Rollover report, 3 vs 4 gen safety musings

[RenoHuskerDu]

Well I don't need to worry about driveshaft vibration anymore. One of our sons did a corkscrew rollover next to our 2-mile dirt driveway. He must have hit 60 on the straightaway, started to wobble on braking hard, then got off into the rock field so common in Central TX.
UPDATE: He wasn't going 60 when he rolled, or this would be an entirely different story. I'd guess he hit the rocky field at at 40, still braking, then rolled.

He only got a couple glass cuts, amazing. The 3rd gen is toast. No body panel is straight and only one window didn't break. I'll post pics tomorrow. The rocks had their way with one wheel and most likely suspension and undercarriage. All I have is new seat covers, and a good 3.4 drivetrain to sell. Maybe only motor/tranny.

What is alarming is how the cabin wadded up. The beltline is only inches away from the top of the windows on one side. He said he saw the top bending in on him after the car came to rest, suggesting that it was yielding under the mere weight of resting on its top. Driver side was less crushed, so he could crawl out. He found his phone, called me, and I was there in 5min with an F350 4x4 and 6 ton car hauler.

This vehicle was initially for our daughter to commute to A&M but her entry was delayed a year. Perhaps a 4th gen would be a safer car overall. Perhaps its cabin is stronger, as rollover awareness was more of a public issue during the years it was designed.

Perhaps I'll consider buying a 4th gen instead.
.

 

[nc-grayson]

Sorry about your loss and glad everyone is safe.

Driveshafts are always overlooked as a routine maintenance item. Id contribute most of tgis accident tomdriver error over driveline vibrations however. At least based on this version of the story.

Glad everyone is safe

 

[Lindenwood]

That sucks!

Also I thought you were saying that you previously had a driveline vibration that now no longer needs addressing. But, just to confirm, you are not suggesting driveshaft vibration caused this, correct?

Finally, "60mph corkscrew rollover" and "a couple cuts" sounds like the truck did exactly what it was supposed to do .

 

[T4R2014]

Glad he’s fine, but this has driver error all over it. Obviously a newer vehicle will be safer.

 

[jgue467]

...
corkscrew rollover next to our 2-mile dirt driveway. He must have hit 60 on the straightaway, started to wobble on braking hard, then got off into the rock field so common in Central TX.
...
.

1st off - glad all are ok

2nd - it was rolled at 60mph and someone is wondering WHY the cabin may be begun being compromised ???? :cowboy:

 

[RedSled]

Glad your son is o.k. and may your runner rest in peace.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Thanks guys, heckova way to introduce myself, eh? Wasn't ideal...
No, the driveline didn't cause the wreck. Youthful indiscretion did.

I just posted this above in the OP
UPDATE: He wasn't going 60 when he rolled, or this would be an entirely different story. I'd guess he hit the rocky field at at 40, still braking, then rolled.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Last night I steri-stripped up his cuts and put him to bed. This morning he doesn't even have a headache, or sore joints. Ah, to be 16 again. Miraculous youth, wasted on many young. This morning I found some windshield glass in my hair. Wut???

But it needs to be said that the 3rd Gen did protect him well. He's more important to us than any vehicle.
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[jgue467]

...
heckova way to introduce myself...He wasn't going 60 when he rolled, ...I'd guess he hit the rocky field at at 40, still braking, then rolled.

Well welcome!

Still very, very fast for rolling - ya'll have some one upstairs looking out - thank them! Luck. Gotta get kids to respect speed - which isn't all its cracked up to be. :cowboy:

 

[LodeRunner]

Glad He's Okay

Hey Reno,

So glad that your son is okay! My 16 year old son rolled ours this week as well after getting t-boned at an intersection. Walked away without a scratch. Unbelievable.

Happy Father's Day,

~LR

 

[Falonious]

3rd gens do go over quite easily but I'm not sure a 4th would be any different.
I think it's a more a trait of suv's in general. Almost every one I've seen at the yard has been either on it's side or roof.....runners I mean, I don't notice the others.
As far as roof strength, again they would be about equal I would think as the 4th is a bit heaver is it not as some come with the v8....don't know for sure as I haven't really looked at one.
Not sure if they can be kidproofed if you will.....When I was a kid I even found a way to roll a 67 mustang.....WAY harder than a runner...no one at the time was impressed though

 

[alumarine]

What is alarming is how the cabin wadded up. The beltline is only inches away from the top of the windows on one side. He said he saw the top bending in on him after the car came to rest, suggesting that it was yielding under the mere weight of resting on its top..

I'm sure by the time it came to rest the roof structure was already seriously compromised.
That's why "it was yielding under the mere weight of resting on its top"

 

[theesotericone]

But it needs to be said that the 3rd Gen did protect him well. He's more important to us than any vehicle.
.

That pretty much sums it up. Glad he's OK and the rig is replaceable.

Rolling something into a rock field at 40MPH and walking away from it with a few cuts is a pretty damn good outcome. Would a 4th gen have rolled under those same circumstances? If it did would it fair better or worse then a 3rd Gen in regards to protecting it's passengers?

Here's a link to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test ratings. Clicking on Other Model Years will give you a list of all models to compare. Testing throughout the years has changed but if you really want the "safest" 4Runner start looking at 5th Gens from 2013 and up.

1997 Toyota 4Runner

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

SNIP
Here's a link to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test ratings. Clicking on Other Model Years will give you a list of all models to compare. Testing throughout the years has changed but if you really want the "safest" 4Runner start looking at 5th Gens from 2013 and up.

1997 Toyota 4Runner

Thanks, I shoulda thought of that too. Funny thing pops up in that report. The Gen5 gets better in 2013 than its debut in 2010....the roof strength goes up. Too bad the Gen5 is so ugly and expensive. I wonder how far they will stretch out those silly front turn signals in the next facelift.

2013 Toyota 4Runner

 

[Lindenwood]

Technically, wheel spacers are a relatively inexpensive way to widen the track and reduce the odds of a rollover. Increasing tire pressure can also help.

No spacers (14 sec video)
https://youtu.be/Wq3B-vLDO4I

With spacers (11 sec video)
https://youtu.be/y_52oGEU5XA

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

We went out and cleaned up the glass today. It was nearly dark last night and my quick analysis of the crash dynamics was flawed.

The cabin actually held up pretty well. He was braking hard but still going at least 30 over a rocky field when he fishtailed, the LF tire hooked up hard and levered him over. I found grass in the LF tire bead, and the LR tire is flat. Probably a rock.

The motor is no longer straight in the engine bay. The driver side sits a bit high, and the intake manifold made contact with the hood. There is no visible damage to the undercarriage there, so I'm going to guess that a motor mount let go when it was trying to hold its load upside down, with a bang.

The roll was largely on the driver side but the hatch also got boogered up well. I'm going to sell it for parts if possible on CL. The 3.4 is still strong, timing belt just done, brake master new, shocks too.

I have pics to post but it seems I'm not allowed that yet, as a nube on this forum. Here's a video, taken before I put the puzzle together of how it happened by looking over the car carefully. https://youtu.be/6G5OJJUx7v8

 

[Thefishguy77]

May I suggest he go to a driving school. Even an introductory to driving class, at a race track. This way he might have a better understanding of the chain of events that lead up to this and how to best avoid it.

Bot trying to be a jerk, just being honest.

Glad the boy is OK.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

May I suggest he go to a driving school. Even an introductory to driving class, at a race track. This way he might have a better understanding of the chain of events that lead up to this and how to best avoid it.

Excellent idea. I did Bondurant in my 20s, helped me a lot. Never had a bad wreck.

 

[phattyduck]

Your eyes will play tricks on you when you are upside down in a vehicle. I don't think the roof was moving/caving in after he came to rest. I've been there twice, once on the street (youthful indiscretion) and once on the track (unlucky off). That said, a 4Runner isn't a safe vehicle by modern standards...

If you want something safe, get a modern (<10 year old) mid sized 4-cylinder sedan. You want slow, reasonable handling and enough room for decent crumple zones. No SUVs (higher chance of accident), no compact cars (higher chance of injury due to SUVs). Edit: think of it as the penalty box for driving stupidity...

-Charlie

 

[AntleredRuin]

That cabin actually looks to be in pretty great condition for a rollover, IMO.

I know there's obviously more to it than this, but I'd +1 for driving school.
Only not for on-track lessons, but for the in-classroom scare factor.

At 16, I took your basic driver's ed, but it was from a classroom, not 'out of a box', taught by my parents, etc.
It was a few weeks long almost every day after school, and that class scared the living shit out of me. You think that the Saw movies were screwed up and gory? They had nothing on the videos of real live wreck footage we were forced to watch and pass tests on later on in the class (to make sure we were paying attention).

I'm now 26, and the only 2 wrecks that I've ever been in were purely not my fault (lightly rear-ended at stoplights both times). I've never come close to any other wrecks because I still drive super defensively, and I've pretty much driven for a living since I was 18. I don't doubt my careful personality contributes to my safe driving practices, but still. (not saying I can't make mistakes; I know I'm not perfect.)

Bit screwed up, yes, but I'd rather be deeply disturbed at 16 then dead at 17.



Also, I'd also still opt for a 4Runner or other SUV or truck than a car, any day of the week. I understand that modern vehicles are designed to crumple around the occupants, at the expense of the car itself, but still. This is not a technical, scientific observation, but big metal bumpers are where it's at. I can't count the amount of times I've seen where a small car rear-ended a truck, or vice-versa, and the truck had barely a dent in the bumper, and you can't even tell the make/model of the car because it's so crushed. You can't tell me that's safer. All things being equal, maybe, but real life accidents are hardly equal.

The first time I was rear-ended, it was in my 03 Rav4, by a 90's Ram pickup. That thing completely tore through my bumper, and the Rav4 spent 3 weeks at a shop. And guess what? He had a *slight* dent in the bumper. He may have had more whiplash, but still.
I was rear ended by a Nissan CUV while driving my 4Runner just a few weeks ago. It was more of a glance than a straight-on, but it completely tore the front paneling off his car, and I got just a couple scratches on my bumper side cap.