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Bad Day, drove my car into a snowbank

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Kutanks, Mar 10, 2011.

  1. Kutanks

    Kutanks Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2008
    118
    6
    0
    Location:
    MA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hit a snowbank last night at about 20MPH. the impact was the front left of the car. The bumper is cracked, but nothing major, I can repair it, my grille is toast. After the accident my left foglight was loose and wasn't working, also the amber light above the headlight went out on that side.

    Today the passenger side foglight died as well, however the amber light still remains on. This isn't the turn signal, both of these still work.

    IS it possible that my fog light harness is short circuted? there was snow in the bracket for the drivers foglight, none in the passengers, i tried to clean out everything but i had to wait for some of it to melt.

    Thats not even all the damage, the splash guard under the bumper is ripped and distorted, the plastic that covers the foglight is cracked as well but looks as if it can be glued back together.

    The worst of it seems to be the lower radiator support. it looks like it is slightly bent on the drivers side, the spots where the splash guard attaches too look to be out of alignment with those on the other side. It is my understanding that this piece is welded to the frame? How hard is it to replace? Im gonna jack up the car and see if I can maybe hammer it into shape.

    How much would the repair to the lower radiator support cost? Im positive the radiator itself is fine. I know this is a pretty intensive job that requires the removal of both bumper and fenders but I don't feel safe driving the car with the lower radiator support damaged.
     
  2. Garik

    Garik New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2009
    17
    3
    0
    Location:
    Whitesboro, NY
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Driving a car with bent lower radiator support is safe. It is not a structural component. The only thing that it does is holding the radiator in place.