Need help with accident-2013 SR5

[joneser]

Hi all, new to the thread...recently purchased 2013 gray T4R....after I rolled an '03 in January hwell:

'13 was in an accident on Monday, Toyota on Toyota violence, Camry ran a light. My insurance is saying my T4R will likely be repaired, since it's still so new. I have major concerns given the collision center's initial comments regarding major suspension work, although they said they don't think the frame is bent. They haven't torn it apart yet. Advice welcome!

Should I take it to a dealer for an appraisal?
Should I try to get insurance to total it due to suspension damage?
If the frame is bent, how does that change things if the insurance wants to repair?

 

[THatfield]

If the frame is bent I am pretty sure legally they have to total it. I'm sure others will chime in, but if you aren't comfortable with the extent of how bad the damage is and you think it could, even after repair, be unsafe then I would try and find out how you can try and get it totaled. Of course your insurance co will do what's most cost effective, but I'd read around and figure out what options you have.

It has been said many times that when a car has significant damage, it is never the same.

 

[541joseph]

It goes from state to state but in Oregon if the frame is bent and it doesn't cost more than it's worth it's not totaled and with that damage just have them fix the damn thing right. Make sure the suspension is oem and is oem specs

 

[92-SR5]

It goes from state to state but in Oregon if the frame is bent and it doesn't cost more than it's worth it's not totaled and with that damage just have them fix the damn thing right. Make sure the suspension is oem and is oem specs

Mine has been totaled 3 times (only once from me) :becky:

 

[philsey]

"Totalling" is a fairly simple process of what percentage the repairs are of the vehicle's value. A 4R's high value retention works against you in this scenario.

Frames can be straightened.

Didn't the airbags deploy? This would significantly add to the repair cost. It's also some indication as to the severity of the impact.

Odd, the Camry looks like it hit a flat surface...

 

[joneser]

Resurrecting this thread due to the ongoing ass-pain from the repairs...
After an initial 5 weeks and $13k in repairs, my poor 4runner has been back in that damn shop 4 more times. There's a clunking in the front end that they can't figure out, they repair something every time, say it's fixed, and give it back. My last hope was for them to escalate to the dealership, which they did. Dealer had it for 2 days, the tech sounded really excited that they had found it when the collision center did it.
Picked up the vehicle after hours, drove it away, and sure enough the clunking/knocking is still happening.
Does anyone have any advice? I can't get rid of it, the diminished value is $10k less than what I owe on it, thanks to the airbag deployment. Insurance is playing the "we have to give the collision center every opportunity to get it right" game, but of course they're not footing the bill anymore because collision center guaranteed their repairs.
:gun5:

 

[Brique]

Have you asked the other party's insurance to reimburse you for the dimished value of your truck? In Tennessee, they would owe you for it, but you have to ask, because they aren't going to volunteer it.

Sorry to hear you've got a persistent problem. My wife's car got rear ended years ago, and the body shop borked it so bad we ended up calling our insurance and having them pay another shop to do it right.

 

[cwest94]

Sorry to hear of the problems. I have no help here, but had a Mustang smashed up the same way as your 4Runner, a lady ran a red light. Mine was border line from being totaled but insurance fixed it. The car was nothing but junk afterwards and no one was ever able to fix it right, so I ended up getting rid of it.

 

[joneser]

Cyclical Vibration

:shrug:
Still having issues with this thing. Metro Toyota in Kalamazoo has told me in no uncertain terms that they can't find it and they won't try to replace anything on it because there are no issues. We've gone round and round. Finally, yesterday I went and had a tech ride with me to hear the noise. But they can't find it, so they're completely content with me hopping in it and driving it to Florida this weekend (I'm moving!).
It's so frustrating...they have all the knowledge, all the resources, but the burden is on me to somehow direct them to find the issue. They can't find anything wrong with the driveline, checked the transfer case, they said everything is "in spec," and therefore not justification that something is wrong. I told them yes of course something is wrong, just because you can't find it doesn't mean that it's a-ok. To which they said they'll keep looking.
I'm at a loss. I work in a highly regulated industry and could not IMAGINE a customer saying "SOMETHING IS WRONG" and my company saying "prove it."
Unfortunately this is pushing me to the dark side of not wanting a future relationship with Toyota. And I've walked away from 2 4runners so that's saying something....

 

[6840]

If your state has an annual safety inspection requirement, perhaps you could get a friendly licensed inspector to go over it and "fail" it - then use that against the collision center/dealer.

 

[TOY2G]

:shrug:
Still having issues with this thing. Metro Toyota in Kalamazoo has told me in no uncertain terms that they can't find it and they won't try to replace anything on it because there are no issues. We've gone round and round. Finally, yesterday I went and had a tech ride with me to hear the noise. But they can't find it, so they're completely content with me hopping in it and driving it to Florida this weekend (I'm moving!).
It's so frustrating...they have all the knowledge, all the resources, but the burden is on me to somehow direct them to find the issue. They can't find anything wrong with the driveline, checked the transfer case, they said everything is "in spec," and therefore not justification that something is wrong. I told them yes of course something is wrong, just because you can't find it doesn't mean that it's a-ok. To which they said they'll keep looking.
I'm at a loss. I work in a highly regulated industry and could not IMAGINE a customer saying "SOMETHING IS WRONG" and my company saying "prove it."
Unfortunately this is pushing me to the dark side of not wanting a future relationship with Toyota. And I've walked away from 2 4runners so that's saying something....

The sway-bar is hollow and is made to twist. It does however bend pretty easily. Try pull the sway bar off and see if the noise goes away. If it does its a bent sway bar and it it tapping something as it travels through it's normal range of motion.

Just a hunch, but I thought it was worth a mention.


I have fought noises like this before after a repair and I can tell you I have always found it by luck, and it has never been what I was looking for.

Other things to consider.
-Fender liner loose and tapping (can sound very loud in the vehicle)
-Bumper splash guard (plastic) flapping in the wind

 

[Martinjmpr]

Sounds like it's the collision center that is the problem, not the dealer.

Are they a part of or affiliated with the dealer?

 

[joneser]

Let me clarify.
The collision center gave up and both they and insurance have said to go straight to the dealer with any issues.
So they're not affiliated at all. My first mistake IMHO was not going to the dealer in the first place. From what I've heard they likely would have recommended it to be totaled. Lesson learned.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Let me clarify.
The collision center gave up and both they and insurance have said to go straight to the dealer with any issues.
So they're not affiliated at all. My first mistake IMHO was not going to the dealer in the first place. From what I've heard they likely would have recommended it to be totaled. Lesson learned.

So you said the "collision center gave up" does that mean they refused to do any more work or did they hand over responsibility to fix the problem to the dealer? And if they did, did the dealer, in fact, accept responsibility?

Big question: Did the dealer get paid by the insurance company at all? If not, you may be SOL.

If the dealer did get paid by the insurance company then they are responsible for fixing the vehicle. Since this accident was the fault of another driver (with presumably a different insurance company) you might be able to get your insurance company to lean on the other driver's insurance company to make the vehicle right. After all, if there's an accident due to your vehicle being unsafe, it will be YOUR insurance company that is on the hook for it.

Now, all of this presumes that you have not signed any documents that state that the work is complete to your satisfaction and that no further work needs to be done. If you did sign such a statement then I think, again, you're SOL.