Shock to the engine?

[RxnMan]

Well, today I had the pleasure of getting hit on the passenger side by a lady making a left out of a Meijer parking lot. I was going straight in my lane, she was to my right, I saw she was not looking my way at ALL and just made the turn. My poor Honda Civic Ex has a huge dent on the door now, and it wont even open. Side curtain airbags were all deployed, thank god somehow the window survived.

My question is this: can the impact to the side of my car translate to something bad for my engine? I apologize if this is an extremely dumb question. I dont know much about cars and am just worried as I love that manual a whole lot.

[4onthefloor]

If it didn't impact the engine compartment then I would say you're fine. If it did then some engine-related parts in the bay might be crunched/damaged.

I don't know where you got hit exactly, or how severely so it's all speculation.

[DarkPilot]

Well, if it runs then there can't be much damage to it that will kill it in the short term. The problem is, what damage can't you see?

I'd suggest looking at all the engine/ transmission mounts and support structures.

Also, if the airbags went off I'd recommend fluid and filter changes for your engine oil and transmission just in case the shock if impact caused bits to nash together and make metal filings that could hurt long term.

Odds are you are okay, for the most part, I'm just a paranoid SOB.

[RxnMan]

Here is a picture:



It seems pretty minor, but as I said I just wanted to be sure. Thank you guys for your help.

[4onthefloor]

I can't possibly imagine that would cause any sort of trauma/damage to the engine or any engine component. I think you're safe.

[LHOswald]

biggest problems would be weakened\bent\broken mounts of your powertrain. other than that it shouldnt have done any noticeable damage to the engine. although you could go in and snap a piston rod and say you need a new motor cause when she hit you it snapped the damn thing right apart. insurance fraud ftw!

[94Corolla5Speed]

I'd be most worried about the side airbags being deployed. I'm surprised the insurance company didn't total it after that. Side airbags can't be cheap to replace, if they can even be replaced.

[LHOswald]

they can definitely be replaced. even a quick google search has alot of people (mostly volvos actually) replace airbags themselves because its alot cheaper, but definitely not as safe. just rip em out and stuff new ones back in. sounds easy but in reality theres alot of shit that needs to be torn apart and i think stuff like the airbag control module (possibly) and the crash sensors (at least the ones that were set off) need to be replaced. its definitely time consuming, but if there isn't much rust on the vehicle it shouldn't be that horrible. then again i know extremely little about airbags. they just add weight!

[RxnMan]

I'd be most worried about the side airbags being deployed. I'm surprised the insurance company didn't total it after that. Side airbags can't be cheap to replace, if they can even be replaced.

I didn't understand what you meant in that part. Total what?

Also, my deductible is 2k (through AAA), and in the state of Michigan apparently all I can do is get a maximum of $500 from her insurance company to take off of my deductible =/ looks like I'll be paying mostly out of pocket even though it was completely her fault. *sigh*

I was hoping the repairs would be under 800, but with the side AB curtains involved, I highly doubt it...= (

What really pisses me off is how she tried to convince the cop it was my fault. The officer laughed at her (it was my right of way... ). If she'd just apologized I would've come away from this whole thing in a much better mood

[LHOswald]

I didn't understand what you meant in that part. Total what?

total the car dude. like the thing is worth less than what it would cost to fix it, therefore they label it totaled and the insurance company gives you what the car was worth.

Also, my deductible is 2k (through AAA), and in the state of Michigan apparently all I can do is get a maximum of $500 from her insurance company to take off of my deductible =/ looks like I'll be paying mostly out of pocket even though it was completely her fault. *sigh*

I was hoping the repairs would be under 800, but with the side AB curtains involved, I highly doubt it...= (

epic bullshit. so she hits you, completely her fault, and you both have insurance and your going to have to pay 1500 to fix it? i guess thats still better than you fronting the bill yourself. its not going to be a cheap job. parts and labor are crazy expensive. probably going to be in the $3000 range from how much i see other people getting it done is. but could be different with your car.

What really pisses me off is how she tried to convince the cop it was my fault. The officer laughed at her (it was my right of way... ). If she'd just apologized I would've come away from this whole thing in a much better mood

apologizing still wouldn't have paid for what she did though. it would be one thing if she apologized and you weren't going to have to foot the bill for it, but no matter how much she says sorry, short of her paying the bill, your still going to be out 1500 bucks.

[94Corolla5Speed]

Total the vehicle as in total loss. I think it's if the repairs are more than 75% of the car's value before it was in the accident, it's considered a total loss and the insurance company just gives you a check for the car instead of giving you money to repair it.

[LHOswald]

you know there must be some faggot tree going on when i use the word dude

[theholycow]

It's totally unacceptable that you have insurance, the other driver has insurance, you are not at fault, yet you are going to have to pay $1500. Do not accept it! Do you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage? That might be able to cover the gap.

When they total the car, they estimate that the repairs will cost most of what the car would cost to replace. They keep the car and write you a check for its market value. If you want they will let you buy back the car for a relatively small amount, taken out of the amount they're giving you, but then you're responsible for repairing it and it may have a Salvage title (which severely affects resale value).

If the car was severely damaged you'd want them to total it, in case something not visible has been messed up as described earlier - tweaked the frame out of shape, stuff is out of alignment, etc. It doesn't look like that to me. It looks like minor damage that shouldn't have set off those airbags, but still not enough to total such a new car...especially a Honda with their high resale values. A car with a lower resale value would be totaled for the same repair price because it's cheaper to replace.

IMO, you only need a door, airbags, and some body work behind the door...nowhere near totaling, absolutely nothing to worry about as far as invisible damage, and completely ludicrous for you to pay for.

[DarkPilot]

Wow, that is not much of an impact to have triggered the air bags.

I was assuming a much worse impact so you can probably go ahead and ignore my earlier ramblings.

And +1 to the insurance BS being ridiculous.

[RxnMan]

Well I just got back from the body shop, they said I was looking at $3k easy.

Regarding the insurance stuff: Unfortunately, Michigan is a "no fault" state, meaning whatever damage results from an accident, you have to make the claim with your own insurance company. You then pay your deductible and your insurance co pays the rest. Of your deductible, you can get up to $500 bucks from the other party if they're at fault (but no matter what, that is the max).

Usually you do this through the other party's insurance company. Unfortunately, in my case, the lady did not have valid insurance (as I found out today) at the time of the accident. If I want the $500 I will have to take her to court. I would love to take that b!&*@ to court just on principle, but unfortunately money wise, it just doesn't make sense ($500 vs having to take a day off from work, hiring a lawyer, dealing with paperwork, etc.). I did call the police dept and let them know she didn't have insurance though. Hopefully she will get a hefty ticket for that.

I really can't believe this is the system here in Michigan (and 12 other states besides it!).

Now to somehow come up w/ $2k, and find a ride to work for a week