Hi. This is my first time posting. I know this post is long but I just wanted to be thorough to get the best advice from the forum. Thanks for your help in advanced.
I recently bought my first car, a new IS250 AWD. The car only has 3600 miles on it as of right now. I was driving on I-80 late at night trying to get back to Pittsburgh from Boston. Due to fog and complete darkness on the Interstate, I ran over an already dead deer lying in the middle of the road. Afterwards, there was abnormal sound at cold start and while accelerating. I drove my car back to Pittsburgh; however, I couldn't accelerate past 62 mph and had to keep rpms between 2000 and 2500 to reduce the engine noise. There was no body damage other than the engine cover.
On Monday, I called the Lexus dealership to schedule a repair. They said they couldn't see the car until Friday. So, I brought my car to a Toyota dealership. They said that the engine cover underneath car was dent inward causing the problem.
After having the engine cover replaced (cost me $578 for parts and labor), the car still has a noticeable engine sound at startup and while accelerating. However, now I can accelerate to 80 mph before it tops out. The sound is more pronounced while in drive and park compared to neutral. I mentioned this to the Toyota dealership. They said they can't do anything because it is consider warranty work and to bring the car to the Lexus dealership. There are no warning lights showing up on the dash.
Does anybody here have an idea what is wrong with my car? This is my first car and first time getting into an accident. So, I am a little clueless what to do here. Should I contact my insurance company? Is this repair covered under warranty? Does anybody have any recommendations for me? Thanks.