So it's been a rough week. My pregnant wife got rear ended in her car (Prius) on Tuesday evening. She and baby are doing fine, but the car pretty torn up. She was stopped at a stop sign and the other car came up from behind her, not paying attention, and failed to brake whatsoever. By the glass on the road the cops estimated that her car was pushed forward about 15 feet after an impact at around 30 MPH.

While on my way to pick up her rental car last night, a car pulled out of a driveway on the left side of the road into my 4runner (05 V8 limited). Again, everyone was okay. I saw the vehicle coming and tried to accelerate away and managed to let her hit my rear door and axle instead of my driver's door! The other car was a Chevy Cavalier. Upon external appearance, it seems that my damage is pretty limited. There is some paint and minor plastic damage on the door. The rim is pretty scratched and the tire stem got bent.

My question, has anyone ever had an impact to the wheel/axle before? The car was probably only moving at 10-15 MPH at the most, but they were accelerating. My gut tells me to have the door repaired, wheel replaced, and a full suspension, rear axle, and third diff inspection done. I had recently (<1 month) replaced the rear diff fluid with Mobile 1 synth, so any debris/shavings should be from this most recent accident.

Thoughts?

wow that is a really ****ty day lol, just have it towed to the dealer and have them do all the repairs if its not your fault.

In my last Jeep Cherokee, I was hit in the same area so hard that it pushed the axle back far enough that the drive shaft fell out. I had a flatbed tow it to a shop and for a couple hundred they reset the rear axle on the leaf spring. I drove it for another gazillion miles, including towing a 3500 lb boat regularly. Finally, the A/C took a crap and since it was a 96 and beat to absolute heck I bought a 4runner and now I'm here.

-E

Usually don't recommend four wheel alignments on solid axles but it should tell you if something is bent. With only minor damage to door the wheel might have taken biggest impact, you could measure from frame rail to wheel hub both left and right should be equal +/- 1/16". I think you should be okay its tough. Keep an ear for wheel bearing failure in future.

The police report clearly states that I was not at fault. However I am not a big fan of the local dealers in this area. I've had bad experiences with a few of them. I spoke to the insurance adjuster and agreed on a reputable shop in the area that's only a few miles from my house. I'll be driving it there on Monday and letting them do an inspection to see how things look.

On a plus note, my wife is trying out a Ford Focus with Microsoft Sync for the next few weeks at Geico's (other party's insurance company for her wreck) expense. So far she says that it's much better than the media package in her Prius. (09 Touring w/ factory Nav).

Ouch, that is a day where I would wish I had stayed in bed and called in sick. What a major bummer. Glad everyone is OK.

Ew. Don't buy her a focus. They are plagued with problems.

Anyways I had a bad day too, my mom had my truck for today (hers is having tires put on and I'm sick as a dog) and she backed over this accord coupe. Im pissed but it could have been worse. She was at fault and now my truck doesn't get fixed (the piece you see is scratched and scuffed and the mudflap doesn't fit right now, and the reflector is cracked. And the plastic is actually bent too. :damnit: