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What's behind the rear bumper?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by zenMachine, Aug 25, 2008.

  1. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    We got rear-ended at a stop light last weekend. The driver behind us thought the light had turned green so he went forward and rammed into our Prius. Luckily, his car is a Camry and his speed was pretty slow so the damage was relatively minor. The bumper got squished just enough to pop the rivets out on the two sides, and the lower lip of the rear hatch got bent just a little bit to where now you have to slam down pretty hard to close the hatch. Otherwise everything looks OK.

    Took the car to the body shop, the Toyota guy said they needed to examine behind the bumper to see if anything was damaged there.

    My question to our panel of experts: what IS behind that rear bumper???
     
    #1 zenMachine, Aug 25, 2008
  2. NaptownPrius

    NaptownPrius Getting Greener....

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    Exactly what happened to mine.

    They replaced the bumper...a piece of hard styrofoam absorber behind it...and two bent metal shock absorbing pieces. Sounds like it worked as advertised.

    Total cost about $1200.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    #2 NaptownPrius, Aug 25, 2008
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    See attached .pdf file. Can the hatch be repaired or will it be replaced?
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Aug 25, 2008
  4. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I can tell you what's behind my back bumper: some jackass in a 4x4 pickup truck blaring country music and fixin' to reach for one of the rifles in his gun rack until his girlfriend stops his hand and says, "it ain't worth it Cletus, you've been savin' that last bullet for yer ex-wife."
     
    #4 TonyPSchaefer, Aug 25, 2008
  5. slair

    slair Ubër Senior Member

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    Right.
    Spot.
    On.
     
    #5 slair, Aug 26, 2008
  6. Qlara

    Qlara New Member

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    That's suck to be rear-ended by a mindless driver.
    Looks like the rear has crumple slightly inward, thus the hatch got bent a little. Do they have to replace the rear hatch too or just 'fix' the bent?
     
    #6 Qlara, Aug 26, 2008
  7. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    The bent in the hatch is so slight that I didn't notice it at first. But the adjuster was experienced enough to immediately pop the hatch to look for it. Sure enough, the hatch wouldn't close properly when you let it drop down. I don't think it'll need to be replaced. The estimate is only like $1200.

    Strangely, he also put on the estimate sheet the cost for replacing the Toyota badge and emblem that I debadged long ago. I wonder if he thought they "fell off" from the hit, or if they needed to be replaced for advertising purposes. :)
     
    #7 zenMachine, Aug 26, 2008
  8. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Just so you know, it's not behind the "bumper". It's behind the "bumper cover". You will find the actual bumper behind the bumper cover. As posted above it consists of a Styrofoam block and a few bits of crumplable steel.
    Sounds like they did their job absorbing the forces, and preventing the body from being bent.
     
    #8 David Beale, Aug 26, 2008
  9. McShemp

    McShemp New Member

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    Isn't there an SKS transmitter/sensor behind the bumper cover too? I seem to remember it needing to be replaced on my wife's Prius when it was rear ended.
     
    #9 McShemp, Aug 26, 2008
  10. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    naw ... the SKS receiver is located back a bit farther. It's under the trunk, in there about 2 feet back, a tad towards the left as you're looking in
     
    #10 hill, Aug 26, 2008
  11. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Well, hill is referring to the "Luggage Electrical Key Oscillator (Inner)" while McShemp is referring to the "Luggage Electrical Key Oscillator (Outer)"; or maybe the "Electrical Key Antenna (Rear)". See the attached .pdf for details.
     

    Attached Files:

    #11 Patrick Wong, Aug 26, 2008
  12. orracle

    orracle Whaddaya mean "senior" member?

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    Considering where you and I live, Tony, another possibility is some Cheesehead looking for the Mall or Six Flags:D
     
    #12 orracle, Aug 26, 2008
  13. McShemp

    McShemp New Member

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    It was the Electrical Key Antenna (Rear). Anyway, the accident caused about $1400 in damages without needing to tweak the rear hatch (whew!).
     
    #13 McShemp, Aug 26, 2008
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