 55 it would shake and under 55 it would not. When we got home , my hubby took the car down to the local Goodyear dealer and had them look at the car. It turns out that the left rear wheel tie rod had broken. When to the tow truck came to get the car this morning to take it back to Goodyear(they wouldn't have the parts for repair until today) , as it was being place on the tow truck's slide , you could see the tie rod where it had broken. It was a scary feeling to know that the wheel could have come off the car while we were driving it.

That is scary. Thank goodness you both are all right! :o

I've seen this happen numerous times, the secert to prevent this, have the car lubed every 8,000 miles. I'm GLAD no one was hurt!

Dennis

Many years ago when I was stupicer than I am now, I had a car break a front tie rod at 60 mph on a rainy freeway in Houston as I was going around a curve. I ended up in the railing 30 feet off the ground below, almost right over the then Police station near Downtown Houston. Talk about a scary feeling!!!! Steer the car one way and it still goes the other way. All I could do was slide till I hit something and/or stopped. Fortunately the damage wasn't terrible and I was fine(after wiping myself!!!). Glad you guys got through it all ok!!

With all that I know about cars, I dunno what a tie rod does (or really what it is ) but I am glad that you are OK.

Joshua21, the tie rod is what holds the wheel in the vertical postision and to the body of the car.

Azsnowman, the car is 10 years old but was taken very good care of and it would get oil change and lube every 3,000 miles. We developed a very good relationship with the shop manager at the dealership where we bought it. I am just glad that my grandson wasn't in the car with us . It was a rare day for my husband, son and daughter to have the day off at the same time , otherwise he would have been in the car with us when we went somewhere.

Got the car back today! It rides better than it did after the tire rotation which is when the problem with the tierod started showing up

THANK goodness, I am glad ALL is well!

Dennis

It would be a good idea to have the rest of the suspension checked too. 10 years is about normal for tie rods and ball joints, even when lubed as called for by the manufacturer. Glad to hear everything is ok, but get the rest checked out soon.

I, too have had a front tie rod break while driving. Luckily, I was only going about 30 mph. I called my brother in law because he lived close to where it happened. He brought some tools, and we fixed it right on the spot. Had to get it to a shop for alignment though. It is a very scary feeling.

Glad to know that you guys are OK.

Last summer, my mom was also having car trouble too, first it was the transmission, and after that it was the whole engine.