When a WRX meets a CR-V

[eclectyx]

Hi all,

In recent discussions, some of you know that I was going to have my new wheels checked for balance. On my way to the shop this morning, my exactly two week old V was hit from behind by a WRX. :cry:

Traffic in front suddenly jammed brakes, and around 4 cars in front of me were nearly in a chain collision. I stopped in time, and as I was automatically reaching out for the hazard light switch to warn those behind, I was hit. Impact was pretty hard.

:x Last week, car was vandalised. Today, car gets bashed. :evil: What the hey? Unsolicited golden/Lucky number plate not so great luck afterall. :wink:

Check out the attached photos of what happened to the WRX, and compare it with the apparent damage to the V. Went to the Honda body shop/respray centre for an assessment, and it's a whopping $5-6K++, 8-10 day repair. They wired my licence plate back on, and I'll return next week to send it for actual repair. Replacement of tailgate, bumper, and floorpan at the very least, because they are all bent.

Still, it's very little damage considering the impact. The damage is essentially body work only, and if just the mangled plastic bumper bits are replaced, I think it would be very hard to tell that there was any damage from a simple inspection. But of course, Kah Motor would do the complete replacement to "as new" condition. The V still drives absolutely fine, and after I did the wheel balancing just now, the wheel vibration I reported earlier is mostly gone. Can't say the same for the WRX. :roll:

[autox17]

Yikes! I'd say the WRX lost that one big time.

[GreenCRV03]

Whoa! What a whopper!

Hopefully nobody got hurt, except for the *WRX's pride and your (ahem) rear. But 2 weeks' old and getting rear - end hurts...sorry. Check out the 4D - buy the number from rear to front :roll:


*If you remember one of Subaru many commercials about crash tesing their cars - "we do not crash test our cars - 'cos it always stop in time"

[eclectyx]

Nope, nobody hurt, thank goodness. Before I took the pictures, the WRX was spraying steam all over the place and bleeding all kinds of fluids.

Don't recall those adverts, but guess I should send the photos to Subaru's PR and R&D departments eh? :wink:

[BigBertha]

Eclectyx, I am quite surprise at the "minor" damage your V sustained during the collision ... especially from the backside. I have read articles (Wheels magazine ... i believe Oct '02 copy) and reports that the V's backside bumper has no "re-inforcement" structure which could offer protection for the backside during an impact.

In fact, one of the tests conducted by the IIHS-HLDI on the crash-worthiness of the V, rated it as "P" (Poor) for bumper crash.

"Bumpers should protect car bodies from damage in low-speed collisions, the kind that frequently occur in congested urban traffic. But many don't. The Institute conducts four 5 mph crash tests to assess bumper performance: front-into-flat-barrier, rear-into-flat-barrier, front-into-angle-barrier, and rear-into-pole."

http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/low_speed_smsuv.htm

Nevertheless, watching your own 2 wks old car getting into such as mess muz be really heart-aching. Drive safe ....

[GreenCRV03]

Big Bertha, thanks for the link.. could it be that the CRV 04 was the
standard LX, without the sports add on bumpers that Eclectyx has?

It might be those standard bumpers...maybe that would explain it all..

Thanks.

[MudHog]

Guys,

My 2cents...

The IIHS test rate damage to the insurance company's POCKETS. What they rate is how much financial damage is inflicted. Not so much the safety to the passengers.

I was rear-ended in my 13 yr old bimmer a couple of years back by a Proton Wira. If you know the older bimmers, they are tanks. To cut a long story short, I lost a bumper and the other guy lost his front end (quite extensively from the insurance pics). I was also warded at Changi General for a couple of days for a bum neck. If you ask me, my car should have absorbed the impact and not my neck.

In any case, if you are whacked from the back, the other guy pays anyway, right ? :twisted:


countdown: 4 more dayz to collect my V from mandai..... :lol: :lol:

[Vector86]

Wow, that wrx looks like its chassis got messed up. glad everyone is okay, traffic accidents are a real bummer.

[bongel]

man...
how fast was that wrx running?
looks bang up pretty bad.....

[eclectyx]

Eclectyx, I am quite surprise at the "minor" damage your V sustained during the collision ... especially from the backside. I have read articles (Wheels magazine ... i believe Oct '02 copy) and reports that the V's backside bumper has no "re-inforcement" structure which could offer protection for the backside during an impact.

In fact, one of the tests conducted by the IIHS-HLDI on the crash-worthiness of the V, rated it as "P" (Poor) for bumper crash.

"Bumpers should protect car bodies from damage in low-speed collisions, the kind that frequently occur in congested urban traffic. But many don't. The Institute conducts four 5 mph crash tests to assess bumper performance: front-into-flat-barrier, rear-into-flat-barrier, front-into-angle-barrier, and rear-into-pole."
http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/low_speed_smsuv.htm


Hi BigBertha,

Hmmm, my feel is that this might be another case of "tests" or "reviews" that don't tell the "true" story, and like MudHog suggests, there might be ulterior motives behind it. 8)

If you read the FAQ at the site carefully(http://www.hwysafety.org/safety_facts/qanda/bumpers.htm), you will see that to get a good rating, the bumper must sustain NO DAMAGE at all, except "all but very minor cosmetic damage". The agenda at the site seems to be to compel car manufacturers to RETURN to the good ol' days when bumpers were massive super shock absorbers.

The flip side are those other kinds of test reports that show how modern car bumpers are "pedestrian friendly" because they crumple to prevent serious injury. Hondas score very well in those tests. So who would you rather "believe"?

I think bumpers nowadays are DESIGNED to crumple/break/shatter, in order to dissipate the impact energy, and are considered to be "expendable", in order to protect the body work. If a bumper was more rigid, then much more of the impact force would transmit to the metal frame, making a low-speed impact more likely to cause MORE expensive damage.

Bumpers are "weak" according to the hwysafety.org crash tests, but what about passenger safety? The V has very high marks in that respect in other tests right? According to the mechanic at KM when I went in for assessment, V's are "very rugged" and he wasn't surprised at all at the "minor" damage. From another V owner who's been in a couple of accidents (front and back), I was told of similar experiences. The V is one tough nut. :wink:

And incidentally, the front "Sport" bumper extension is very good at preventing that kind of relatively low-speed impact. She only needed to replace that Sport bumper after the accident.

In the end, real life experience counts for me. The V proved itself, and I feel very confident about it's safety now. :D

Nevertheless, watching your own 2 wks old car getting into such as mess muz be really heart-aching. Drive safe ....

Yah... was so fed up, but then, what to do? Only consolation is that I didn't do anything stupid to cause it, otherwise I would just hate myself! I guess I'm just annoyed at the inconvenience of not having my car for up to 2 weeks.


man...
how fast was that wrx running?
looks bang up pretty bad.....


Hi Bongel,

We had just crossed a light, but there seemed to be some confusion because the road had been resurfaced (repaved to Americans?) but the lines had not been repainted. The guy was in the "right-turn only" lane and I think he was accelerating to swing back to the left (the lane I was in) and probably was looking the wrong way when the traffic all halted in front of me. He stood on his brakes (loud screeching behind me just prior to impact), but hit pretty hard. Guessing his turbo had kicked in as well. Actual speed? I dunno, but I was at a complete stop by then. :roll:

[chinchillax]

that poor wrx.:(

[bongel]

wow

can u sue the ministry of public work then for the damage?since they didnt paint the work?

he2

[-X-]

hi eclectyx, your accident very similar to mine... i also got hit from behind by a swift while i was stopped at a traffic light junction. my V was only 1 month old at that time. the swift front area also all crumbled like the rex in the photos you posted. my the lower bumper area all dented in, again very much like your V in the photos. but mostly dented plastics, and a slight dent on the taildate, no real structural damage.

[eclectyx]

Hi X,

My floor pan was dented and twisted a little, the picnic table could no longer sit flat. That's apparently the thing that's mainly causing the long repair time (7-8 working days).

WATCH OUT ALL NEW V OWNERS! eg. Shark2927 and MudHog etc, the V attracts butt-kissers in the first few weeks of ownership! :shock: :lol: :roll:

Especially if your V is Nighhawk Black (as are X's and mine). Some kind of cloak of invisibility that prevents other drivers from see us in time. :wink: According to some insurance industry statistics, silver coloured cars are the safest, while black is one of the worst if not THE worst in terms of accident rate. Makes one seriously consider putting beng blinky lights to increase visibility. :idea:

[firecman]

Hi eclectyx,

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you got back your V and it's as "good as new".

I think your damage is very small. Furthermore, the V is a very sturdy car. My baby girl slept through the whole accident when it happened last year. The V was about 10 months old. I knocked a Nissan at maybe about 30-40km/h and before impact, I swerved left. So I damaged the right front. It still drives like normal now.