*updated* My car was hit - Got a motor mount type noise when i hit bumps...Confirmed it was motor mounts!

[amdhunter]

w00t! Took my car to another dealer, and they informed me that there was a Technical Service Bulletin issued for my car, regarding the same exact problem I described in this thread. They took my car in at 8:15 yesterday and I picked it up at 6PM, and the car feels better than ever.

I still feel that being rear-ended played some part of the damage, but I am glad the car feels good again. The dealer ended up replacing the front and right side motor mounts, and adjusted the rear shock.

I just wanted to post a conclusion, and I am glad that it didn't cost me a penny. Just a dumb question, how big a job is it to work on a motor mount? Is it as bad as replacing a transmission or something?

------Previous Post Below -------

Just cliffs.

- Got rear ended, thumps on side of car appeared.
- Decided to give car to Honda to fix damage.
- Body work looks amazing, but thumps still were still there.
- Honda said it was a tire pressure problem, too much air in tire, no damage from accident could be seen, and no damage to shocks/etc. Even though I (and everyone in the car) hears the sound clearly, all the Honda mechanics did not hear anything wrong whatsoever...
- Drove car away, hit a bump. Noise still there, dealer closed for weekend.
- Drove car yesterday, thumps from the front passenger wheel are now a loud metallic CRASH. Something is shaking loose from my rear end, and I can feel something in the middle of the car jumping around. Honda says to bring the car in, but I can't take more time from work, so I have it parked for a bit.
- Car has become a 17 thousand dollar doorstop, while I take the bus to work...

Anyone have any idea wtf is going on..?


--- Below this line is my previous post ---

Man, Honda's must be made of pure cheap. My car is falling apart now.

Now the car makes a metallic "thump" whenever I hit anything at all on the passenger side, before it was just the rear of the vehicle, where it got hit. It's like there are no shocks on that side of the car at all. I had the bushings checked, and there is no damage at all to the shocks or the bushings.

I dont know what to do...

I am taking it to another adjuster this Thursday to see what the hell is going on. Honda refuses to look at it unless I pay $100 for an estimate, or wait 3-4 weeks until they can free up some time to look at it under warranty.

I am so upset now. I owned this car less than 7 months, and have never been in an accident before. I hope it can be fixed...I hate being so ignorant of car issues.

-- previous post below this line --

Just cliffs...

- Brand New 2006 Honda Civic, 6003 miles at time of accident. First accident ever. 5 year driver)
- Rear Ended by NYC Taxi
- Whenever I hit a bump since then, the car has a loud metallic thump, as if the motor mount, or shock is busted.
- Insurance adjuster does not look under car, but assumes that the small damage that the bumper shows, that the car could not have developed that problem from a small hit.
- Insurance adjuster is from my own insurance company.

I absolutely had no sounds from my car before the hit. I even told the adjuster that the sound the car makes now, is the same exact sound the car made at the time of the accident. Same metallic thump. I am so disappointed now. I have a brand new car that I absolutely hate now.

I don't know what to do.

 

[dxkj]

How long ago was it hit? did you have the mechanic who did an appraisal check everything , not just the bumper?

it doesnt matter wtf the adjuster things, anything can happen in a collision

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: dxkj
How long ago was it hit? did you have the mechanic who did an appraisal check everything , not just the bumper?

it doesnt matter wtf the adjuster things, anything can happen in a collision

This past Friday. He just looked it over, said it wasn't worth reporting since my deductible is $1K and he will fix it for less.

 

[platinumike]

I had a similar situation except I had to deal with a cheapo insurance company from the other party who was liable. This adjuster wrote me an estimate for $1,200. I knew it was way too low. I was so fed up with them and eventually gave in and scheduled an appt. with one of their body shops(Actually a dodge dealership)(my car is hyundai elantra) The dealership body shop did an excellent job, and they even looked inside the hood and everything for additonal damages, and there was a measley lil bracket that had broke. The final bill ended up being $2,200. They told me at the end that this exact insurance company is always writing estimates for 1/2 the price of what it should be.

So I guess what im saying is that you should take your car to the body shop anyways and tell them to FULLY inspect the car and report any additional supplements to the insurance company.

 

[Pikachu]

You'll have to find out exactly what is making the noise before anybody can make any determination about the cause of it. Still under warranty, right? Get the dealer to figure it out.

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: Pikachu
You'll have to find out exactly what is making the noise before anybody can make any determination about the cause of it. Still under warranty, right? Get the dealer to figure it out.

I am a total n00b when it comes to these things. Honda refused to look at the damage unless I paid them $100 for an estimate. If I want the damage checked under warranty, they can't do it for another 3 weeks due to lack of technicians.

 

[Pikachu]

Never owned a new car in my life, and this is just one more reason not to!

 

[doze]

The guy works for the insurance company so part of his job is to save the company money by screwing you - the customer. Pretty much any body shop will give a free estimate. If your local Honda dealer wants to charge you for an estimate then take it to another dealer.

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: doze
The guy works for the insurance company so part of his job is to save the company money by screwing you - the customer. Pretty much any body shop will give a free estimate. If your local Honda dealer wants to charge you for an estimate then take it to another dealer.

Everyone's estimating ~$350 for the damage. The only visible damage is a slight tear to the rear bumper, nothing else. No one will check the underbody until I commit to leaving the car at their shop.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: doze
The guy works for the insurance company so part of his job is to save the company money by screwing you - the customer. Pretty much any body shop will give a free estimate. If your local Honda dealer wants to charge you for an estimate then take it to another dealer.

Everyone's estimating ~$350 for the damage. The only visible damage is a slight tear to the rear bumper, nothing else. No one will check the underbody until I commit to leaving the car at their shop.

it takes them a while to get the car on a lift, and the time it's up there is time they can't be working on another car. what do you expect them to do?

 

[Black88GTA]

It might be something stupid, like a sway bar endlink. When those break, they can cause the sway bar to hit underneath the car, causing a clunk over bumps. If that is the problem, it's like a $10 part and should only take 15 - 20 minutes to fix yourself - you wouldn't even have to worry about trying to get it from insurance.

Since you were rear ended, look under your car, at the back. You should see a curved bar spanning the width of the car. Follow it to the ends - there should be a long bolt on each side with bushings on it holding it to the car. See if one or both are broken. If nothing there, check the front sway bar as well.

It should look similar to this only not quite so rusty

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
It might be something stupid, like a sway bar endlink. When those break, they can cause the sway bar to hit underneath the car, causing a clunk over bumps. If that is the problem, it's like a $10 part and should only take 15 - 20 minutes to fix yourself - you wouldn't even have to worry about trying to get it from insurance.

Since you were rear ended, look under your car, at the back. You should see a curved bar spanning the width of the car. Follow it to the ends - there should be a long bolt on each side with bushings on it holding it to the car. See if one or both are broken. If nothing there, check the front sway bar as well.

It should look similar to this only not quite so rusty

I will take a look at this, thanks! I am going to take it to a flat fix a few blocks away from me to see what is up.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: doze
The guy works for the insurance company so part of his job is to save the company money by screwing you - the customer. Pretty much any body shop will give a free estimate. If your local Honda dealer wants to charge you for an estimate then take it to another dealer.

Especially you are under WARRANTY and an insurance company says it's not part of the accident.

I'd be on the phone until it happened.

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: doze
The guy works for the insurance company so part of his job is to save the company money by screwing you - the customer. Pretty much any body shop will give a free estimate. If your local Honda dealer wants to charge you for an estimate then take it to another dealer.

Especially you are under WARRANTY and an insurance company says it's not part of the accident.

I'd be on the phone until it happened.

They said I had to wait 3-4 weeks before it can be looked at, since the garage is so packed and most of the technicians are on vacation.

 

[ArchCenturion]

What kind of leverage do people have against their insurance companies?

I mean we are required to pay for a service, and if we then go to use that service they shoudl fulfill their end of the deal. It seems to me that there must be some sort of legal action you can take if your Insurance company is trying to dick you around.

Does anyone know about this?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: doze
The guy works for the insurance company so part of his job is to save the company money by screwing you - the customer. Pretty much any body shop will give a free estimate. If your local Honda dealer wants to charge you for an estimate then take it to another dealer.

Especially you are under WARRANTY and an insurance company says it's not part of the accident.

I'd be on the phone until it happened.

They said I had to wait 3-4 weeks before it can be looked at, since the garage is so packed and most of the technicians are on vacation.

I'd be on the phone to the customer service dept for that. In 3-4 weeks your chances of getting an accurate claim go down. Plus your inconvenience of your warrantied car not being serviced by the dealership.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Wait...

You say YOU were rear-ended by someone...why is your deductible even being brought up? It's the other guy's fault right?

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet
Wait...

You say YOU were rear-ended by someone...why is your deductible even being brought up? It's the other guy's fault right?

Yes, my insurance company has already started the process of suing their insurance company. If I want my car fixed immediately, I have to put out the money now, rather than wait for their insurance to give me money...which from the NYC Yellow cab companies, can probably take years...

 

[thehstrybean]

My Jeep did the same thing...Busted leaf spring....


Right now, I'm saving up for a 4" leaf pack and new coil springs to fix that problem...

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: thehstrybean
My Jeep did the same thing...Busted leaf spring....


Right now, I'm saving up for a 4" leaf pack and new coil springs to fix that problem...

Civics don't have leaf springs...

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: Captain Howdy

Originally posted by: thehstrybean
My Jeep did the same thing...Busted leaf spring....


Right now, I'm saving up for a 4" leaf pack and new coil springs to fix that problem...

Civics don't have leaf springs...

Any idea what it can be? I can't afford to spend thousands of dollars to fix the entire side of my car, if the insurance company decides that it wasn't caused by the hit.

 

[iamwiz82]

Could be something as simple as a busted bolt in a crevice bouncing around. Did you check the muffler to see if it is loose? Kick it and see how much it moves. It should be very firm.

EDIT: No shocks? I think you may be wrong. There is either a shock or a strut (dunno what Civics use) connecting the control arm to the body.

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: doze
The guy works for the insurance company so part of his job is to save the company money by screwing you - the customer. Pretty much any body shop will give a free estimate. If your local Honda dealer wants to charge you for an estimate then take it to another dealer.

Everyone's estimating ~$350 for the damage. The only visible damage is a slight tear to the rear bumper, nothing else. No one will check the underbody until I commit to leaving the car at their shop.

it takes them a while to get the car on a lift, and the time it's up there is time they can't be working on another car. what do you expect them to do?

If you were in houston I could point you at a good shop - when I bought my car it had a 3 day "no questions asked" return policy, so I took it to this place (AVS Automotive, on the recommendation of another ATOTer) to have it looked over and one of the owners drove it around the block, checked some things under the hood, and put it up on a lift to go over everything underneath.

And the kicker is they did it all free. The whole time the office lady was telling me that a town car was too big and I should go look at vehicles on a used car lot that they have a relationship with, but the mechanic was very straightforward and honest and friendly. A+ service. Car has been back there once for brake pads, another good experience.

 

[1sikbITCH]

Originally posted by: ArchCenturion
What kind of leverage do people have against their insurance companies?

I mean we are required to pay for a service, and if we then go to use that service they shoudl fulfill their end of the deal. It seems to me that there must be some sort of legal action you can take if your Insurance company is trying to dick you around.

Does anyone know about this?

I work for a P/I law firm. One of our jobs is to make sure the insurance company doesn't screw you over.

Each state has its own laws. In Maryland, if you have rental coverage and collision coverage, you put your car in the shop and get a rental, paid for by your own insurance company, who then subrogates their expenses from the at-fault party's insurance. If you don't have the proper coverage, you must get the other insurance company to accept liability and then have them pay the rental and fix the car.
The shop sends the estimate to the insurance company, and they pay the shop to fix your car. If it costs too much, they total the car and give you a check.
Typically in this scenario (of your own insurance handling the property damage) you also have a deductible that you are responsible for. This stops frivolous claims (broken antenna, flat tire, etc) where the damage doesn't cost much and you can just fix it your self.

If your insurance company refuses to let you have the rental, or pay for stuff you think they should pay for, you file a grievance with your state's Insurance Commission or whatever body regulates them in your state. Links to each state: http://www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm

 

[amdhunter]