When it comes to car maintenance, understanding the inner workings of your vehicle is essential. Among the most overlooked but integral components is the chassis. Defined as the load-bearing framework of a vehicle, it is crucial to your safety on the road. Below is what you should know about it.  

What Comprises the Chassis?

In modern vehicles, the chassis goes beyond the skeletal frame and includes other systems attached to or suspended from it to form a solid structure, including:

• Frame: As the primary component of your chassis, the automobile frame has to be strong, rigid, and sturdy enough to carry significant weight while absorbing forceful impact from movement. It is generally made of steel and designed to keep the vehicle stable at all times.  

• Suspension System: In unibody construction, the entire suspension system is mounted on the steel frame, allowing the latter to bear the stress and shocks entirely from unfavorable road conditions, driving, and braking.

• Brakes: Usually, you’ll find the hydraulic-powered braking system attached to the chassis frame, and for a smart reason. The structure provides the much-needed resistance whenever you come to a full stop or try to decelerate.

• Transmission: No matter the type of your transmission system, it’s likely a part of the chassis, too. Similar to the brakes, it benefits from the steel frame’s capacity to absorb external forces resulting from constant movement.  

• Steering Gear: The steering gear lets you control the wheels to adjust your direction of movement. Its accuracy depends on the efficiency of a lubricated mechanism bolted onto the chassis frame.

• Wheels & Tires: A modern chassis now includes the wheels and tires, and not just as an afterthought.   

Why Routine Inspection Is Important

Despite its significance, most car owners give the chassis frame far less attention than the systems mounted on it. As a result, chassis often sustain damage like rusting, which can quickly spread and undermine the structural integrity of the entire vehicle. Other common damage includes twist and sag, both of which can wear out a car’s suspension or cause it to lean to one side. A car with a weakened chassis is also more susceptible to damage from a collision even at low speeds. Having it inspected twice a year or after an accident by a trusted car maintenance expert ensures its structural soundness and prevents minor damage from escalating.

Routine car maintenance with the professionals at GSBP Automotive will ensure that your vehicle chassis is in tip-top shape all the time. Based out of Gulf Shores, AL, they’ve provided an extensive range of auto services, including oil changes, tire rotations, engine overhaul, and other major car repairs, since 1985. Call (251) 968-7456 to schedule car maintenance today or learn more about them online.