Spare tire for a week now car feels floaty / traction light goes off a bunch
 

So unfortunately I had to drive on the factory spare for a week or 2. Lots of bumpy hilly roads. I've noticed now that I got back on 4 regular tires the rear axle or back end of the car feels floaty and the traction control light is going off on any bump and seems to be accompanied by the floatiness. It just doesn't feel right.

Is there something that can be recommended to check with the rear axle or diff? I've heard of abs sensors causing problems but I don't see how this would display the weirdness in the back of the car.

Any ideas or advice?

car is stock besides tires and pp struts and shocks.

Stupid Question #1: have you checked the pressure of your new tires?

Stupid Question #2: Are all four tires identical?

Stupid Question #2A: Including wear, or at least close to the same wear?

Stupid question 3: did you check the spare's pressure before putting it on?
Stupid question 3b: did you install the spare on the rear axle?

Stupid question 4: what caused the need to install the spare?

I dented the inside lip of the rim on a shit pothole, not the outside go figure. All tires are the same michelins 4s i believe they are called. Spare tire went on the front right not the rear. I did check the tire when it went on but I haven't checked all 4, hmm probably pretty stupid on my part I just figured I'd get a dash light if it was really low. I did check the spare tire air and aired it up before it went on.

I wish I could have done things differently but at the time it was our only working car and I had trouble getting it into a tire store. Now I'm kicking myself as I have never driven on a spare that long. Sorta a low point.

Anything that could be checked with the rear diff / axle? Now I'm afraid to hustle it around.

- I also forgot to mention the tire store f'ed up 3 of my wheel studs on front left and had to replace them before I got the car back.

Stupid question 5: Did you have the alignment checked after this damage?

Oooo.... @NoHaveMSG is on point! I'll take Get Bent for 600, Alex. Spare tire didn't hurt anything. You mounted it up front so good on you. :thumbsup:

Well I was pretty much bread crumbed into it :iono:


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It still could be a severely overinflated tire but dem breadcrumbs doe.

Ok I guess next thing is to take her in for an alignment. I didn't really consider that as the car seems to have as much or more trouble on rough straight aways than corners but my thinking i would notice alignment issue more on corners maybe flawed.

I just hope there is nothing else funky going on, the roads I drive are so damn awful I mean the worst of the worst in the state.

Go for the alignment, you hit a pothole hard enough to bend a rim...

Alignment is way more sensitive on the flat and straight. On-center feel is incredibly easy to get smashed out by any sort of impact.

When you say 4 regular tires are they the same tires or did you just replace 1? Did you buy new, used, old tire? If you have different wear on the back that will cause issues. If you have an old tire it will be hard and have poor traction.

They are all 4 michelin's I put on a new a year or so ago, the tire was not damage so it went back on once I got a new rim. Pressure's are all good.

To me it feels as if sometimes after a bump the car keeps undulating more than it should / use to. The back of the car is moving way more than it should.

Today after a spirited drive i have now developed an odd whirring sound at low speed, i'm definitely thinking there is something else other than alignment wrong now. Maybe I'll get lucky and the valvetrain will blow up and I can just light a match on the car while sitting in it.

things are not going well for me.

wheel bearing?