Rear End Collision - Creaking Sound After
07-06-11, 08:57 AM
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Rear End Collision - Creaking Sound After
Hey guys,
After years of good fortune, I had the misfortune of being rear-ended in stop and go traffic on the interstate on my way out of town for vacation. A Ford Escape decided that the rear bumper of my '10 LS AWD was its preferred resting place. Fortunately, I had the air suspension on high, so the point of contact was dead center in the middle of the bumper. I was essentially left with a license plate imprint. I am quite impressed there was no other (visible) damage. Estimate is $595 to remove the rear bumper, heat the imprint out, touch up the scratches and reattach. I am concerned, though, because I now have a creaking sound coming from the rear end when I am making turns at moderate speed and hit a bump that causes side to side body motion. I don't know if a body shop is able, or would be qualified, to diagnose the source of the sound. The young guy who hit me is having his father pay for the damage out of pocket to avoid involving insurance. I worry that they'll be off the hook if there is damage to some internal component (let's hope not the suspension). Could there be such sinister damage when there is so little cosmetic damage? Should I take the car to Lexus and have them diagnose the noise and not mention the accident? Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Allen
After years of good fortune, I had the misfortune of being rear-ended in stop and go traffic on the interstate on my way out of town for vacation. A Ford Escape decided that the rear bumper of my '10 LS AWD was its preferred resting place. Fortunately, I had the air suspension on high, so the point of contact was dead center in the middle of the bumper. I was essentially left with a license plate imprint. I am quite impressed there was no other (visible) damage. Estimate is $595 to remove the rear bumper, heat the imprint out, touch up the scratches and reattach. I am concerned, though, because I now have a creaking sound coming from the rear end when I am making turns at moderate speed and hit a bump that causes side to side body motion. I don't know if a body shop is able, or would be qualified, to diagnose the source of the sound. The young guy who hit me is having his father pay for the damage out of pocket to avoid involving insurance. I worry that they'll be off the hook if there is damage to some internal component (let's hope not the suspension). Could there be such sinister damage when there is so little cosmetic damage? Should I take the car to Lexus and have them diagnose the noise and not mention the accident? Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Allen
07-06-11, 09:27 AM
#2
Sorry to hear about this, Allen. While I can somewhat sympathize with someone's desire to settle this outside insurance, if you are concerned about what they may find behind the bumper, then perhaps you should consider notifying your insurance company. Personally, that's what I would do to be on the safe side. It is unfortunate, but the reality is that if additional damage is found, even though the father may pay, you can never be certain.
Alternatively (and this is what I suggested to a friend who had a similar situation, in his case with a very difficult and annoying woman, whom I told him he should threaten with reporting to his insurance if she kept it up), you could document what happened and have the father sign agreeing to cover any damages related to this incident. It worked for him, but again, personally, I would not put up with it.
Best of luck.
Alternatively (and this is what I suggested to a friend who had a similar situation, in his case with a very difficult and annoying woman, whom I told him he should threaten with reporting to his insurance if she kept it up), you could document what happened and have the father sign agreeing to cover any damages related to this incident. It worked for him, but again, personally, I would not put up with it.
Best of luck.
07-06-11, 09:30 AM
#3
I would not be satisfied until I personally inspected the possible damage AFTER the bumper cover was removed. You might want to discuss with the shop which provided you the estimate and let them know that there is possibly some collateral damage beyond that which is immediately visible. Something beneath the bumper cover may have loosened at impact and is causing the creaking sound. Also, let the driver know of your concerns. I know that there are styrofoam absorbers behind the front bumper covers which could make a creaking noise if broken or disturbed. There is probably the same thing in the rear but I have never viewed the rear after the bumper cover was removed. Good luck to you. BTW, CAHA makes some good points regarding the insurance issue.
Last edited by Silverpaws; 07-06-11 at 09:34 AM.
07-06-11, 09:38 AM
#4
I would not be satisfied until I personally inspected the possible damage AFTER the bumper cover was removed. You might want to discuss with the shop which provided you the estimate and let them know that there is possibly some collateral damage beyond that which is immediately visible. Something beneath the bumper cover may have loosened at impact and is causing the creaking sound. Also, let the driver know of your concerns. I know that there are styrofoam absorbers behind the front bumper covers which could make a creaking noise if broken or disturbed. There is probably the same thing in the rear but I have never viewed the rear after the bumper cover was removed. Good luck to you. BTW, CAHA makes some good points regarding the insurance issue.
07-06-11, 06:34 PM
#5
All state laws are different so maybe you're OK in Illinois. If you lived in Massachusetts you would be a complete fool to settle this privately. Until a competent auto body shop pulls that bumper off and inspects the whole area and all the components (what if your rear backup sensors suddenly stop working) you don't really know what damage has been done. I would not agree to any settlement.
Could there be such sinister damage when there is so little cosmetic damage?
Last year my wife's Jag was rear ended and a very experienced insurance adjuster pegged that damage at $4600 and we received a check for that amount. When our auto body guy took everything off, he called the adjuster back in to approve another $1700 in repairs that the adjuster couldn't see in his initial inspection.
As for getting his father to agree to pay for any additional damage, that's not worth the paper its not printed on.
Could there be such sinister damage when there is so little cosmetic damage?
Last year my wife's Jag was rear ended and a very experienced insurance adjuster pegged that damage at $4600 and we received a check for that amount. When our auto body guy took everything off, he called the adjuster back in to approve another $1700 in repairs that the adjuster couldn't see in his initial inspection.
As for getting his father to agree to pay for any additional damage, that's not worth the paper its not printed on.
08-09-11, 07:18 AM
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Just as an update, I had the repair completed a couple weeks ago. The body shop said there was no internal damage and everything behind the bumper cover was in place. They could not identify the source of the creaking sound. So, do I take the car to Lexus now and have them diagnose this problem as one that's not related to being bumped in the rear end? Some faulty rear air suspension components were replaced just prior to the accident, so perhaps this sound is related to yet another suspension problem? Your thoughts as to how I should approach this with the dealer would be appreciated.
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