[tomgwuyn]

There is likely no damage, but just to be sure and for your peace of mind, I suggest you have it inspected.

Obviously check for anything that may be leaking.

Yes, I have scheduled an appointment for it.

 

[tomgwuyn]

How big was the deer? The ody made it over the whole body, that's astounding! If you damaged brakes or fuel you'd know it, if you don't have an exhaust leak from something that I'm assuming was big enough to disturb the whole system, you should be fine. You may have to get under the van to make sure you don't have any venison on board, I assume this was a fresh deer and shouldn't smell so quickly unless something was baking on the underside of the engine...Definitely check it out though as said already.

I would say it was close to big (but definitely not small). Yes , the van made it over the whole body.

 

[tomgwuyn]

unless deer had antlers, I would not worry too much about it.
That said, only thing I can really think of would be radiator/condenser if the deer had sharp bones protruding due to earlier cause of its demise.
Otherwise... Unless some part of your bottom of the van was in really bad shape due to rust (like muffler/cat - should be ok unless you removed heat shielding).
POSSIBLY that O2 sensor wires or some other wires may have been caught and ripped out and that would be only thing I would really worry about.

After I ran over, I came back to see how big the deer was. Looks like it did have antlers as I saw them to the side of road .But not sure if the antlers were there when I ran over it.

 

[tomgwuyn]

My wife ran over a deer carcass, and the big deal was the foul smell. You wouldn't believe where long, substantial stringy hunks of venison can end up on the chassis. I put the van up on jack stands, put on rubber gloves, and went work removing all of it, piece by piece.

I used a plastic trash can lid as the "waste meat receptacle" as a bucket would not conveniently fit under the cat with room over it to drop debris into it.

The meat that wrapped around the axle shafts was the toughest part of the removal process. The parts that ended up on the catalytic converter shield were "baked on" and proved to be just "stuck for life." This quickly quit smelling bad due to the high temperatures of the converter.

You have a 2010 Odyssey. If you want better headlight performance, have the headlight housings cleaned and polished, and install HIR2 bulbs in your low beams. They are also known as 9012 bulbs. HIR lighting works great for those drives on dark, unlit roads where deer are plentiful.

Click on THIS LINK to go to chuckerants's HIR lighting thread on these forums.

OF

Thank you. Will check it.

 

[tomgwuyn]

Were the other vehicles and police there at deer site due to a/the initial strike/damage? Debating how to remove carcass/tow a damaged vehicle?

Yes.

 

[tomgwuyn]

I saw your post before any replies.

It took incredible restraint on my part not to respond this way, as the first reply.
"Procure a good knife and cooler."


Shame they couldn't have warned you somehow.
Did police have their flashy lights on?

Did you see that recent thread about a deer impact broadside, w airbag deployment?

ETA; Failed searching for that other deer thread w/pics too. Someone will link it surely.

. Nope the flashy lights were not on. Sure, I'll check out the thread if I find it.

 

[tomgwuyn]

I had this happen years back in my 1988 Trans Am. Almost the same scenario. Tore the front bumper cover, bent a tie rod, and messed up the brakes. And made the car stink. I managed not to wipe out, but the car completely obliterated what was left of the carcass.

I ended up pulling off into one of those 24 hour Pay-N-Spray car wash type places and hosing off the big chunks (sorry pay n spray car wash people) and gingerly driving to my destination. Once I had a chance, I ended up putting the car up on stands and picking chunks of deer out of the brake calipers with a big angled needlenose pliers, then once those were working normally again, I limped it to a shop where they replaced the bent tie rod. I massaged the bumper cover back into place on my own, although the big chunk of paint missing remains to this day. It took at least six months before the smell of cooking / rotten deer meat went away.

Thanks . In my case, the steering pulls to the left after the mishap. Looks like the alignment is out. Yet to take it to a shop. Spent $120 at the honda dealer for a wheel alignment just last month. 😢 . Also the cooking / rotten deer meat smell is not there when I start the van, but comes all of a sudden during driving. This is a repeating occurence. When I shut the engine off and start it again, there is no smell though. When the components get hot, maybe it triggers the smell, i guess.

 

[tomgwuyn]

Just got the vehicle back after inspected by the mechanic. He said the floor board has a dent due to the impact but there are no other issues. Asked me to get a good under carriage wash.

 

[tomgwuyn]

Floorboard dent isn't the end of the world at all. Especially if it's in an area that you wouldn't notice. As long as it hasn't actually created a hole in the floorboard.

Yes. I am relieved now.

 

[tomgwuyn]

If by any chance, the engine or some other related parts had taken a hit due to the deer run, would it in any way affect performance? Somehow I have a feeling that the van's pickup/performance is sluggish than before. May be i assuming it or it could be due to the cold starts too.

 

[tomgwuyn]

tom, I think you might be just "extra aware" of every noise, vibration and gear change after that incident. It can really get into your head and convince you that "something is wrong" when in reality, the van is operating just fine. Been there, done that.

You had a mechanic look at it, he found a dent in the floor board that does not affect the structural health of the vehicle, and it appears the driveline is in good shape ... I think you're okay.

OF

Thank you. 😀

 

[tomgwuyn]

After driving the van for a month, i am observing the following issues. Previously the van drove very smoothly and started behaving weirdly after the deer run over. I took the van to two mechanics but none of them found any issues . No check engine light or error codes. I used the Foxwell OBDII scanner to look for codes.

However, I am facing the following issues while driving.

1) Heavy Loss of power in reverse gear and lower gears. I am able to clearly tell the difference here because previously when I put it in reverse and release the brake, the van moves powerfully in reverse with no gas pedal press required. Now it is moving very slowly with hesitation and I need to press gas in some situations as well to go in reverse.

2) Whining sound from the front right side of the van while steering to the left. This happens at lower gears.

3) Engine is rough and Engine hesitation . Overall ,van has become noisy.

4) Drop in mileage.(Mileage dropped by 2.5 miles/gallon).

5) 'ECO' light comes up sooner which was not the case earlier. The van is already muzzled.

Any idea what could be happening here?

 

[tomgwuyn]

3 & 4;

PCV valve? ? ?

You maybe correct. Because the 'ECO' light glows more frequently now even though the van is muzzled.

 

[tomgwuyn]

??
you should never see the ECO light if it is properly muzzled.

But, I was not seeing the 'ECO' light frequently before the deer run mishap. So that means it was muzzled properly earlier right?

 

[tomgwuyn]

What product did you use to "muzzle" the VCM?
If you used SVCM or VCM Tuner II, then you should NEVER see the ECO light.

If you were seeing ECO light occasionally before, then I am guessing that you were using resistor based ones. If you see ECO light more frequently, I wonder whether you have a slow coolant leak raising your engine temp. (increasing the temp enough that you are seeing "safe" temperature for VCM to kick in more frequently)
So, check your coolant level.

I am using the resistor based VCM. Will check on the coolant though.

 

[tomgwuyn]

Could it be related to Gear pressure adjustment change or due to an impact on the bearing or other component?