Front end collision - $18k in body repairs but now electrical issues?!

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bagels64

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Hello!

My Clarity was unfortunately struck head on in an intersection by another car. There was some amount of damage to the front of the car, including air bag deployment, but apparently not enough to total it.

The body shop, an authorized honda repair facility, began work rather quickly and found there was no frame or body damage to be concerned about. So, they began working on the body work -- replacing panels, etc, right away.

It took about 2 months for the body work to be done and get the car back to looking correctly. However, there were some concerns along the way...

1. The car no longer recognized the keys. A local dealer ended up reprogramming them to get them working and reinstalling the OS for the infotainment system.
2. There were substantial electrical issues with the headlights. Occasionally they would work for the repair shop, or they wouldn't, or one would flicker or go high beam or not. This was eventually fixed.
3.On the trips from the body stop to the honda dealer, the car would occasionally stall. My understanding is this was when the car was in full EV mode, but I'm not certain.

So, here's the big issue! I picked the car up a week ago and as I was driving it home (about 15 minutes away), the car displayed multiple system issues. The most concerning of which was the warning that the car was overheating and "critical failure, powering down now" appeared. The car quickly came to a full stop and powered down.

Eventually the car allowed us to put it in neutral, however, without power steering, enough to push it to the side of the road.

I think this may have been the same situation that happened when the body shop said it "stalled."

I'm worried that the body shop or dealer never did the post collision battery test or air test on the IPU. Does anyone have any thoughts on what to do? Trying to get a dealer to actually understand and check the system has been a nightmare! No one seems to believe there may actually be a serious issue with the batteries or total IPU.

At this point, even though $18,000 in body work has been done I'm still concerned the car may need to be totaled if there are electrical issues. I also found out nothing was done with the front emblem radar which sustained a near direct hit in the accident.

Anyone have any thoughts?
 
Wow I don't see any way the insurer will total the car when they are already into it 18k for the repairs. the facility that did the repair is obligated to make everything work so you have to go back to them and I would go ASAP. You probably should inform the insurance company about the situation too. Hopefully you're entitled to a rental car.

This unfortunately is a big disadvantage of owning a near new car. An old car would just be totaled and no worries, but new cars are too valuable.
 
Unfortunately, even with good insurance you run into the end of the rental car policy. Typically two months at $30 a day does it!

Another bid disadvantage is parts availability. Part of the long repair process is waiting on parts.

Interesting note, according to the insurance company, they will still total the car if repairs from a single incident are greater than 75% of the car's value. Who knows what may happen I suppose!
 
I believe some of the electrical fuses are near the front end bumper area. I had a cracked headlight that started causing electrical problems due to moisture causing some fuses to short.

Could be worth mentioning to the repair shop. Good luck!
 
I’m very sorry to hear about your wreck. Since the Clarity is so computerized, I’d be very worried that electronic gremlins or glitches will show up after the insurance company tries to wash their hands of it. It seems like that’s already happening for you.

There are so many electronic pathways, menus, and systems that it’s difficult to test all of them before you accept the repair. The possibility of shock damage showing up later would be rather high in such a computer and electronic centric car I would imagine. I can’t believe the radar Honda emblem wasn’t replaced if there was any possibility of it being damaged.

You’d better do some extensive testing of the ACC, LKAS, and all the other Honda Sense features to make sure they’re working correctly since I highly doubt the repair shop checked them all. Also, I suggest driving in all modes (efficiency be damned) quite a bit at first and going through all the menus and changing setting to see if everything is working like it should. And keep a lot of records and recordings so you can prove any intermittent problems that are hard to replicate are indeed happening. I think it’s going to be a long uphill struggle with your insurance company and your dealer since it’s almost guaranteed that neither are fully versed on the Clarity.

I would also strongly suggest having the dealer measure the Battery Capacity Signal which is true only reliable metric of battery health. It’s nominally 55 Ah when new and warranty replacement occurs at 36 Ah. I have no idea if some cells can be damaged and the whole pack still work, but I’d be suspicious if the BCS test was significantly below 55 Ah. And I would also have the dealer pull any diagnostic codes present after having problems post repair and give you a written copy of them. That may prove useful in dealing with your insurance company.

I wish you the best outcome possible and please keep us updated.
 
There should be no limit on rental car when the other driver's insurance is paying (you said you were struck). It is their obligation to make things right no matter what the cost. Don't take any crap from those weasels.

Yes parts availability is a pain.

The only reason I can see they would total is if the repair shop now says the car needs big additional repairs.

Is your insurance pursuing the case for you or are you dealing directly with the other guy's insurance?

You may need your own lawyer.
 
David Towle said:
Wow I don't see any way the insurer will total the car when they are already into it 18k for the repairs.
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You may be surprised. I saw it happen several times in my insurance claim adjusting career. And state law may require it at a certain threshold. Every state is different in this regard, so what holds true in one state often does not carry to other states.

My suggestion to bagels64 is to immediately file a complaint with your state Department of Insurance. It’s free, usually involves an online form, and gets you right past the front line adjusters and into experienced managers who have the authority to make non standard decisions for non standard circumstances.

Write everything into your complaint, as you did here. Get that written paper trail going....

Good luck!
 
Bagels64, I am so sorry to hear about your collision and the issues with the insurance repair. Clearly from the details that you share, the PO should have been written off. Having said that I would not give up. Your own insurance broker, or insurance company should be able to help you here. The collision shop that did the repairs should guarantee the repair. If you need a replacement vehicle while they pursue problems as they arise, they should provide you with the rental, it is only fair. When I had the vehicle repaired under an insurance claim in the last six months, they guaranteed the repair in definitely. If your Honda dealer has cleared the vehicle. Maybe some of the deficiencies that arise should be covered under warranty. It’s clear to me that this car should definitely still be written off. The insurance company would not lose all their money. They sell these vehicles and someone will probably pay more than $18,000 for it so the insurance company pay out may end up being even smaller than the $18,000.
Stick to your guns, don’t give up. The suggestion made by me ask Insurance adjuster to make a complaint to your State Insurance commission is an excellent one. Unfortunately I don’t think there is one direct route to follow but if
Are able to pursue them all in parallel, I believe in the end you will receive the chest results which is the new vehicle paid for by your insurer. A lawsuit, is the last resort but I am confident they would settle a lawsuit before it came to trial and provide the funds necessary to replace your vehicle. Good luck. You have us all here supporting you.


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Definitely pursue the battery test, because if it has been damaged that might push the cost of repair to total level.
 
I hate to say this, but I think it's likely the collision damaged the inverter coolant system and the fluid has leaked out, leading to the overheat condition. That's what killed my first Clarity after a front-end collision that damaged the driver-side front fender. I wasn't even able to get mine in neutral when the critical failure hit - the transmission completely seized up.

Honestly based on what you're reporting, you probably are better off getting totaled out and paid off unless you don't have GAP. It doesn't sound likely that the "repaired" Clarity is ever going to work 100% right even if they can fix what's still broken while staying under ACV.
 
Sorry to hear about your adverse situation. I would draw a line in the sand with both the repair shop and the insurance company. Ask them to reaccess the residual effects from the accident. Since the car displayed critical failure the insurance company may go ahead and just total it. Due to the Clarity's complexity i think any serious accident repairs should be performed at the dealer. They have more resources readily availble to tackle it.
 
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Interesting! The dealer noted the coolant system was completely drained. Are you able to share any other information?

I’d love to share this with my insurance company.

Thank you!

Also, thanks everyone else for your updates and advice!

lordsutch said:
I hate to say this, but I think it's likely the collision damaged the inverter coolant system and the fluid has leaked out, leading to the overheat condition. That's what killed my first Clarity after a front-end collision that damaged the driver-side front fender. I wasn't even able to get mine in neutral when the critical failure hit - the transmission completely seized up.

Honestly based on what you're reporting, you probably are better off getting totaled out and paid off unless you don't have GAP. It doesn't sound likely that the "repaired" Clarity is ever going to work 100% right even if they can fix what's still broken while staying under ACV.
Click to expand...
 
bagels64 said:
Interesting! The dealer noted the coolant system was completely drained. Are you able to share any other information?

I’d love to share this with my insurance company.
Click to expand...

In my case, the inverter coolant had leaked when the small radiator in the driver's side front wheel-well was damaged by road debris; it leaked a red fluid that initially I thought was brake fluid.

My repair estimate included replacement of the entire transmission assembly, part 200CP5WLA00RM, with an estimated parts cost of just under $9000, along with the transmission cooler, part 255005WLA02 (~$500), along with various other trim parts and a new headlight assembly. My initial estimate was around $16k total; I assume they found other things wrong in the process, but I never saw a revised estimate from when they decided to total it out.
 
My wife T-boned another car at 25mph yesterday and air bags deployed. She is okay, the other driver at fault. The guy at the repair shop doesn't think the physical damage is too bad, and estimates a $8K repair. I haven't yet spoken to the adjuster from Travelers, but want to be prepared. My concern is the unknown damage to the electronics as described above by the OP. Any other data points or suggestions or experiences anyone can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the good info.
 
Update: Head on collision, Travelers - the other guys insurance, generously offered $23,000 for a total loss. My next stop is the Total Loss department where I will negotiate. My insurance agent gave me some good advice. He said ask them to find me another 2018 Clarity with the same options for that price and I'll be glad to settle up. He looked up values of between $30K-$35K. I will keep updating as the saga continues.
 
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