Rough night

Major bummer! Glad you are OK though.

 

Wow I'm so sorry Boe. It looks like the deer hit you in the spot where the windshield washer fluid container is located but it may have damaged your radiator too. It's too hard to tell from the picture. Regarding your towing question - ideally you'd want to tow this car with the two front wheels off of the ground or else you'll run into some problems with the regenerative breaking system overloading the battery I do believe. I think the best bet is to somehow get it into a flatbed, but I'm not 100% certain.

Here are some excepts from the manual regarding your towing concerns:
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Was it a 4 point buck? (8point for you eastern folk).

I'm just trying to make light of the situation. I'm glad you are ok. It could have been much worse.

 

+1

 

Glad you're ok and sorry to hear it was only 3 weeks old, but can't help but make this observation:

"

My prius was just demolished by a deer."​

and ...​

"​

looks like the deer hit you in the spot ... "

I'm just guessing, but the dear might see it a little differently.

Like this guy, kinda comes with the territory I suppose.

 

A very unfortunate circumstance to be sure. Glad you're OK. As for the towing, the car should be FLAT BED towed, NOT with just the two front wheels off the ground. In fact, a car should never be towed with just the front wheels off the ground. In most cases of this type of towing damage to either the front/front suspension, or rear bumper damage ensues. If you have towing on your insurance policy, they will cover the towing charges.

Be sure to find the best body shop around to repair your car. It would be a very good idea to take a look at other cars they have recently repaired, cars waiting for customer pick up in their lot. Because most body shops are not familiar with the mechanical details of the Prius, it would also be a good idea to have the dealer check it out. Most dealers contract out any body work to outside shops.

We have found that body shops that do work for Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Audi tend to do better work than the average body shop. Best of luck in getting your car back to it's bew condition !

 

It wouldn't hurt to check with the Toyota dealer. Just a bit more information to be aware of. Some insurance companies specify the use of USED or foreign ( China ) and poorly made"replacement" parts to the body shop. Be aware of that and question the body shop manager about that when getting an estimate for repairs. Considering the newness of your car, I would absolutely refuse any used or "replacement" parts. Insist on genuine TOYOTA parts, bumper cover, hood, fender, and door panels if necessary. "Replacement" parts are cheaper than original Toyota parts. and many insurance companies use them to bring their costs down. Don't allow them to be used on your car.

Be sure to do your homework to ensure the best possible results in th repair of your car.

Good Luck !

 

Glad you are OK. You might want to look at the Prius C forum, where there's a thread started by someone who hit a deer at a higher speed than you did, and also was not injured.

 

Yeah unfortunately this is a 2010, and not a new car. So, insurance companies will be using aftermarket parts. OE parts will only be used if you have an OEM part endorsement on the policy or if the aftermarket is not available and/or was proven to not fit.

GL with the repair.

 

Glad to hear the damage wasn't too bad, and good luck getting your car back soon.

 

Not at all true ! It doesn't matter if it's a 2010 or 2005, an owner can reject the use of non OE parts. And this being a 2010 is far from being "old." With some schlacky insurance companies, an owner may have to pay the difference in cost between the junk part and the OE part, but that doesn't exist with the policies of most good companies. Sad to say however, there are only a few really good companies that service their customers really well.

 

I have yet to see it. Please show me which insurance companies are willing to only use OE parts and I will gladly switch to them.

When I interviewed for a field adjuster position with one of the largest auto insurance companies, that was the info I was given in regards to their OEM part policy. And afaik that is basically the common industry practice.

And personally I see no reason, for an insurance company to pay for OEM parts when I do not need to. The insurance company's obligation is to only return the car to pre-loss condition.


iPhone ?

 

The OP is in Minnesota; this web page dated November 2009 summarizes the OEM parts regulations of all states, and notes that in Minnesota "Insurers cannot require non-OEM parts, except for window glass"

 

This is why I encourage all my deer-hunting friends to hunt close to home. We need deer harvested here, not in Northern Michigan.

 

Wow, really sorry to hear about your Prius but we are all glad that you are okay. Since the impact was passenger side the washer fluid absorbed most of the hit, maybe some damage to the ICE, but most of the expensive hybrid components are on the driver side right?

Keep us updated, hope everything works out for the best.