Last night I was driving back from the Buffalo, NY to Toronto on the QEW (major 6 lane highway between Niagara Falls and Toronto) and was just at Oakville when some kind of animal decided to try and run across highway. I was traveling at about 100-110 kph and it was quite dark. All I saw before the impact was a grayish dog like animal that could have been a small dog/fox/coyote and then there was a loud "thump" which was followed by a series of additional thumps as the animal was dragged under the car, etc. Funny enough, the car didn't really react to the impact other than the bumps that were cause when I finally ran over whatever I hit. The car kept going like nothing had happened and I was almost home when the computer on the dash warned me to "Top up" the engine coolant soon (not a good sign). When I pulled up onto the driveway and had a look, I was quite surprised by the damage. I've attached some photos some that you can all see what happened.
By this morning, there was a puddle of coolant on the driveway so I had the car towed by MB Roadside assistance to my dealer's body shop. The body shop guy called me back an hour ago with some preliminary estimates. He says the entire front bumper will have to be replaced along with the radiator which is bent inwards and leaking. He also thinks the air conditioning compressor might have take some impact, etc. Total estimate at this point is about $4500. Ouch. Putting this one through on the insurance for sure. Insurance company says that an impact with an animal is considered "No Fault" and my record won't be affected. I'm just amazed at the amount of damage from hitting a small animal.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt and the car will be fixed in 7-10 days. Thoughts?
Well Jordan, That's quite a mess.
Looks bad because there's probably not much structure behind the bumper at that point.
It seems to have traveled under the real bumper.
I installed deer whistles because of real problems where we live. Soon it will be back looking like new.
Good Luck!! Derek
Lots of damage for a small dog or fox. Even a coyote is not that large ,you would think, to do all that damage. Thank goodness for insurance!!!!
Let's hope we never hit a moose or Bambi.
That IS a lot of damage for a small animal/thing. Good thing too that you or anyone else you were driving with didn't get hurt.
You wouldn't want to be hitting a full or half grown bambi while traveling on the hiway. . . A few years ago, while driving down from Whistler, we hit a deer crossing the road. The entire right front fender and door of the Toyota 4 Runner we were driving was obliterated, the deer was dead, but crapped all over the place!!! Not only was it a gruesome sight, it stank to high heavens as well.
I hit a large dog at 90 km/h many years ago in my Peugeot 404 sedan and it did NO DAMAGE whatsoever to the car. The dog died on impact. They don't make cars like they used to. Mind you, the 404 was not a car a pedestrian would like to be hit by I bet the B's soft front end is related to the pedestrian protection laws.
I once hit a dog with a Mazda 323 ... totally destroyed the font fender and when it rolled under the car it broker my exhaust ... poor thing (the dog I mean)
In any circumstance a car always as the lead on a pedestrian / animal
I'm wondering if you leaked enough coolant to cause any HI temp to the engine ?
Bit of bad luck there Jordan still its only plastic & metal thats hurt. Good to hear that the insurance is taking a reasonable line concerning your claim. Looks like you may be on the bike for a few days though.
Thanks for all your encouragement!! Most of you are correct when you say that there is nothing behind the bumper except some plastic (and the radiator). I figure the dog/fox/coyote that I hit was probably 20-40 lbs in weight and I think you are going to get damage when you hit anything with that kind of weight at 110 kph. I don't think the bumpers on these cars are designed to withstand more than a 5-10 mph crash. In this case, the animal didn't even hit the bumper itself....it hit the air dam underneath the bumper.
I kept an eye on the temp gauge the whole way home and it never really budged from the standard highway temp. It was cool last night, the crack in the radiator is quite small (fluid was very slowly dripping out) so I don't think the car had any heat damage.
Its just annoying that there was nothing I could do to prevent this from happening. The other thing that scares me is that my other ride is a motorcycle. Lord knows what would have happened if I was on the bike. Best not to think of these things....
That part of the bumper does look fragile. Good to hear that the insurance cover the cost and won't affect the value of the car.
PS: I got a dent on the roof last year. Do you think I can do the same with the insurance company and won't affect the value of the car? I have no idea what causes it. Maybe a flying stone or vandalism, but more likely vandalism since there is no paint scratch as suggested by Mike and Derek.
Derek
or Bambi.
I bet the B's soft front end is related to the pedestrian protection laws.
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