Expert: Barry Smith - 2/4/2004

Question
My daughter slid on ice in her 2004 Honda CRV and went sideways into a curb. (She was in a parking lot, on a roadway curve, so her rate of speed was fairly low.) She took her car to a local garage because it was making a 'thumping/clunking" noise when she went 30 mph or more. The service tech said that she damaged the rim and bearings. They ordered new parts and were to repair the wheel. Now I am told that when they began to take everything apart to do the repairs they found that there was also damage to a spindle. I have a complete grasp on the function of the bearings but I am unsure of what the spindle is, where it is located, what its function is etc...could you please help me understand this so I can be sure I am not being taken for a ride (no pun intended). (They've had her car since last thursday, 1/29/04. They only told me TODAY, 2/4/04, about the spindle.)Thanks so much for your help!

Answer
Maureen,

The spindle is what the bearings go on at the vehicle end - as opposed to the wheel end.  They sometimes get bent in an impact like you described.

With a new vehicle, there may be been some wait to get a new wheel, so they didn't bother to take it all apart, until they had the wheel - more effecient that way.  Unfortunately, it turned out that the damage was worse than they expected.

Hope this helps