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2006 Prius Rear Ended

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by MindPixel, Jan 23, 2020.

  1. MindPixel

    MindPixel New Member

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    I've lurked this form for years. This community was the one that helped me decide to get my Prius a while back.

    I was yielding recently and the guy behind me did not stop and hit me from behind. I suffered from Whiplash and my wife has a concussion. I had it towed to my local Toyota dealer as the red SRS airbag light came on and was just concerned in general to drive it after. This was my first ever accident. The at-fault driver's insurance company sent someone out to get the estimate and it's $1,000. I am still waiting to hear back but it seems they're going to obviously at least be replacing the bumper.

    Once I get a follow up from them these are my questions:

    • Was the breaking system checked?
    • Was the suspension checked?
    • The Red SRS Warning Light displayed which means there was more jarring and damage than possibly realized. No airbags were deployed, does this mean the system is at fault? Was this checked?
    • What is the status of the 12v battery, was this checked? I was concerned about the battery cell. It grounds right behind the rear bumper where the damage occurred.
    • Was or will an alignment be performed?
    • Behind the bumper is an energy-absorbing material. There is a rigid foam bumper underneath the plastic bumper cover, this 100% needs to be replaced. If it is anything but perfectly rectangular It will not protect you next time if it is already collapsed.

    Can you provide any thoughts? Does it look like my car will be okay? I know It does not look as crazy as some of the other accidents I've seen on here. This is my first accident, so I don't know if I am over thinking anything or not. My wife has a concussion so I figured we must have gotten hit pretty dang hard! She flew forward a bit and hit her head on the back of the headrest on the passenger side seat. We have obviously followed up with our doctors and are seeing additional treatment options to ensure nothing else gets worse in the foreseeable future.

    Any and all advice welcome. Thanks, everyone!
     

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  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat!!

    Glad to hear everyone is ok.
    Very important: Don't accept or deposit any insurance checks until you, the wife, and the vehicle 100% back to normal.
     
  3. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    Right, how can they say it only has $1,000 damage if the electronics are compromised? I guess airbags wouldn't normally deploy in a rear end collision, but if the warning light is on, something definitely needs to be fixed as a result of the accident. I'm thinking the price tag for that is likely to be much more than $1,000.
     
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    How you and your wife were injured makes no sense based on the damage in the pics. The damage is clearly a simple fender bender.

    If I were you I'd take the $1,000 and spend it on a vacation or something more important then an old Prius and just spend $30 on new clips to hold the bumper to the rear quarter panel if the old clips no longer work. Then simply polish out the scratches as best you can and put a rubber bumper cover over the cracked part on the top part of the bumper.

    PS: You might want to do a little research on PA law regarding falsely claiming injury in an auto accident. Any judge looking at the damage of your vehicle isn't going to believe your injury claim, so your scheme might backfire in a bad way. Of course you do live in Philly so...
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Jan 23, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2020
  5. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    The guy is actually in Pennsylvania, I'm the one who spends part of the year in Florida, but perhaps I wasn't looking at his post with a sufficiently critical eye.;-)
     
  6. MindPixel

    MindPixel New Member

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    The damages from the automotive shop have actually gone up to $2k. They must replace the foam absorption bumper, replace the back bumper, and the body has also taken damage upon inspection. I can also assure you my wife has a concussion and her symptoms are no laughing matter. I am not trying to take advantage of anything here. Also, I am in PA. As a general rule of thumb, the less damage the car takes the more force that is applied to your body. I am not sure why you are so quick to jump to think I am falsely stating injuries, although I am sure it does happen a lot so I will give you the benefit of the doubt there.
     
  7. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    oops... I just fixed that... Thanks... And yea, sometimes on PriusChat I see people trying out what they're going to say to others to remain blameless/take advantage of the situation. If we give them an honest reaction to how far they're bending the truth, it helps not just them but everyone else they think they can get away with being dishonest to.
     
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  8. MindPixel

    MindPixel New Member

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    I think you've replied to far too many dishonest people. I am sorry you feel this way, and while I feel saddened to an extent that no one is believing I guess I should expect it as crappy as most people are these days.

    The simple fact remains though. They found damage to the frame now, the absorbent foam cover was founded damaged. While the exterior may not look like a tractor-trailer hit it, the force was transferred elsewhere. I am not looking for a payout to go to Hawaii. I was just asking kindly in the beginning for some advice to ensure my car is safe and any gotchas that may arise from an accident like this down the road and you totally took this post out of context.
     
  9. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I'd like to think the OP is being truthful, but the first thing that went through my mind was "no fing way"...Didn't even realize whiplash was still a thing with modern seats and headrests designed to protect against that. And a concussion..from a padded headrest?

    I remember a guy in an accident a couple years ago...smacked his head against a window and splitting his head open, bleeding all over the place, couldn't hear any sound for over 10 minutes and got 10 staples in his noggin. No concussion....

    As the saying goes, your results may vary, and having not been there, who really knows, but geez, this looks sketchy from where I'm at...
     
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  10. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    Plus "She flew forward a bit and hit her head on the back of the headrest". I don't see how that is possible in a rear end collision. The whiplash, at least, makes a little more sense.
     
  11. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    The important thing is we're helping them realize that their scheme is not going to play out well before they even have to commit to playing it out! PriusChat is awesome honest like that!
     
  12. MindPixel

    MindPixel New Member

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    Wow. I am just shocked at the constant attacks here. I was really wrong about this community. I guess you have to get rammed by a tractor-trailer truck in order to get advice here on car damage. I was not even asking about medical advice or suing or anything like that and you all just hijacked my post.

    I won't be ever seeking any advice here ever again. I will say once again, while I know others try to take advantage of situations like this I can understand some of you being hesitant but a lot of your attacks are just uncalled for and the topic was totally taken out of context. I do wish you all the best.
     
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  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The above edited quote of your post would have gotten the exact information you are asking about. The problem is that, in the "IMHO" of some experienced prii folk, the "visual" damage to your vehicle does not match up to the other subjects mentioned in the original post.

    That being said, you need to remember this is the internet, any comment you make can and probably will receive some feedback, especially if it strikes a nerve. If you don't want feedback on it, don't post it for all to see. If you can accept that and carry on, great. If not, then it's been fun and good luck in life.
     
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  14. MindPixel

    MindPixel New Member

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    Yeah, you're right. I was just looking for some advice but I should have thought before I posted because I am sure there are a lot of people on forums that take advantage of situations. I can't expect anyone to really know what happened during the accident. I was just wondering if there are any gotchas for accidents like this that could pop up in the future, car wise, not health-wise. I appreciate your criticism.

    I just don't think it's wise or healthy to instantly label anyone in a minor accident as someone who is falsely claiming damages. Especially since some people are more prone to injury easily if they have a pre-existing condition. I know it happens as I said, but it's a bit paranoid. These are after all 3,000lb moving machines.

    Anyway, I am obviously thankful it was not more serious and that the car will be fixable. Thanks again for your feedback. I have learned in the future to not ask for advice for situations like this on internet forums as it's too hard for anyone really to know the details of my accident.

    I hope you have a great day.
     
  15. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    No personal attack here... Just honesty... The damage to your vehicle is consistent with a fender bender.... Your claim they found damage to the frame because there was damage to the foam bumper cover makes no sense and seems like yet another unbelievable exaggeration, of which you offer many.

    Some of us are on PriusChat everyday helping people and giving our honest opinion based on the available information and sometimes we're wrong. But most of the time we're right. Often that includes Prius that don't look very damaged from an accident, but to an experienced PriusChat participant is clearly a totaled car. Of course your problem is the opposite.

    And as soon as you get further down that road on your insurance claim the initial frustration you're getting from us, will make it easier to accept the same kind of frustration you're gonna get once you get the insurance company's final offer... So even if you're not happy with us, in the long run, it will make it easier to accept the nature of the fender bender you were involved in.
     
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  16. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    What stands out most in your situation is the inurance estimate was only $1K... I've never seen a claim that low from an adjuster, but once I saw the photos It made sense.
     
  17. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    I beg to differ. When I read your initial response to the poster, I just thought, "Wow! That was harsh." You really seemed to jump on fact not in evidence and made huge assumptions. I didn't comment initially because I thought maybe there was some American cultural thing going on.

    I don't know what has gone on for you in your life's experience, but you do seem to carry a couple of extreme biases on your shoulders. These seem to give you an "alternate reality" when viewing sometimes the most innocent of situations.

    I cannot abide by people who are rude, harshly critical, or just plain ill-mannered in public forums and then hide behind the "I'm just being honest" catchall. Thankfully there have only been a few in this forum who have pushed the boat out so far that comment was warranted.

    Giving honest feedback is ok, but it should be done with empathy, kindness, and understanding.

    In my opinion, there is no justification for your comments and you owe the OP an apology.
     
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  18. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    I have direct experience with impacts strong enough to unclip the rear bumper cover... It can easily happen at only 1 or 2mph...

    As for policing "people who are rude, harshly critical, or just plain ill-mannered" if we were having this conversation with all of us in person I would of said the exact same thing, but my tone of voice and body language would of made it clear that I was being helpful and that the anti-social behavior you're trying to read into my words would not apply.

    Being concise and to the point is important to me. Social media is not a very ideal place to interpret the off-putting or encouraging nature of someone's words. In fact, you can learn alot more from what someone is saying if you refrain from making those type of judgements.
     
  19. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    For perspective, a 2018 Prius w/only 12K miles posted on FB Prius owner's group tonight. No one was hurt in this evening's accident between two cars and the frame in this pic to anyone doing salvage title resales look straight enough to buy it, but the insurance claim will for sure total this car and consider it a total loss considering the intensity of the impact and the near $10K in air bag replacement, because they have to do it all brand new. Whereas a salvage title rebuilder reseller would see this one as some super easy gravy if there's no suprises in frame damage.... And of course between these two extremes is the vehicle owner who may be able to negotiate a reduced totaled payment from insurance so they can keep the car and use that payment to fund their repair effort.

    82799901_2808536055907149_4693921443711287296_n.jpg
     
  20. MindPixel

    MindPixel New Member

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    First off, glad to hear they are okay! Second of all, you just disproved your entire point that severe damage = injury or any type of bodily damage no matter how minor.

    There was just a guy in the news recently that freaking drove under a tractor-trailer truck and the entire front end and roof tore off.

    No one knows how that guy even walked away from that accident without injury but he did. According to your analysis though he should probably be dead because severe damage = bodily injury...

    My $1k estimate was pre teardown. It quickly jumped up once they inspected it after removing the bumper. You obviously have an extreme bias and are just flying by the seat of your pants with your responses.

    Also, any and all of your biases are completely mute, because just imagine how many crappy people get into an extremely crazy accident and have extreme damage to the car, but walk away injury-free but end up taking advantage of the situation regardless. People suck and that's that. Anyway, I will not be replying back nor checking this thread ever again. I am moving on as the car is getting fixed by a reputable dealer and the insurance company has treated the situation very well. I glad to be moving on with my life now.

    Best wishes to you all and thanks to Dolj for his kindness.
     
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