[Urgent] Please help! ***Damaged frount sub-frame***
05-16-12, 12:48 PM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
[Urgent] Please help! ***Damaged frount sub-frame***
Hey everyone,
My IS250AWD is lowered on H&R springs and recently, i went over a sewer cap that is stuck up so high in a mall parking lot (it was ******ing pacific mall if anyone is from Toronto). it was very loud...
Stupid old me thought it was nothing serious and when i looked under the car i only see the corner of the engine under cover was shredded. It was dragging along the ground so i decided to drop by lexus today and have them replace it.
They came over to me and told me to go look at the actual damage, that was not good..
The "front sub-frame' (SPORD T.O. 5110030671) was pretty banged up and they said the suspension shifted as well.
I did the noob alignment test myself on the way home by letting go of the steering wheel on a straight road and seeing if it would drive off to one side, but it doesnt. The steering wheel doesn't vibrate either.
Anyway, lexus quoted me $3424.45 to replace the front sub-frame and another $110 for an alignment.
what should I do? I'm from Toronto btw, not in the U.S.
claim insurance? claim from the mall?
Please help, I don't feel safe driving my car anymore
My IS250AWD is lowered on H&R springs and recently, i went over a sewer cap that is stuck up so high in a mall parking lot (it was ******ing pacific mall if anyone is from Toronto). it was very loud...
Stupid old me thought it was nothing serious and when i looked under the car i only see the corner of the engine under cover was shredded. It was dragging along the ground so i decided to drop by lexus today and have them replace it.
They came over to me and told me to go look at the actual damage, that was not good..
The "front sub-frame' (SPORD T.O. 5110030671) was pretty banged up and they said the suspension shifted as well.
I did the noob alignment test myself on the way home by letting go of the steering wheel on a straight road and seeing if it would drive off to one side, but it doesnt. The steering wheel doesn't vibrate either.
Anyway, lexus quoted me $3424.45 to replace the front sub-frame and another $110 for an alignment.
what should I do? I'm from Toronto btw, not in the U.S.
claim insurance? claim from the mall?
Please help, I don't feel safe driving my car anymore
05-16-12, 01:44 PM
#2
I would start by taking photos of the sewer, document the incident, obtain the quote from Lexus and file a claim with the city. I've heard of people in situations like yourself receiving some type of compensation from the city.
I highly recommend you do not mention that your car is lowered as that may hinder their decision to grant your claim.
I highly recommend you do not mention that your car is lowered as that may hinder their decision to grant your claim.
05-16-12, 01:50 PM
#3
Damaging the sub frame wasn't a good idea since the geometry of the vehicle just gotten affected and can affect the structural integrity of the vehicle. Was this avoidable?
Definitely try to file against the city if you can.
Definitely try to file against the city if you can.
Last edited by Sango; 05-16-12 at 01:57 PM.
05-16-12, 01:52 PM
#4
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MA
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You should definitely try and go through the city first. If that doesn't prove to be useful then definitely claim it on insurance. I'm not sure how insurance would input this sort of thing, I don't want them to tell you it's your fault and then try and give you points or something!
05-16-12, 01:57 PM
#5
Hey everyone,
My IS250AWD is lowered on H&R springs and recently, i went over a sewer cap that is stuck up so high in a mall parking lot (it was ******ing pacific mall if anyone is from Toronto). it was very loud...
Stupid old me thought it was nothing serious and when i looked under the car i only see the corner of the engine under cover was shredded. It was dragging along the ground so i decided to drop by lexus today and have them replace it.
They came over to me and told me to go look at the actual damage, that was not good..
The "front sub-frame' (SPORD T.O. 5110030671) was pretty banged up and they said the suspension shifted as well.
I did the noob alignment test myself on the way home by letting go of the steering wheel on a straight road and seeing if it would drive off to one side, but it doesnt. The steering wheel doesn't vibrate either.
Anyway, lexus quoted me $3424.45 to replace the front sub-frame and another $110 for an alignment.
what should I do? I'm from Toronto btw, not in the U.S.
claim insurance? claim from the mall?
Please help, I don't feel safe driving my car anymore
My IS250AWD is lowered on H&R springs and recently, i went over a sewer cap that is stuck up so high in a mall parking lot (it was ******ing pacific mall if anyone is from Toronto). it was very loud...
Stupid old me thought it was nothing serious and when i looked under the car i only see the corner of the engine under cover was shredded. It was dragging along the ground so i decided to drop by lexus today and have them replace it.
They came over to me and told me to go look at the actual damage, that was not good..
The "front sub-frame' (SPORD T.O. 5110030671) was pretty banged up and they said the suspension shifted as well.
I did the noob alignment test myself on the way home by letting go of the steering wheel on a straight road and seeing if it would drive off to one side, but it doesnt. The steering wheel doesn't vibrate either.
Anyway, lexus quoted me $3424.45 to replace the front sub-frame and another $110 for an alignment.
what should I do? I'm from Toronto btw, not in the U.S.
claim insurance? claim from the mall?
Please help, I don't feel safe driving my car anymore
Take it to http://bullockcity.com first and see what they say? Dealership might over exaggerate on damages.
05-16-12, 02:27 PM
#6
Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks everyone for the replies, i'll go back and take some pics. 
if i claim with the city, will they check to see if my car is lowered?
i've never filed anything with the city so what is the process?
Thanks Peter,
the sewer cap is where the lane between market village and pacific mall is. its where trucks usually drive to unload stuff i guess, do you know where i'm talking about? if you enter the mall from steeles and go straight at the stop sign. Sigh.. this is one expensive fix..
if i claim with the city, will they check to see if my car is lowered?
i've never filed anything with the city so what is the process?
Wow, sorry to hear that Matt. Where was that sewer cap?
Take it to http://bullockcity.com first and see what they say? Dealership might over exaggerate on damages.
Take it to http://bullockcity.com first and see what they say? Dealership might over exaggerate on damages.
the sewer cap is where the lane between market village and pacific mall is. its where trucks usually drive to unload stuff i guess, do you know where i'm talking about? if you enter the mall from steeles and go straight at the stop sign. Sigh.. this is one expensive fix..
05-16-12, 02:34 PM
#7
That depends on how high that sewer cap is... if other cars going through that with no issues at all. You are going to have a tough time claiming. If the cap is within standards or code, you will be denied.
It's like trying to file a claim against the city for a speed bump because you scraped on a lowered car... get my drift?
I would first get a second opinion on that... the dealer may be a bit over-cautious. Take it to another shop and see...
It's like trying to file a claim against the city for a speed bump because you scraped on a lowered car... get my drift?
I would first get a second opinion on that... the dealer may be a bit over-cautious. Take it to another shop and see...
Trending Topics
05-16-12, 02:47 PM
#9
Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That depends on how high that sewer cap is... if other cars going through that with no issues at all. You are going to have a tough time claiming. If the cap is within standards or code, you will be denied.
It's like trying to file a claim against the city for a speed bump because you scraped on a lowered car... get my drift?
I would first get a second opinion on that... the dealer may be a bit over-cautious. Take it to another shop and see...
It's like trying to file a claim against the city for a speed bump because you scraped on a lowered car... get my drift?
I would first get a second opinion on that... the dealer may be a bit over-cautious. Take it to another shop and see...
I already booked an appointment to have it checked out at the garage i go to for oil changes. I'm not hopeful though because I saw it myself, it really is banged up pretty bad. i forgot to take pictures today at the dealership though, stupid me. The dealership was pretty nice, they didn't charge me for the inspection and changed my key batteries for free as well.
For Ontario peeps, i'm talking about the london ontario lexus dealership, the don valley north lexus dealership in toronto are scum.
05-16-12, 04:31 PM
#11
If you cannot get the city to replace. I would take the car to any alignment shop and have the check the alignment, dealers love to fix everything thats how they make their money. Tell them you hit a hard bump and want to have it checked out some places will check them for free.
I am not sure about the is chassis, is the subframe bolted or welded on? If it is bolted on you can easily replace it, buy buying a used subframe, and have a local shop do the work. may cost you 3-500 in labour and used part maybe 2-400 dollars.
I am not sure about the is chassis, is the subframe bolted or welded on? If it is bolted on you can easily replace it, buy buying a used subframe, and have a local shop do the work. may cost you 3-500 in labour and used part maybe 2-400 dollars.
05-16-12, 06:11 PM
#14
I can actually chime in here with relevant advice. I had a similar thing happen to me last year. I was driving in Calgary through the industrial park and I drove over some really high train tracks which were all bent out of shape from big trucks going over them. The bump, which was much more like the grand canyon than a crossing, caused my fender to buckle, since I'm also lowered.
I phoned the City of Calgary and told them what happened, and they asked about the location. Turns out train tracks in the west are all owned and operated by either Canadian Pacific or CN Rail. So I called Canadian Pacific and they asked for all my information, pictures of the rail crossing, and the resulting damage to the car. They agreed that it was their fault as a railroad crossing, while private property, is a public causeway that the general public must use to access public services (ie roads). Parking lots typically have some sort of BS signs that say use at own risk, but you may be able to swindle them on this since they're public domain. CP paid for my entire repair.
I phoned the City of Calgary and told them what happened, and they asked about the location. Turns out train tracks in the west are all owned and operated by either Canadian Pacific or CN Rail. So I called Canadian Pacific and they asked for all my information, pictures of the rail crossing, and the resulting damage to the car. They agreed that it was their fault as a railroad crossing, while private property, is a public causeway that the general public must use to access public services (ie roads). Parking lots typically have some sort of BS signs that say use at own risk, but you may be able to swindle them on this since they're public domain. CP paid for my entire repair.
05-16-12, 06:59 PM
#15
Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks guys, i'll keep you all posted.
I'll upload pics of the damage when I get the chance on friday.
Thats a good idea, do you know how i can get my hands on a used sub-frame? lol
It doesn't sound that easy as it'll have to be taken of a totalled car or something.
The labour is going to be intense, cause they made it sound like it was a difficult fix. 5 hours or so and they'll have to take out the engine and blah blah blah.. I'm not sure if just any garage will be able to fix it.
I'll upload pics of the damage when I get the chance on friday.
If you cannot get the city to replace. I would take the car to any alignment shop and have the check the alignment, dealers love to fix everything thats how they make their money. Tell them you hit a hard bump and want to have it checked out some places will check them for free.
I am not sure about the is chassis, is the subframe bolted or welded on? If it is bolted on you can easily replace it, buy buying a used subframe, and have a local shop do the work. may cost you 3-500 in labour and used part maybe 2-400 dollars.
I am not sure about the is chassis, is the subframe bolted or welded on? If it is bolted on you can easily replace it, buy buying a used subframe, and have a local shop do the work. may cost you 3-500 in labour and used part maybe 2-400 dollars.
It doesn't sound that easy as it'll have to be taken of a totalled car or something.
The labour is going to be intense, cause they made it sound like it was a difficult fix. 5 hours or so and they'll have to take out the engine and blah blah blah.. I'm not sure if just any garage will be able to fix it.