Accident. Hit from behind....my tire fell off!!

Well, judging by the damage, I wouldn't say that the tire exactly "fell" off...

 

looks like a freakish incident involving a colliding vehicle hitting your Prius at the angle that would just catch the tire. at least this implies SOME effort to avoid hitting you.

having totaled my 04, i can say that the part of your Prius that was hit is very flimsy. in a normal car, the body would have deflected the colliding vehicle more probably saving your tire but that force would have been transferred to your neck, head and back.

that tire must have created quiet a jolt though. glad you are ok.

 

I tested my rear 5MHPH bumper a few weeks ago while sitting at a stop at a red light. A very nice black mercedes simply bumped into me, and kept pushing. I noiced starbucks coffee cups flying about in the car behind, and I believe I noticed an airborne cell phone. The damage was simply a slightly scuffed rear bumper cover, which doesn't bug me all that much. The aluminum beam that is behind the cover looks to have taken the hit fairly well.
Sorry to see your Pri didn't fare as well.

ss

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pri4me @ Oct 6 2006, 02:56 PM) [snapback]329114[/snapback]</div>

I'm wondering if, perhaps, the impact that the wheel took actually will reduce the cost of the bodywork.

I'm not an expert, either. But, surely, every time a Prius has damage to the right quarter, they don't cut the whole roof off or total the car...do they...?

 

well i found out that any Prius repair is a very expensive project. space age molded plastic and aluminum panels all boost the cost. the lack of spare parts (blame that on better than average reliability motive systems. iow, not many sitting around with a blown engine and good body parts!!)

without knowing about any frame damage, i dont think your Prius will be totaled. my insurance company told me mine would be totaled based on my description of the damage. all they do is total up the "zones" involved and if its over a certain level, its totaled.

on my accident, the entire left side was trashed. no frame damage at all. just a slight glancing blow by a solid heavy metal reinforced pickup truck bumper against my aluminum panels.

your accident from what i can see looks to be only two zones. mine was

1) left front
2) front left side
3) rear left side
4)left rear

i would make sure they check out the frame damage. hitting the wheel like that means a pretty good bump against the sturdiest part of the frame.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pri4me @ Oct 6 2006, 03:56 PM) [snapback]329114[/snapback]</div>

I have trouble imagining there wouldn't be some frame damage if it hit hard enough to bend the axle and break a wheel. I'm not sure if the wheel broke, or the rear axle, but in my experience, that car may well be totalled. The rear quarter panel is typically part of the unibody, repair panels can be welded on, but depending on how much of the structure is involved... Sorry for the bad luck, but glad everyone walked away.

 

Was hit in a parking lot a few weeks ago too, but all repaired now...542 bucks.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hwalker911 @ Oct 6 2006, 04:29 PM) [snapback]329137[/snapback]</div>

And that was probably just a new bumper cover, right? Do they come in different colors, or do they have to be painted?

 

can't see too well... but it looks like a snapped axle and a broken strut. good luck with the insurance, glad you're not hurt!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hwalker911 @ Oct 6 2006, 03:29 PM) [snapback]329137[/snapback]</div>

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hwalker911 -

Hope a good Samaritan pops up for you like one did for us! A few years ago, my wife was parked at mall parking lot. She came out to see damage similar to yours, except it was the left rear. There was a note on the windshield from a witness. She was alert enough to include the license plate number & car description! We turned in the accident to to the local police. They struck out on the license number. About 3 months later, she got another call from the local police. Seems a clerk had a little time to kill & was doing some follow ups. He tried some other similar license numbers & BINGO!

We eventually got a check from that driver for the cost of repairs!

Is that a happy ending?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Oct 6 2006, 01:38 PM) [snapback]329067[/snapback]</div>

Sorry to hear about your accident, and glad everyone is ok.

Physics tells us that all the energy from a collision must go somewhere. Any energy expended in crushing crumple zones, or bending axles and snapping off wheels, is energy that does not go into throwing the occupants around in the vehicle. So in a way, the "damage" can be seen as a good thing.

The trend towards higher fuel economy, lighter vehicles, and cheaper production costs has brought a necessary paradigm shift. The days of protecting drivers and passengers by simply making cars bigger and heavier are fading into history. New vehicles are designed to sacrifice themselves to save their human cargo. While designers have found ingenious and lightweight ways to protect us, the high replacement cost of these sacrificial systems creates a higher percentage of "totaled" vehicles. I am happy these systems exist, and even payed extra for them (optional air bags), but also expect the high replacement costs will continue to drive auto insurance rates skyward. Alas, these are trade-offs, and the trend will most certainly continue.