4Runner Down :(

[GbRunner]

So yesterday as I was driving home from work after picking up my truck from the shop that I always go too. Driving along and all of sudden my drivers side dropped and then lost control. Luckily I was in the far right lane and didnt hit any other cars but there was a pole right in my trajectory. I hit the pole straight on doing about 60 KM/h (37mph). My drivers side front wheel started rolling down the road after impact (Everything still attached to it, half the axle, brakes, and part of my upper) 4runner is wrote, (ill post pictures later).

Anyways, what I had picked it up for is I got my steering rack bushings done and my swaybar bushings done. Im kinda worked up about this situtation cause my babbby is dead, I just want to make sense of things. Could it have been a slip up from the shop? Or was it just bad luck that it fell off after picking it up.

Some one make me feel better ha.

 

[kball]

Dude that sucks! That could not be just a coincidence. They must have fudged something or at least been able to see some major failure about to happen.

 

[cj80cruiser]

Damn dude! you have any pics of the parts that came off. that could give us a clue.

 

[SkidPalace]

No way that's a coincidence.
Get yourself a good lawyer. I am not the litigious type, but you almost got killed by shoddy work and at the very least, you are going to get screwed on the monetary value of replacing your truck.
The cops will have to investigate so get going before all the evidence gets parted out or crushed.

 

[GbRunner]

Here are the pictures

 

[GbRunner]

Sorry about duplicating some of the pictures.

 

[peter78]

When you said you hit a pole, you didn't mention it was a huge cement pole. That is quite a wreck, yes your baby is gone, but I have to ask, are you alright? Also, the passenger window is all broken up, did you have a passenger? I just hope you are all right. Basically you hit a solid pole and came to a complete stop. It does look like the cockpit area stayed intack, thereby not crushing you. Very sorry for your crushed car, but glad you are still around.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I've seen that happen on a few other 4Runners but most were off road at the time but all were lifted and had bigger tires than stock and the shop's lawyers may be able to contend that the modifications contributed to the failure since I'm not sure how the bushing replacement caused that type of failure;maybe the steering components fix might be an issue but the swaybar fix had nothing to do with that.

 

[piperoo]

No way that is a coincidence. That is a pretty bad wreck and glad you are ok.

Time to call the lawyer.

Also, did you call the shop after it happened? What did they say?

 

[T4RJon_SR5]

Wow, very sorry about your 4Runner. Glad everyone is okay.

She looks like she was a beautiful rig! I would definitely pursue speaking with a lawyer. I would think, even if the repairs didn't directly impact it, the shop should have said....hey man, look at this, this could cause serious problems....

Your insurance company might be able to help, also. Some will even get their own lawyers involved so they don't have to pay for damages.

 

[cfranck1]

That sucks what happen to the Runner, But glad your ok.

I don't know what year yours was, kind of a mood point now but there was a recall on the lower ball joints for 2001 model year.


http://www.toyota-4runner.org/problems-warranty-issues/71656-2001-lower-ball-joint-recall.html

 

[cordrayj1]

similar incident happened to me with the whole wheel "disconnecting" from the front end. i was luckily able to hold mine straight long enough to stop. But did end up costing me 3000$$ to fix . Sorry to hear about your loss. Glad everyone is OK.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I would definitely pursue speaking with a lawyer. I would think, even if the repairs didn't directly impact it, the shop should have said....hey man, look at this, this could cause serious problems....

If the shop ignored a visible issue and didn't say anything is just a crappy thing to do as humans but you can't contend that as part of a lawsuit.

I'd be curious if anything was able to be brought against the shop without serious litigation which will cost alot of time and money to prove it either way and if the shop wins then the defendant is out even more money but also you have to look at the truck which is totaled and the insurance company may just want to pay out.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[LINY4Runner]

Take the insurance money.

It looks like the lower ball joint failed. Which if done correctly, nothing they did would have caused that. They did steering and a sway bar, neither of which require removal of either ball joints.
I hope you and your passenger are okay, and I'm terribly sorry for the loss of your (and another really nice) 4Runner, but I'd call it a coincidence.
If they total it, which I imagine they will...make sure you strip off the wheels and tires, you should be able to pull out the rear suspension, fender flares & limited trim look okay, leather seats, and some other things you could either re-use (if you plan on buying another Runner) or sell on here.

Either way, keep us all posted on the situation.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Wow dude, glad you are ok. 37-0 in no seconds is nasty.

Yeah, check the recall info on that. If it is covered by the recall, but the work hadn't been done, is there any recourse? Could his insurance deny his claim because of an un-fulfilled recall? would be good to know if he would be better off flying under the radar and just taking the insurance check without pressing the issue.

 

[Nelsonmd]

BTW, how did your roof rack get jacked? Or was it already like that?

 

[yukonrider]

Looks like a lower ball joint failure. Hard to tell, but go look and see if your steering rack is still "attached" I would bet it is. If they did the work right they didn't touch anything that would make the wheel fall off like that.

 

[twitchee2]

Wow glad to see your alright. thats a nasty crash. How many miles did you have on your 4runner.

 

[Hepar]

Oh man! Looks like we lost a beautiful 4Runner. But the biggest thing is that you walked away.

 

[Mauzer]

Wow, that is awful. I literally saw this and called the dealership to see if my LBJ recall had been done and it hadn't so I'm taking it in tomorrow morning! Sorry for your loss but thank you for prompting me to check on mine.