Lexus Vs F150

[13IS250C]

Friday night we were coming home from the Grizzlies game and we were involved in a chain reaction accident on the expressway. One car darted in front of the Durango in front of us. The Durango hit him, David stopped, but a new Lexus slammed into our rear. I can not believe how the whole front end of the Lexus just disintegrated!!!!!! All it did to David's truck is mash the bumper up. I couldn't even tell his car was a Lexus till I walked back there to see if they were OK a and I saw the logo on the steering wheel. The airbags did not deploy and his wife was hurt. None of the 3 of us in the truck were injured at all.

I was not at all impressed with the way the Lexus handled that impact. I would hate to see how my car would have handled it. Not sure which model it was, but it was a sedan.

[lenore]

That is scarey, I on the other hand hit a Honda, and it faired very well when my F150 hit the rear. The F150 has a very robust frame. But your right the bumper which probably dove under the truck bumper is the reason it had so much damage visually.

[13IS250C]

I think he would have faired better if he had hit us square on. You could tell he was trying to get to the shoulder of the road and he hit us with the passenger side corner of his car. I really don't understand why the airbags did not deploy.

All in all.... To be hit in Memphis by an insured driver was a miracle, so I guess I should be thankful. Grizzlies won and will advance to the playoffs so I know I'm thankful. Whooooo hoooo!!!!!

[lenore]

You should have taken some pictures with your phone...would be interesting to see the damage.

[pj8708]

I'm just glad all of you walked away without major injuries. These situatons really shake you up.

I have been in two accidents over the last 4 years. Both involed ES350's. The first situation was my ES hitting a Highlander in front of me when the road had been covered with ice. The air bag did not deploy, and the radiator fans we're pushed into the radiators, the radiator was pused into the engine, the rest of the engine compartment was pushed toward the firewall. Front fenders, bumpers, head lights, all shot.

The air bags did not deploy because my car was traveiing less than 5 mph. The insurance company totaled the car and made me an exceptionaly generous offer.

In the other occurance, the damage was worse and I asked the claims adjuster why do these cars seem to crumple into tissue paper when the impact is so little. She said the obect is to let the engine compartment absorb as much as possible the energy of the impact so it stays in the compartment and dosen't break the firewall.

I've never looked into this but I think it would be interesting.

Paul

[LEXIRX330]

Glad you are all ok. Cars can be replaced...but people can't.

[lenore]

Yes Paul that is the typical design of all newer cars, let the cars crumple and protect the passengers. Downside is in the low 5 mph crashes where the old heavy bumper would have taken the beating and the car spared.

[LEX-SV]

Wow, scary accident. But when a full sized body-on-frame pickup collides with conventional car the results are usually much worse for car. It's a legit safety concern for all car owners.

[LEX-SV]

I think he would have faired better if he had hit us square on. You could tell he was trying to get to the shoulder of the road and he hit us with the passenger side corner !

Good observation, and might be an example of why IIHS places high importance on new small offset crash test, of which some of the very latest cars perform well in.

Most recent model years (pre2012) cars including premium brands Lexus, Mercedes, Audi and BMW did not do well in that new test, not to mention poor results of most of the common car brands.

Can see latest test results on IIHS website. Regardless most of us here are driving cars that are much safer than the cars common 10-20 years ago

[13IS250C]

I totally agree. That was proven to me the day I had a flat going 70+ mph!

[LEX-SV]

What happened in the case of 70+ mph flat?

Yes, I too lived through that experience thankfully back in the day before VSC, ABS, EBD, etc.

[13IS250C]

No problem at all. We have AAA and it only cost me $17 to get the tire fixed. No damage to the rim cause this chick pulled over as soon as the low tire pressure light came on and I could safely get over.

When I take my car in for the 15k checkup, I'm going to have them check that side of the suspension very carefully. I always felt that whatever I ran over came out of my car. I keep my eyes on the road. I didn't see a thing.