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Hit a curb going straight on

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Rachael71, Dec 10, 2016.

  1. Rachael71

    Rachael71 Member

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    So, there was a winter storm today and it was snowing heavily. It was the first time I've driven my car in snow and I managed to screw it up pretty good. I was heading to a T intersection with stop signs and I started sliding when I applied the brakes. There were cars everwhere, but I managed to swerve to avoid them. I thought the tail would whip out and I'd end up sideways. Oh no, the traction control came on and I glided fairly straight into a curb. Strangely the car made no noise as I hit the curb and went on to the sidewalk-but when I came back onto the street I heard a thunk as I came back down. I pulled over, inspected the car. Nothing, nothing at all- so I carried on my way going very slowly, of course. When I pulled into a UPS store to drop off a package- I noticed almost all my front lights are now out. I've only got lights on the drivers side and it's the side light not the main light. Did I knock out all my lights during this incident? it seems crazy to me.
     
  2. saltdiscus

    saltdiscus Member

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    I too had similar accident recently but luckily only my tire went flat with splash guard out of its place.My guess is you might broken the light harness wire .Can you pop up your engine and check the top and bottom to see anything out of its place.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  3. Rachael71

    Rachael71 Member

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    If it's broken, I'll need to get a new one right? well, it's dark and snowing out so I'll probably wait till tomorrow to look at it, especially since I can't really do much about it at the moment.
     
  4. saltdiscus

    saltdiscus Member

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    Yeah we can't tell you anything before seeing the pic of damaged parts .I would defiantly look at junkyard before buying new one.I hope your headlight housing is fine because that will cost a lot than some wires.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #4 saltdiscus, Dec 10, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2016
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  5. Rachael71

    Rachael71 Member

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    how would hopping a curb cause this to happen? just wondering, I've never heard of such a thing.
     
  6. saltdiscus

    saltdiscus Member

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    Hmmm my guess is some wire went out or even simple as fuse went out .

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
    Does your monitor show any error?
     
  7. Rachael71

    Rachael71 Member

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    No, it shows nothing. The car drove fine as well
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    perhaps the impact jarred something loose.
     
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  9. saltdiscus

    saltdiscus Member

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    Do you have multimeter to check headlight bulb continuity .After that we will know something?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  10. Rachael71

    Rachael71 Member

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    I don't have one of those. Maybe I'll pop over to Autozone tomorrow and see if I can borrow their's
     
  11. kbeck

    kbeck Active Member

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    Rachel,
    Most likely thing is you popped some connector out or something, as others have said. It's also possible that you might have simply broke a lightbulb.
    The thump when you backed off the curb, weirdly enough, is normal for a Prius. Low ground clearance; I get that backing out of the garage, sometimes.
    I've had cars where connectors popped off. Me, I'd snag my downloaded copy of the Prius troubleshooting manual, grab my volt/ohm/milliammeter, check the fuses and start tracing wires. But I'm a EE. And it's wintertime.. So maybe I'd just take the car to a trusted mechanic with access to all those things and let him/her do it.
    The dealership will be happy to chase it down, as would any local body shop, but they'll charge you hourly rates.
    KBeck
     
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  12. Rachael71

    Rachael71 Member

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    Well, i went to Toyota today and two bulbs needed replacing-33 dollars- no charge for labor. Whew! Yeah, I went to Autozone and they just said forget using a multimeter- I'd need to get underneath the car to do that! I should mention I was at a corner when I hit the curb, so I drove onto the curb and then I just kept going and left the curb on the next street travelling about 25 feet- I came off the curb going forward, not backwards.
     
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats, thanks for the update.(y)
     
  14. working1

    working1 Active Member

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    Glad everything worked out and most importantly no one was injured. I'm assuming your car does not have snow tires. So, a friendly suggestion is to consider installing snow tires for winter driving. It may or may not have made a difference in this case. This in my second Wisconsin winter with a set of Michelin X-Ice tires and will never drive another winter without them.
     
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  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    ^ This.

    Christmas eve we did a drive around, looking at the lights. Up the hill from us the temp drops a couple of degrees (Centigrade) and the snow depth increased by at least 6". Everyones' driveways are flanked by mountains of snow. We stopped to take pics at one spot and I noticed the roads were bare, but slick.

    Anyway, on the way back down, I totally missed spotting an upcoming four-way stop. My wife and son both went into alarm mode, I tromped the brakes, and came to a nice controlled stop, ALB barely kicked in. This is with Michelin X-Ice, purchased/installed right after getting the car.

    They can't perform miracles, but the softer rubber and aggressive tread will definitely improve your cold weather traction.
     
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