4Runner Rear-Ended

[Jeff Kleb]

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I had stopped quickly for a car in front of me and was sitting about three feet behind it. A Lexus SUV had quickly stopped behind me - and was close to my rear bumper. All of a sudden.....WHAM! The Lexus hit my 4Runner.

It wasn't the fault of the Lexus driver, however, as a Dodge Ram pickup had hit his vehicle and pushed it into mine. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and my 4Runner still sustained less damage than either the Ram or the Lexus. I figure it will be about $800 to fix it; but thanks to my trailer hitch, the damage was less than it could have been. My 7-year-old son was with me, and he said that he got "knocked back into his seat," but was otherwise okay. He was proud that he had his seatbelt on, though.

The driver of the Ram was cited for following too closely and we all were given each other's info. It just sux that my nice, shiny 4runner had to get punked like that. Oh well, time to get some estimates for work and deal with the insurance companies.
:bash:

It ruined the plastic cap on the hitch, cracked and pitted my rear plastic bumper cover and a chunk was taken out of the wrap-around part of the left-rear quarter panel where it hooks to the bumper cover. Doh!

Any advice from the T4R Brain Trust??


P.S. I took a lot of photos of all three vehicles - as I had my cell phone with me, and it has a camera built into it.
:awais:


The pictures below were taken by me after I got home and obtained my digital camera. They are of better quality than my cell phone shots, so I figured they would do it better justice than the grainy ones from my phone.

 

[Mark86]

I am sorry to hear about your accident. Most importantly, nobody got hurt and you and your son were able to walk away from it. I remember when I was around your sons age and a 1985 Lincoln Town Car plowed into the rear of my parents car. It was very scary. It is amazing how one bad driver can affect so many people. Hopefully your 4Runner will be as good as new soon!

Just a little tip, you will have to go after the diver of the Lexus insurance for damages. They will then go after the insurance of the Dodge Ram driver. I know some people who were involved in a 3 car accident and they had some problems. Each insurance company liked to blame the next one and none would pay. Make sure to stand your ground!


EDIT: I just saw the pictures you posted. You don't have that much damage at all. It looks like the bumper cover sustained the impact. I recommend having a professional look over your truck just to make sure the trailer hitch wasn't damaged or anything else under the truck. What kind of Lexus SUV hit you?

 

[Jeff Kleb]

1. The cop who responded said that both myself and the driver of the Lexus were 100% innocent and that the insurance carrier for the driver of the Ram (Veh. #1 on the FR-300 police report) is responsible for both my SUV and the Lexus.

The old guy in the Ram was probably not a "bad" driver. He just could not stop in time and had a very heavy load on his 1/2 ton truck; power tools, a compressor and lots of pipes, hoses and fittings. Just in the wrong place when traffic got bunched up. I've been guilty of being too close to the car in front of me before, but was fortunate that I never had a collision. He was 60+ years old and never had an accident in his life.

2. It was a '00 Lexus RX-300, an SUV. He got slammed a lot harder than I did, as he was pushed from behind and then hit my 4Runner. A Lexus sandwich, huh?

3. My insurance company wanted the info for both of the other drivers and offered to subrogate the Ram's driver's company if necessary. I am going to contact his carrier on Monday and see what they can work out & whether or not they give me the runaround.

4. Yes, the damage is strictly cosmetic (or appears to be) - and I will definitely have someone at Toyota take a good look underneath 'just to be safe' in order to be sure there is no hidden damage.

5. The damage of my car versus the Lexus is amazing. I think the trailer hitch and the "trucky" frame saved the day. His car-based Lexus was pretty mangled up in both the front and rear, although he was able to drive it from the scene. The relatively minor damage is a testament to the 4Runner's rugged construction and only serves to reinforce my faith in this vehicle.

6. I'll post more pics tomorrow - although they might be grainy because of being taken by a cell phone camera.

Thanks for the kind words, sir!

 

[Uneek]

Glad you're ok. The 4Runner held up well.

 

[biglatka]

Jeff, sorry to hear about your mishap. I'm glad your son and you are ok, and that no one else was hurt, that's what is important. It was also good to hear how well the 4Runner held up. Too bad about the other two drivers, these things happen sometimes.

I

 

[sharp4runr]

Oh wow, sorry to hear about this Jeff! Like everyone said though, at least everyone is ok and doesn't look like your truck took too much damage. I feel safer knowing I drive the truck daily

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Thanks for the kind thoughts.......and maybe this is somewhat of a blessing in disguise. My 7-year-old son saw how all of us were okay at the scene - and everyone had their seat belts on.

Now comes the fun part of dealing with the insurance companies and the paperwork, etc., etc. But again, everybody went home in one piece!

Cars can usually be fixed.........people sometimes cannot.

 

[Koz]

You may have walked away without any damage if you had a hitch step, you should look into one after it is repaired.

Koz