Hail damage

C

Cc95

New member
Well not even 1 week old yet, my new 2013 sr5 took on some hail damage the other day. We had a bad thunder storm with some hail and knowing how thin the metal is these days on the 4 runner I had a bad feeling. So when it was dried off the next day under the garage lighting I found one,not so bad may i add on the hood, the roof however had about a dozen, by the way I have the blizzard white pearl color. I hear the hood is aluminum and therefore stronger than the metal roof. They are not very big or deep and you have to catch the right lighting and angle to see them, it's just a sick feeling to know I had only 150 miles on it and this happened. I will be getting a few estimates for paintless dent removal next week or so, does anyone have any suggesstions or experience with this same issue.

Thanks
 
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Sorry man...not fun when you just go the vehicle. There has been a lot of hail around these parts...just waiting for it to catch me with the truck outside the garage.
 
Ouch, sorry to hear that. I got some pretty heavy hail damage on my 4Runner a year or so ago. I filed an insurance claim and I had paintless dent removal performed. I think it was about 3200$ worth of hail damage. The dents drove me nuts, so I had them fix it rather than pocket the cash. The place that did the dent removal did a pretty thorough and flawless job, it really looked brand new after they finished.
 
One thing you can try is to use dry ice to shrink the dent back out. I've done this before and it works pretty well. However, there are a couple of considerations. First it will not work on creases or dents on corners or edges. Second, you may still have to repaint the spot if the paint is cracked or if the dent is old - like you waited a long time before attempting a repair. Here's how I did it.

First, remember dry ice will burn your skin so gloves and eye protection are a must. You can get dry ice at most Wal marts or big food stores. Take a cooler to put it in. I think I paid about $10 for a good sized piece. Wait for a hot day and let your vehicle sit out in the hot sun for a few hours. Then break up (crush) a chunk the dry ice and place in cheese cloth. Set the cheese cloth on top of the dent. The cold ice reacting with the hot metal should pull the dent up towards the ice pack.

I had an old Datsun wagon that had major hail damage. Besides the dents I had to replace the windshield and side mirrors. I got about 2/3 of the dents out; but it was an old car with old paint. It was more of an experiment than must have repair. I don't think trying it would hurt anything. You can always go to the pros if you're not happy with the results.
 
Cc95 said:
I hear the hood is aluminum and therefore stronger than the metal roof. They are not very big or deep and you have to catch the right lighting and angle to see them, it's just a sick feeling to know I had only 150 miles on it and this happened. I will be getting a few estimates for paintless dent removal next week or so, does anyone have any suggesstions or experience with this same issue.

Thanks
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That really sucks!

I have a coworker who's Honda Fit had major hail damage. I thought- no way they can fix that with paintless dent repair. It looked like a big grey golf ball! Anyway, they fixed it perfectly. I looked and looked and couldn't even find a ripple anywhere. Couldn't believe it.

So, there is hope for your new truck to look 100% new again. BTW- just to clear things up, the hood is not aluminum but rather super thin steel like the rest of the vehicle.

Good Luck
 
This stuff is exactly what I deal with everyday. I work at a big collision shop in Minneapolis and we just got through a few huge storms. I would suggest filing an insurance claim and trying get the dents repaired by painless dent repair if possible. Typically we find several hundred dollars of additional damage because insurance companies write super quick not very detailed estimates. Make sure you use a reputable shop that doesn't have random storm chasers that push dents then leave town. Also make sure they don't drill holes and put plugs in if they do PDR work. Sometimes conventional repair is required depending on location, quantity of dents, or if body lines are compromised. Yours doesn't sound so bad. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions.
 
Thanks Dave and everyone else, hopefully when this blows over I'll post something positive about the results .
 
I take it you don't have an awning or garage to park your 4Runner in? When I lived in Oklahoma I always made sure my vehicles were in the garage when I knew it was going to storm. Darn hail really wreaks havoc on a vehicle.
 
It sounds like I was misinformed about the hood being aluminm. It did however hold up much better then the roof. Not sure why though.
 
I had someone hook up their bumper on the inside of my right rear fender well when backing out of a parking space at the hospital. They crumpled the right rear quarter panel slightly and scratched the plastic fender housing. My usual auto body repair guy suggested I take it to a dent repair guy since the standard repair cost was going to be the usual $750. He also said nothing is like the original factory paint job and the dent repair guy would not have to repaint.
Well, the dent repair guy said $250 (that's my deductible) but was not pleased with what he could do and only charged me $75. I can tell what happened, but most would not notice. He did right by me. He also mentioned he did a lot of work with new car dealerships after hailstorms, and that was the most cost effective way of repairing.

I still cringe when I have to park at the hospital which is always crowded. People there are (1) too old to be driving, (2) are stressed out, (3) may be ill or maybe all 3.

Sorry your car got christened so soon; now it is just another good ol' 4Runner. I think the dent repair is the way to go to fix your damage.
 
We'll it's been at least a month since I posted on the hail damage to my white sr5, this is the outcome. I had the local favorite that most of my areas dealers use, I rather not say however. So I get an estimate mind you, there is 1 or 2 on the hood but about 12 on the roof to which you need the right lighting to see well. Anyway he said the hood no big deal but dropping the headliner for the roof in his opinion is not good he said they never go back the same like the factory sealed. He said he can pull them with glue and suction. We'll the cost is around my deductible and I said let's do it and no insurance claim to file. He does this out doors my garage has fluorescent lights, I will say the hood came out good the roof was disappointing on certain ones I can see small tiny holes from the punch down tool he used some have a wave to them, one looks flattened with the tiny holes and there are some tiny ones which I am glad he didn't touch. We'll the outcome is he was not happy with the job he did on the roof and he new it. He said he couldn't see them well and there hard to reach and work on, so just pay me for the hood. So I gave it a good wax this weekend and under my garage lights and standing on a ladder I can look at these and it not a good feeling since it's only a mont old. My decision is tolet it go and cut my loses I think things will only get worse if I mess with it again. And I know it's the roof and who the hell is going to stand on a ladder under the right lighting but it's the principal. Lesson learned.

Thanks
 
Cc95 said:
We'll it's been at least a month since I posted on the hail damage to my white sr5, this is the outcome. I had the local favorite that most of my areas dealers use, I rather not say however. So I get an estimate mind you, there is 1 or 2 on the hood but about 12 on the roof to which you need the right lighting to see well. Anyway he said the hood no big deal but dropping the headliner for the roof in his opinion is not good he said they never go back the same like the factory sealed. He said he can pull them with glue and suction. We'll the cost is around my deductible and I said let's do it and no insurance claim to file. He does this out doors my garage has fluorescent lights, I will say the hood came out good the roof was disappointing on certain ones I can see small tiny holes from the punch down tool he used some have a wave to them, one looks flattened with the tiny holes and there are some tiny ones which I am glad he didn't touch. We'll the outcome is he was not happy with the job he did on the roof and he new it. He said he couldn't see them well and there hard to reach and work on, so just pay me for the hood. So I gave it a good wax this weekend and under my garage lights and standing on a ladder I can look at these and it not a good feeling since it's only a mont old. My decision is tolet it go and cut my loses I think things will only get worse if I mess with it again. And I know it's the roof and who the hell is going to stand on a ladder under the right lighting but it's the principal. Lesson learned.

Thanks
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Dang. That must be hard =/.. But as you said, you can't really see it unless you're up on a ladder. If you want to get a roof rack, that would be a interesting way to cover it without actually touching the roof. Just a thought, but its your truck, your decisions!
 
I still have some hail dents on the roof and hood of my 1998 Dodge quad cab pick up that I acquired on a trip through Nebraska when the truck was less than 6 months old.

I never even tried to get them fixed, they are not all that noticeable since the truck is now fairly scratched up from years of off road encounters with brush and hauling firewood.

When your 4Runner is sixteen years old, you will not even care about a few small dents in the top any more.
 
With living in Kansas we have been lucky so far. We do hail bigtime here. I try to drive our old Nissan when the forecast is for bad WX. I do wonder how well the 4Runner sunroof glass holds up to hail - anyone with experience?
 
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