Late Sunday night a woman, with an unrestrained 2 yr old, decided that she should make a left turn in front of me rather than waiting for me to drive past her. My left front collided with a 2006 Dodge Ram Crew Cab P/U causing what I believe to be major damage. As of now, early estimates, the damage is at $17200. What is terrible is that this was the wifey's car and it only had 6400 miles. I believe it may be totalled, but, not sure as of yet. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, everyone wants to know about injuries: Me (the driver of the Ody) received an extremely sore shoulder / neck from the excellent Ody seatbelts, received airbag burns / abrasions on my left forearm, and a bump on the left side of my head I am guessing from hitting the door frame. I was able to unbuckle, push open the drivers door, and walk away. I am super sore now, but, alive and so proud of the Ody. The female driver and her unrestrained child were also NOT injured. Amazing. Here are some pics.
govhogg
Fight back!
At $17.2K, the insurance company will surely tell you that they will fix it rather than total it. The damage needs to be pretty close to the wholesale value before they will consider totalling.
My advice is to fight back, and tell them it needs to be totalled. If they resist, then tell them that since it was near-new, it will have to be in EXACTLY the same condition it was in BEFORE the wreck before you will accept it. They may or may not change their mind.
I once got an insurance company to total my Accord by doing this. Once I had my check in hand, I asked the adjuster: "What will you do with the wreck?" His answer amazed me: "We'll wholesale it to someone who will fix it cheaply and then sell it. Chances are the new buyer may never know they're driving an unsafe vehicle." This was in 1987, way before CarFax came along.
Which reminds me.... Given the seriousness of this accident, the CarFax report will surely be used against you when you trade it in.
Good luck and let us know how this turns out......
At $17.2K, the insurance company will surely tell you that they will fix it rather than total it. The damage needs to be pretty close to the wholesale value before they will consider totalling.
My advice is to fight back, and tell them it needs to be totalled. If they resist, then tell them that since it was near-new, it will have to be in EXACTLY the same condition it was in BEFORE the wreck before you will accept it. They may or may not change their mind.
I once got an insurance company to total my Accord by doing this. Once I had my check in hand, I asked the adjuster: "What will you do with the wreck?" His answer amazed me: "We'll wholesale it to someone who will fix it cheaply and then sell it. Chances are the new buyer may never know they're driving an unsafe vehicle." This was in 1987, way before CarFax came along.
Which reminds me.... Given the seriousness of this accident, the CarFax report will surely be used against you when you trade it in.
Good luck and let us know how this turns out......
govhogg, glad to hear your OK because the oddy sacrificed itself. If they decide to repair instead of replace I would ask them to also factor in the loss in value of the vehicle because of the accident. There is no reason why they shouldnt replace a vehicle with such low miles with a new one.
If you know a autobody shop they can review the damage and total it too. Insurance companies are known to lowball damage claims.
Tom
If you know a autobody shop they can review the damage and total it too. Insurance companies are known to lowball damage claims.
Tom
In March 2005 my wife and I bought our 2005 Accord LX. We paid $18,100 for it.
In November 2005 (8 months and 8,000 miles later) we were t-boned by an F-150 in downtown Minneapolis. The final bill was close to $13,000, including all costs that the insurance company covered for rental cars, medical bills, etc.
They did *not* total the car, and it spent over 6 weeks in the shop getting repaired.
When we got our Ody a few weeks ago, we were going to trade in the Accord (it was leased), but we were going to get nicked with a $4,000 penalty because of the decreased value of the car due to the accident and the severity of the damage.
In the end, we decided to keep the Accord and just add the Ody. Then, when the Accord lease is up in 16 months we'll just drop it off and not lose a dime. Gotta love leasing -- no penalty for having your car in an accident! Our 2002 Accord (also leased) was in an almost identical accident, with $8,000 in damage, and Honda didn't care one darned bit about the accident when I went to turn it in. I LOVE LEASING!
Here's the damage:
![Image]()
I, unfortunately, don't have any "after repairs" shots, but needless to say the shop did an AMAZING job. Unless you knew the the car has been in the accident, you can't tell. The lines are perfect, colors match exactly, everything as it was. Of course, *I* can tell, because it just feels different, but visually it's spot-on.
In November 2005 (8 months and 8,000 miles later) we were t-boned by an F-150 in downtown Minneapolis. The final bill was close to $13,000, including all costs that the insurance company covered for rental cars, medical bills, etc.
They did *not* total the car, and it spent over 6 weeks in the shop getting repaired.
When we got our Ody a few weeks ago, we were going to trade in the Accord (it was leased), but we were going to get nicked with a $4,000 penalty because of the decreased value of the car due to the accident and the severity of the damage.
In the end, we decided to keep the Accord and just add the Ody. Then, when the Accord lease is up in 16 months we'll just drop it off and not lose a dime. Gotta love leasing -- no penalty for having your car in an accident! Our 2002 Accord (also leased) was in an almost identical accident, with $8,000 in damage, and Honda didn't care one darned bit about the accident when I went to turn it in. I LOVE LEASING!
Here's the damage:
I, unfortunately, don't have any "after repairs" shots, but needless to say the shop did an AMAZING job. Unless you knew the the car has been in the accident, you can't tell. The lines are perfect, colors match exactly, everything as it was. Of course, *I* can tell, because it just feels different, but visually it's spot-on.
Where??Crash pics
Ok sorry for the delay. On the original post the pics were too big so here is my second try. No word yet on the status. The insurance is going to now send one of their field appraisers out to look at it since the auto shop has their estimated damage amount. I was told that once they were to start tearing it apart obviously more damage probably would be discovered. I will keep updating as it goes.
Ok sorry for the delay. On the original post the pics were too big so here is my second try. No word yet on the status. The insurance is going to now send one of their field appraisers out to look at it since the auto shop has their estimated damage amount. I was told that once they were to start tearing it apart obviously more damage probably would be discovered. I will keep updating as it goes.
Attachments
G
Wow!
I am so glad you are alive...That is horrible. A woman with her child UNRESTRAINED in a Dodge Ram...Seems to be the deadly formula now a days.
I am glad you are happy what the Ody did for you. Even though you got minor injuries, if you had any other van say the Sienna you would've gotten similar injuries.
I have a question, did your side curtain airbags go off? From the pics I saw on the IIHS of the Ody front crash, the curtain airbags should have launched and actually protected your head from the door or hitting any hard objects from the side.
I am so glad you are alive...That is horrible. A woman with her child UNRESTRAINED in a Dodge Ram...Seems to be the deadly formula now a days.
I am glad you are happy what the Ody did for you. Even though you got minor injuries, if you had any other van say the Sienna you would've gotten similar injuries.
I have a question, did your side curtain airbags go off? From the pics I saw on the IIHS of the Ody front crash, the curtain airbags should have launched and actually protected your head from the door or hitting any hard objects from the side.
more pics
Here is a side shot. Crumpling of the hood went exactly as planned. Can't see it in this shot, but the left front wheel is bent inward from the top. The damage goes pretty far into the engine compartment but not into the occupant area. Passenger front door opened with no problem. All of the buttons (VSA, sunroof, rear doors) popped out of their spots, the sunroof is now popped open, and the AC vents on the left side popped out. The hood crumpled and penetrated the windshield. Drivers door is bowed out like a crescent moon with broken interior panels.
Here is a side shot. Crumpling of the hood went exactly as planned. Can't see it in this shot, but the left front wheel is bent inward from the top. The damage goes pretty far into the engine compartment but not into the occupant area. Passenger front door opened with no problem. All of the buttons (VSA, sunroof, rear doors) popped out of their spots, the sunroof is now popped open, and the AC vents on the left side popped out. The hood crumpled and penetrated the windshield. Drivers door is bowed out like a crescent moon with broken interior panels.
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re: side airbags
Nope the side airbags didn't deploy. The only bag to deploy at all was the drivers steering wheel airbag. The interesting thing about that is I honestly don't believe I ever even touched the drivers side airbag with my face. The seatbelt did such an amazing job that I had no abrasions, cuts, or black eyes at all. I didnt have any soreness on my face either, just on my neck / shoulder from the seatbelt. I didn't think the side curtain bags would deploy in a frontal crash. Anyone else know for sure if they are supposed to?
Nope the side airbags didn't deploy. The only bag to deploy at all was the drivers steering wheel airbag. The interesting thing about that is I honestly don't believe I ever even touched the drivers side airbag with my face. The seatbelt did such an amazing job that I had no abrasions, cuts, or black eyes at all. I didnt have any soreness on my face either, just on my neck / shoulder from the seatbelt. I didn't think the side curtain bags would deploy in a frontal crash. Anyone else know for sure if they are supposed to?
Wow, glad to hear you are OK and Ody saved you... Really, it did !
I would be very surprised if your insurance decides to repair. As far as I can see, the front suspension is shot too, and who knows what kind of damage there is to the undercarriage (read = alignment issues forever).
I would be very surprised if your insurance decides to repair. As far as I can see, the front suspension is shot too, and who knows what kind of damage there is to the undercarriage (read = alignment issues forever).
My neighbor told me a few months ago that an insurance company "totalled" their van (it was only worth $8K) when they were in an accident because the air bag deployed. (The non-airbag repairs weren't enough to total the van.) The adjuster told them that the airbags can be costly to repair and they didn't want to take the chance that the repair wouldn't be done correctly. That would cause the insurance company get sued if the new airbags wouldn't deploy should there be another accident. Might want to bring that up to the insurance folks.
So glad you were driving the Ody and didn't get seriously injured. Good luck with all the insurance company wranglings. I hope you get a new van (whether they total it or not).
So glad you were driving the Ody and didn't get seriously injured. Good luck with all the insurance company wranglings. I hope you get a new van (whether they total it or not).
Sorry for being so insensitive in my post about the pictures. I'm glad that you were'nt hurt, it could have been much worse had you been going faster. Your Ody looks like it did it's job, but IMO you should fight tooth and nail to get it totaled, it will never be the same, so much damage. The cheap insurance company might try to have the front of another Ody damaged in the rear cliped to the front of yours and call it fixed. So stay on top of them, that looks like just too much damage to be fixed right.
BOL and stay safe.
AJ
BOL and stay safe.
AJ
Glad that everyone is OK!
That really is major damage! We see these type of wrecks (car vs. truck) all the time here in Colorado as there are LOTS of trucks on the road. The bumpers heights don't match, so the lower vehicle (your van in this case) gets MUCH more damage than the truck. It happens in rear-end collisions too.
I'm really concerned about the sun roof being popped open. To me, this would indicate major damage to the unibody structure, which can be costly to fix, and if not fixed properly, can result in many other problems down the road due to things being misaligned.
When my '87 Accord was totalled, there were only TWO body shops in the entire Denver metro area that had the special frame-straightening machinery for Hondas. I don't know if today's Hondas still require specialized machinery, but it's something to question.
Keep fighting to get it totalled. I still think you have a pretty good case.
That really is major damage! We see these type of wrecks (car vs. truck) all the time here in Colorado as there are LOTS of trucks on the road. The bumpers heights don't match, so the lower vehicle (your van in this case) gets MUCH more damage than the truck. It happens in rear-end collisions too.
I'm really concerned about the sun roof being popped open. To me, this would indicate major damage to the unibody structure, which can be costly to fix, and if not fixed properly, can result in many other problems down the road due to things being misaligned.
When my '87 Accord was totalled, there were only TWO body shops in the entire Denver metro area that had the special frame-straightening machinery for Hondas. I don't know if today's Hondas still require specialized machinery, but it's something to question.
Keep fighting to get it totalled. I still think you have a pretty good case.
I would question the insurance company/body shop's ability to estimate the damage to your van based on a visual. Things like the bumper, fender, hood, door, etc. may look bad when damaged but are easily replaced with new parts. The important issue here is the structural integrity of the van. So, before allowing the insurance company to quickly hang a dollar value on the repair, I would push for having all the smashed junk stripped off the van to allow a realistic assessment of any structural damage that may have occurred and what it would take to fix that. Maybe then a clear case for totaling the van could be made.
Re: re: side airbags
As for the side airbag, my understanding from looking over the owner's manual the other night, is that the sensor for side impact is mounted on the sliding door lower, or maybe it was on the body just inside the sliding door (floor part of the body). Unless that sensor is activated (stressed) the side airbags will not deploy.
Also, there are rollover sensor(s) mounted near the side impact sensors. If the rollover sensor detects a rollover, they will initiate side curtain airbag deployment, even if the side impact sensors are not activated.
It appears your van's airbag system worked correctly.
I'm assuming noone was in the passenger seat. In which case the passenger airbag should not deploy.
- JyRO
govhogg - I too am glad to see you and your child weren't hurt seriously, or worse.govhogg said:
As for the side airbag, my understanding from looking over the owner's manual the other night, is that the sensor for side impact is mounted on the sliding door lower, or maybe it was on the body just inside the sliding door (floor part of the body). Unless that sensor is activated (stressed) the side airbags will not deploy.
Also, there are rollover sensor(s) mounted near the side impact sensors. If the rollover sensor detects a rollover, they will initiate side curtain airbag deployment, even if the side impact sensors are not activated.
It appears your van's airbag system worked correctly.
I'm assuming noone was in the passenger seat. In which case the passenger airbag should not deploy.
- JyRO
safety
Thanks everybody for the wishing me good health. Thankfully, as I have said and everyone else has said, the van did absolutely what is supposed to do. The only seat occupied (drivers) had the only airbag to deploy. I knew I bought an Odyssey for a reason and it shows in the pics. No insurance update yet....
Thanks everybody for the wishing me good health. Thankfully, as I have said and everyone else has said, the van did absolutely what is supposed to do. The only seat occupied (drivers) had the only airbag to deploy. I knew I bought an Odyssey for a reason and it shows in the pics. No insurance update yet....
wow... glad you guys are ok. it sure does make me feel better to see a crash like that and the Odyssey crumbled the way it's suppose to.
if that was my car and it is not totalled. right after it's repaired the first thing I would do is drive to the dealership and get a new Odyssey.
structurally and mechanically, the car will never be the same again.
if that was my car and it is not totalled. right after it's repaired the first thing I would do is drive to the dealership and get a new Odyssey.
structurally and mechanically, the car will never be the same again.
I am really surprised that the side curtain airbag didn't deploy to protect the head from hitting the side frame of the door. Unless the hit is totally head-on, it seems to me that there would be side motion of the head and thus a chance to strike the door/window on the side. Then again maybe they figure that the seatbelt will hold you in there.
There is no question in my mind that your van should be 'totalled". There is bound to be frame rail damage and the cost of repairs is approaching the van's value even before they find the full damage that stripping down will reveal. If by some chance they persist with this strange course of action you should, of course, change your insurance company. It might help to point that out to them.
It's a matter of activating the side impact sensor. I'm sure those sensors are not cheap, therefore using them all over a vehicle is not really cost feasible. So they put the sensors in the most critical areas.idttywlm said:
Theoretically, I think the Ody *could* be hit directly in the driver's door (in front of the "B" Pillar) and not deploy the side airbags. The sheet metal where the side impact sensor is located would have to move, stress, or flex (however you want to look at it) before it will deploy the side air bags.
- JyRO
physics
Airbags deploy based on many factors. The inertia of the occupant in which the airbag is protecting is of utmost importance. In the crash depicted, The front driver side would have come to an abrupt halt. Basic physics says the driver will continue in a straight line even though the car is rotating towards the crash (in this case, the car is swinging counter clockwise). The driver door frame is actually moving away from the driver. In all likelihood, the airbag is what caused the bump on the driver's head (Which is far more forgiving than the doorframe). Side airbags generally do not deploy on an offset collision such as the one described in this post . Side airbags deploy on rollovers or true t-bone situations. Again, it is very rare for a drivers inertia to be heading towards anything but the front or rear of the car as most impact occur head on (or offset) or rear enders.
Airbags deploy based on many factors. The inertia of the occupant in which the airbag is protecting is of utmost importance. In the crash depicted, The front driver side would have come to an abrupt halt. Basic physics says the driver will continue in a straight line even though the car is rotating towards the crash (in this case, the car is swinging counter clockwise). The driver door frame is actually moving away from the driver. In all likelihood, the airbag is what caused the bump on the driver's head (Which is far more forgiving than the doorframe). Side airbags generally do not deploy on an offset collision such as the one described in this post . Side airbags deploy on rollovers or true t-bone situations. Again, it is very rare for a drivers inertia to be heading towards anything but the front or rear of the car as most impact occur head on (or offset) or rear enders.
G
Look...Your damage looks pretty similar to this one:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=233
The IIHS's Ody's side curtain airbags deplayed to protect the head from hitting the door frame or the window itself.
I personally think they should've deloyed. Even if the senors or the curtain airbags are expensive, safety should have been always put before money.
If those curtain airbags deloyed, I am pretty sure your head wouldn't have that bump.
Also another note. On the IIHS website, the Ody only had the driver in the vechile yet all curtain airbags went off. I am really suprised you didn't get the same result.
EDIT: Also, it seems that the Quest and the Ody are the only ones that have the curtain airbags deploy during a front crash.
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=233
The IIHS's Ody's side curtain airbags deplayed to protect the head from hitting the door frame or the window itself.
I personally think they should've deloyed. Even if the senors or the curtain airbags are expensive, safety should have been always put before money.
If those curtain airbags deloyed, I am pretty sure your head wouldn't have that bump.
Also another note. On the IIHS website, the Ody only had the driver in the vechile yet all curtain airbags went off. I am really suprised you didn't get the same result.
EDIT: Also, it seems that the Quest and the Ody are the only ones that have the curtain airbags deploy during a front crash.
airbags
The dialogue on this forum is what makes this such a great site. The steering wheel airbag did not cause the bump on my head, as the bump is on the upper left side. Now, I am about 6'3 so that may have contributed to my head hitting the door frame. Due to the other vehicle moving from left to right in front of me, there may have been some rotation of the van that caused me to move slightly to the left, thus hitting the frame. Now for the good news: THE VAN IS TOTALLED!!!!!!!!!!!! I also talked to an independent adjuster who told me that the Odyssey's hardly loose any value whatsoever and that I should get real close to what we paid, and obviously TT&L.
The dialogue on this forum is what makes this such a great site. The steering wheel airbag did not cause the bump on my head, as the bump is on the upper left side. Now, I am about 6'3 so that may have contributed to my head hitting the door frame. Due to the other vehicle moving from left to right in front of me, there may have been some rotation of the van that caused me to move slightly to the left, thus hitting the frame. Now for the good news: THE VAN IS TOTALLED!!!!!!!!!!!! I also talked to an independent adjuster who told me that the Odyssey's hardly loose any value whatsoever and that I should get real close to what we paid, and obviously TT&L.
Nice to see you and your family are okay!!
And its good to hear its totaled!
So whats your next vehicle? *Cough*Ody*cough*ssey*cough*
And its good to hear its totaled!
So whats your next vehicle? *Cough*Ody*cough*ssey*cough*
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