2001 LC Rearend Collision (1 Viewer)

[jammingator]

So, on her way home from work yesterday my wife got hit from behind by a kid on his phone while driving an Altima. The trailer hitch took the impact and smoked the front end of his car. As it turns out we know the kid so have not called insurance as yet. I got a better look at the LC this morning and see that the hitch actually buckled, even pushed into the spare tire. Looking for input on next steps - what are the implications of calling insurance and finding something with the frame, maybe totaling the vehicle? Or what about just replacing the hitch and driving as is - if frame is altered are there long term implications to driving as is? Driving it this morning, I couldn’t notice anything discernibly different. Here are a few pics for reference.

Good news, this may be my moment to armor up!

 

[jammingator]

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[Malleus]

I doubt the tube could have bent that far without pulling the frame with it. The good news is that if that did happen, it would have bent at the next frame crossmember, so it's unlikely to have affected the rear end mounting points. Still be good to check, though.

Similar thing happened to my wife and our first 80 years ago. Miata impaled itself on the trailer hitch. The dealer installed trailer hitches on those are much stouter than the OEM 100 hitches, though. We lost some paint on the hitch.

 

[jammingator]

Thanks @Malleus, didn’t think to look at the rear end mounting points (duh!). I’ll look at the rear cross member and those mounting points to see what I can see.

 

[MechE30]

Definitely go through insurance, know the kid or not, people’s parents can be crazy and situations flip on a dime when the valuations come out.

Take your vehicle to get multiple estimates on your own, share with the kids insurance company the highest one. They will find a middle ground between that and their valuation. If it’s not the values you want to see, you can go through your own insurance and they will pay you, then they will go after the kids insurance company for that value.
Either route: Ask for the check, and tell them you’re handling it yourself. Buy a slee rear bumper.

 

[SteveH]

Look further ahead of the hitch along the frame, and look for buckling/wrinkling/paint crinkling. Also check the fit of your upper and lower hatch and rear and front doors. I would still get it to a frame shop (not an alignment shop) and have them check it out. A lot of energy got transferred to your truck frame, and even beefy frames bend. Frames can be successfully straightened in some cases, but not all.

(I have to laugh - your spare looks like mine - dry rot city)!

 

[jammingator]

Good input all, thanks! Any thoughts on how the insurance company may value the vehicle if totaled?

@SteveH when I say she’s bone stock I mean it, right down to the spare tire!

If I go with a new Slee bumper I’ll then have to go with the tire carrier and new spare. I just put new Open Country AT3’s on so it would be a great time to do it.

 

[TLCJC]

I doubt the tube could have bent that far without pulling the frame with it. The good news is that if that did happen, it would have bent at the next frame crossmember, so it's unlikely to have affected the rear end mounting points. Still be good to check, though.

Similar thing happened to my wife and our first 80 years ago. Miata impaled itself on the trailer hitch. The dealer installed trailer hitches on those are much stouter than the OEM 100 hitches, though. We lost some paint on the hitch.

By chance do you still have the photos of the Miata impailment? My Daughter wants to buy one but doesn’t understand what can happen when it gets into a simple accident. lol

 

[40to100]

Hello- sorry to see what happened to your truck. If you are going to place a claim with the other drivers insurance I wouldn’t run around and get estimates yet. Most insurance companies write their own estimates these days- the estimates you get could be a waste of time. I would check with them first

 

[jammingator]

Look further ahead of the hitch along the frame, and look for buckling/wrinkling/paint crinkling. Also check the fit of your upper and lower hatch and rear and front doors. I would still get it to a frame shop (not an alignment shop) and have them check it out. A lot of energy got transferred to your truck frame, and even beefy frames bend. Frames can be successfully straightened in some cases, but not all.

(I have to laugh - your spare looks like mine - dry rot city)!

Agreed that there was a ton of energy transferred to the frame. Fit of upper and lower hatch was among first things I checked and thankfully all good there. Looking further ahead on the frame I can see no evidence of that anything shifted or moved - no buckling/wrinkling/paint crinkling at all. Hopeful!

 

[jammingator]

Hello- sorry to see what happened to your truck. If you are going to place a claim with the other drivers insurance I wouldn’t run around and get estimates yet. Most insurance companies write their own estimates these days- the estimates you get could be a waste of time. I would check with them first

Thanks!

 

[Malleus]

By chance do you still have the photos of the Miata impailment? My Daughter wants to buy one but doesn’t understand what can happen when it gets into a simple accident. lol

I don't but I bought one not to many years before I bought the Land Cruiser, and would buy a Miata again without hesitation. They are very well designed and safe, probably the safest road/rally model on the road. The entire front end is a crumple zone, the engine mounts break away so the engine falls to the ground in the event of a front end collision (and not through the firewall) and Mazda licensed the Volvo windshield/firewall design, which was designed to protect against moose strikes.

I took all my children to the junkyard when they got their permits, so they could see for themselves what bad driving costs. I wish the drivers ed classes would do that.

 

[fjfar80]

Second the frame shop - have them check for frame alignment issues and / or damage - I would not trust the Mach 1 eyeball for this.

- Mark

 

[Broski]

In the first & third picture you can see where most of the hitch bent It's right where the hitch wraps around the exhaust creating a weak spot.
I'm no expert and it hard to tell just from the pictures, but from what I can see the frame looks fine.
Turning it into the insurance just makes more money for the insurance company's.
If you know the family and there will to pay get a estimate and let them pay JMHO

 

[baltistyle]

Hello- sorry to see what happened to your truck. If you are going to place a claim with the other drivers insurance I wouldn’t run around and get estimates yet. Most insurance companies write their own estimates these days- the estimates you get could be a waste of time. I would check with them first

Insurance companies write estimates for those people too lazy to take it to their preferred shop. This allows them to take advantage of the situation and get it to a place they prefer. I’ve never done any of the online estimate bull crap. And I’ve not heard of an insurance agent coming out in 15 or 20 years. As the victim, do as you please as the insurance of the other driver must make you whole. Some shops will charge a fee for this if you do not use them for the final repair, so be aware about shopping around too much. This is not your fault and you get to do as you please. Absolutely go through insurance as stated above, because not only may the persons parents not want to pay for a proper or full repair once they see the costs, but this kid was on a cell phone and needs to learn the hard way because he could’ve killed your wife. Thankfully, this is just a little bit of damage. Using a third-party for all opinions levels the playing field of emotions.

 

[NE Snowman]

I too am one to try and keep insurance companies out of smaller issues, 100% if it was with someone I knew.
Insurance estimates are a bigger guess than a shops estimate, think about who's looking at it and who owns the tools, shop, and know-how of repairing a vehicle.

Is there a chance something is tweaked yes, it appears a good amount of force was seen, but imo you checked the hatch so I'd just buy a new hitch and see if it bolts up without flexing or struggling to get bolts in place. If you struggling mounting a new one maybe see a frame shop.

Here's why I think you'd be fine, I'm NOT an engineer but I have got to see things tested to points of failure.
1) The mounting holes on the hitch are oblong and can leave some room for movement as the hitch flexed.
2) How the hitch is mounted it's attached to 2 steel plates on each side that can flex --> \ / <-- , you can see that on the 2nd picture the paint flaking.
3) The spare tire appears to have taken some energy away from the steel
4) If the hitch went over his hood that would take even more direct impact off
5) It's the end of the frame with no suspension components, 20 year old truck they're not perfect all the time

People might wheel and winch these things harder than this impact.

 

[Broski]

If you turn it into the insurance they most likely want to total it.

 

[kwon-offroad]

Hello- sorry to see what happened to your truck. If you are going to place a claim with the other drivers insurance I wouldn’t run around and get estimates yet. Most insurance companies write their own estimates these days- the estimates you get could be a waste of time. I would check with them first

Nope, get your own estimates by experts to ensure their proposed payout is adequate. If it's not, send them yours. If they push back, send all documentation to your state's regulatory body for insurance (In GA it's the OCI/IFSC) copying their insurance with the exact copy of what you're sending the state. I guarantee you their insurance will pay you expeditiously.

 

[Patron100LC]

I am always wary of people texting and driving, I hate seeing it happening and not being corrected. There is a law in place, but I think no one is enforcing it. On my short commute to the kid's school and work, I think I see 80-90% of the people around me looking at the phone instead of the road.

I installed a hitch brake light modified using a strobe light module on my wife's car, and on my 100 I installed this bumper step together with a very powerful red laser light designed to mark forklifts work areas, also together with a strobe module. I'm not affiliated to any of those companies, BTW, just a customer.

Light

People told me that the red forklift light is very bright and kind of disturbing, which is Exactly the effect I wanted!

Started looking at a solution when, during the same month, I got reared in my armored Jeep, and a friend got her Tahoe totaled also from the rear, and getting f%#&ed by her insurance.

It doesn't look pretty, it's a pain to use if you tow daily, it's a bit uncomfortable to access the rear hatch if you're short (I'm 6,4 so no issues there), and it'll cover only a portion of the rear, but since I carry my kids with me every day, it gives me a bit of peace knowing that it's there.

Just sharing in this thread, since it seems relevant.