Lexus 400h In Accident

[Legacy400h]

Tonight my 2006 Lexus 400h was parked, when a 2005 Toyota Matrix ran into the rear end at around 30 mph, I would guess. I don't know what the Toyota driver was thinking (or not), but she finally applied the brakes within the last 20 feet on a wet road and plowed into the rear of my 400h. Her front end went under my rear, and my rear bumper destroyed her hood, radiator, etc. There was some, but very little discernible damage to my car, but we'll see what the body shop thinks.

It really surprised me that there was such an incredible amount of damage to her Toyota, while my car was completely intact. My rear bumper seemed pushed in around 3/16" on the left side, maybe some gas tank denting (don't know), definitely a scuff mark or two on the bumper itself. Overall, I am pleased with the results. Strangely enough, her air bag did not deploy...? (Are you listening, Toyota?)

It would appear that the 2006 Lexus 400h is pretty well protected from the rear, at least. Makes me feel good, since my last 3 cars were big, heavy Mercedes, and the Lexus always struck me as rather "tinny" in comparison. Just thought I'd mention it.

[BillyShaft]

wow man...everyone was ok I take it?

I know the RX400h has some weight behind it and of course the crumple zones in the toyota probably made it appear worse than it needed to while absorbing some of the impact.

Do you have any pictures?

[400h08]

It really surprised me that there was such an incredible amount of damage to her Toyota, while my car was completely intact. My rear bumper seemed pushed in around 3/16" on the left side, maybe some gas tank denting (don't know), definitely a scuff mark or two on the bumper itself. Overall, I am pleased with the results. Strangely enough, her air bag did not deploy...? (Are you listening, Toyota?)

I think the problem here is that the bumpers of the two cars are at different heights. I was rear ended by a passenger car into my MB ML320 with similar damages like what you described.

[skyfish400h]

It really surprised me that there was such an incredible amount of damage to her Toyota, while my car was completely intact. My rear bumper seemed pushed in around 3/16" on the left side, maybe some gas tank denting (don't know), definitely a scuff mark or two on the bumper itself. Overall, I am pleased with the results. Strangely enough, her air bag did not deploy...? (Are you listening, Toyota?)

I think the problem here is that the bumpers of the two cars are at different heights. I was rear ended by a passenger car into my MB ML320 with similar damages like what you described.

I agree. We see this all the time in So Cal where there are lots of SUVs and small cars sharing traffic. When she hit the brakes at the last second, the nose of her car took a dive and went even lower than it would normally be if parked. If this were in traffic and your car had also been braking hard, with its tail even higher in the air... then you would have seen the kind of car on car action that is common around here.

It will be surprizing if there is no damage to the the 400h. These are rather tinny cars and they are easily damaged. Probably why the 2010 redesign is so much heavier. I would be worried about the suspension and the drive train if she got that far under the car.

[RX400h]

If our 4600 lb SUVs are "rather tinny", I'd hate to think of how much a "solid" vehicle would weigh! I guess the 6700 lb H2 is solid, but hey, it averages only 10 MPG!

Seriously, I've never seen or heard anyone describing a Lexus as "tinny". In fact, Lexus vehicles are well known as being some of the safest in the world.

But as was mentioned, it is far better for some a vehcle to crumple than it would be to transfer all of the impact force to the driver and passengers. I'd rather have the front of my car fold up like an accordian than have it behave like a solid chunk of steel. Yes, the steel chunk wouldn't be damaged but I'd be sent flying through the windshield or have the seatbelt tear my torso in half.

Dave

[skyfish400h]

Seriously, I've never seen or heard anyone describing a Lexus as "tinny". In fact, Lexus vehicles are well known as being some of the safest in the world.

I think what is meant by "tinny" is that while Lexus has done a marvelous job of creating a safe and solid "feeling" vehicle, they do so using a minimal amount of steel. Sheet metal panels are very thin and easily damaged (as I have unfortunately discovered). The suspension always feels in control, but does has "give" to it that is noticeable.

Toyota, on the other hand tend to build their cars using an abundance of steel, which is one of the reasons I've always liked them. Coming from that world and moving up to a Lexus, one does notice a certain daintiness to the design approach. Not that there is anything wrong with that ;)

And, it was noted in the 2010 RX article that the weight increase was due in part to improving the RX crash protection.

[Legacy400h]

Thanks, everyone is alright. I was the only person "in the car," and I wasn't even in the car at the time. I had stopped next to my friend's car to transfer something large into his pickup, with my flashers on. I got out and was walking around the back towards his car, when my friend (who was directing traffic) yelled "look out!" I took an extra quick step or two and the car just missed me as it slammed into my 400h. A woman was alone in her car, and was fine. She had obviously been drinking, but I didn't press the issue. The 20 or so cars before her went around just fine.

Strangely enough, she rolled down her passenger window and asked what to do. I told her to turn off her engine and wait for the police, which she did. A few minutes later, she started her engine and began backing up. I dove through the open window, put her vehicle in Park, turned off the engine and took her keys. It took around 30 minutes for the officer to arrive. I gave her keys to him and he wrote her a ticket. Then they towed away her car.

It didn't dawn on me until later, that this occurred around 11:50 PM on Friday the 13th.

I'm sure there is more than just the minor bumper damage. The gas tank may be dented, and maybe more. At least it's not a rear wheel drive.

[RX400h]

I had to chuckle when I read your last post because something similar happened to my car, many years ago on a snowy afternoon.....

I had been heading home in my Mazda RX4 and had just rounded a corner when the car slid sideways into an embankment of snow. I couldn't get the car out, so I started to shovel away some of the snow. As I was doing so, a woman tried to negotiate the same curve and of course, slid into my car. She and her daughter immediately exited their car and proceeded to help us remove snow from in front of her tires. After a short while we pushed her car out as she gently applied the gas. She told us she was going to move her car out of the street to take a look at the damage and them promptly drove off.

Little did she know that my neighbor had memorized her license place number. The police notified her that she was liable for the damage (a whopping $30 to pull and paint a small dent) and that she was lucky I didn't press charges.

Dave