[D-mo]

Some toad decided to try to follow me too close in a honda civic and ended up rearending me at a stoplight this morning. Although the damage to the back bumper of the truck does not look bad, - pushed in about two inches, not touching the body, I cannot open my tailgate without it resting lightly on the bumper. Most of the impact was born by the class three hitch.
I do have concerns now about the integety of the hitch and perhaps the how the rear end would take such a wack. His honda pushed me out about 2 ft into the intersection, with my brakes applied.
Any insight/pics on of the understucture of the bumper and rearend would be most appreciated so I can assess it before I take it to the bodyshop.

d-mo

 

[ToddG]

Bummer man. Jack-hole drivers!
Can't help with the pictures, snowing like a mofo here.

 

[RockHawk JHKU]

That sux.

The hitch is attached directly to the frame, right? I'd be more than a little worried about the frame warping. Did the truck still drive ok?

 

[Idleone]

It should be fine. Shop will ask for some setup and measure/rack time and structure pull to pull the frame back to spec. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sorry about your loss.

 

[Glacier08]

I bet its just fine man. Huge 5k+ truck with hitch vs civic. Have it put on the frame rack and see.

 

[aztecnissan03]

you better make sure you fully understand the repairs they're going to to do to yhe frame. If they have to "pull" the frame at all it will be reported to carfax as "structual/frame damage" and you will forever be haunted by a civic up your A**. I'm just letting you know because that's what happened to me when I tried to trade in my vehicle. They wouldn't take it

 

[Idleone]

you better make sure you fully understand the repairs they're going to to do to yhe frame. If they have to "pull" the frame at all it will be reported to carfax as "structual/frame damage" and you will forever be haunted by a civic up your A**. I'm just letting you know because that's what happened to me when I tried to trade in my vehicle. They wouldn't take it

Good point. Make sure you file a Diminished Value claim with there insurance as well.

 

[D-mo]

Good points, will do.
I'm having my mechanic put it up on the lift tomorrow and give me call so we can have a look-see. Then its off the body shop for another look/estimate for the insurance.
Im thinking that the frame is ok - but I am concerned due to the hitch attaching directly to frame. The honda was a burner, and I stress the word "was".

dmo

 

[Glacier08]

Good points, will do.
I'm having my mechanic put it up on the lift tomorrow and give me call so we can have a look-see. Then its off the body shop for another look/estimate for the insurance.
Im thinking that the frame is ok - but I am concerned due to the hitch attaching directly to frame. The honda was a burner, and I stress the word "was".

dmo

Buy the ARB rear bumper, has the hitch built on it. It also wraps around the side and protects that rear panel.

 

[Mylt1]

you better make sure you fully understand the repairs they're going to to do to yhe frame. If they have to "pull" the frame at all it will be reported to carfax as "structual/frame damage" and you will forever be haunted by a civic up your A**. I'm just letting you know because that's what happened to me when I tried to trade in my vehicle. They wouldn't take it

not necessarily, not all insurance companies report repairs to carflop and they are not required to. state farm is one such insurance company.

 

[jchaak]

So glacier what is the cost of that arb bumper? Pretty sharp looking.

 

[Glacier08]

Navara part number
3638030 - bumper $620.38
3538020 panel kit $75.78
140 shipping for anywhere in the US so...

836.46 shipped to your door!
ohh yeah, from these guys http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/

Thanks Mike for that site from another forum! Also, put in a call to 4wheelparts to see if they can get that, i'll post up when he calls back.

 

[tholmes]

Yeah, I had the same thing happen to my titan, although I was traveling at a fast rate of speed backwards and impacted. How fast was the honda going? I hit the dirt berm @ around 30-40mph and the trailerball/hitch took the brunt of the impact. It barely folded upwards the right bumper corner and curled the rear quarter panel as well (no rubbing on the tire, in fact I drove it 150 miles home), but the body shop showed me where the hitch attaches to the frame, it creased it up then down in. They couldn't pull it straight and Nissan won't "warranty" the frame if it is heated, hammered or stretched. So they ended up totaling me.

 

[eglaisi]

Check this area of the frame:

Seems to be the weak spot. Was throwing Zedbras tailgate out of whack (although it would still open). As soon as we pulled the frame straight, the tailgate was fine again.

 

[poppop]

Buy the ARB rear bumper, has the hitch built on it. It also wraps around the side and protects that rear panel.

Nice Bump, but it still attaches by the same 6 bolts to the same holes in the frame. Beef up one point only to find another weak one ;-(

 

[jtibbs]

bent frame

My 2005 was rearended by a Lexus back in 07 and bent the frame. My insurance company paid to have a new frame put under it . I didn't
have a class III hitch on it then so it done more damage. It cost about
$8 or $9000 to fix it.

 

[cnicook]

that sucks, you should sue for mental anguish

 

[aztecnissan03]

true.....ALLSTATE does tho

 

[wolfman437]

I almost got rear ended tonight on my way home by a little honda civic. Would have gone right under my truck and took out my entire axle with it. At one point all i could see of the car was a **** hair of the roof in my rear view, and non of it in my side views. Was tempted to brake check so i could get a new bumper and try an spring for an m226.

 

[D-mo]

How fast was the honda going?
Im really not sure, but we were in traffic and he was expecting me to run a light infront of hospital zone .. stupid arse .. perhaps maybe accelerating an the hit sustained at 20mph ...

Eglaisi: thanks for the pic of the frame - will take that to the garage when its up this afternoon so we can see if there is any damage. What I'm seeing now is the bumper has no twist or anything, however has been pushed right back to the end of the colapsable zone. If I open the tailgate, I have about 1/8 inch between where the tailgate falls and the top of the bumper. The back end of the bumper has been pushed back, evenly across the entire width of the truck. Tailgate fits well and is normal. The hitch is now even with the bumper when looking face on .. which it wasn't before.

Thanks guys for all the pics and info. This certainly helps me figure this out and make informed decisions.


d-mo