Got Rear Ended. Possible Damage??

[Jyn]

Got rear ended today at a stop light. Luckily, the tow hitch seemed to take all of the impact, so no visible damage (e.g. cracking/webbing of the bumper cover). My question is, what other possible damages should I look for? I got a police report and the girl's information, but I told her I'd get back to her on whether I find any damage or not.


As a side note, coming from a modified sedan, so glad the 4Runner had a tow hitch. Probably saved me from having to buy a new bumper cover :whoo:

 

[hearno]

Take it to a body shop or Toyota dealer and have them check it out on the other person't dime. That way there are no two ways about whether or not anything's damaged.

 

[Buckles]

Tow hitch taking the impact can actually cause more damage than a hit witout one. All the force is transferred directing into the frame where the hitch it bolted on. A friend of mine had that happen in his f150. No visible damage to the outside, but frame was bent when the hitch was bolted.

 

[piccrazy30]

The tow hitch saved the bumper for sure...the same thing happened to me last year in my 99 and the ball was bent, that was the only problem. But still take it and have it looked at, better safe than sorry. Hope your okay!

 

[4Evr4RunN3R]

How hard was the hit? Same thing happened to me a while back with the hitch taking the grunt of it. The MDX that hit me wasn't so lucky. There was no visible damage to my rear bumper and the hitch was fine with the ball still in tact along with the safety pin. Then again, I got hit at a complete stop with the other guy going 10-15 MPH. Pending on how hard you got hit, you should be ok if it was low impact. I had no damage to my frame whatsoever

 

[MikeInNH]

Take it to a body specialist. Dealer may or may not have a body shop. Many of the ones near me don't. They outsource their body work.

 

[Sungod]

The bumper cover is held on with clips and a few screws. If they were broken, you would see it. How fast was the other car going?

 

[crashman]

I got hit in the rear also and the frame was slightly bent i did get hit really hard though!
but you will need a new hitch once they get hit they are not safe to tow anymore

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/119192-my-bad-day-friday.html

Happy your ok though

 

[Jyn]

Sorry for the delayed response. It was a pretty slow hit - about 10 MPH. The speed limit was 20 MPH and the girl's beater had terrible brakes so she didn't press them in time and slid into me.