Need Advice on crash repair

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tdg

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Our Clarity was in the crash where we rear-ended another car. Front bumper was damaged (radiator and structure seems okay) and the driver side airbags were deployed.

Insurance adjuster estimated that it is fixable and the damage is about 5k. The fix includes bumper, airbag modules, radar sensor and its electronic controller unit? (inside console).

I have questions and concerns:
  1. Is it normal and safe to just replace these units since I read airbag deployment normally resulting in total loss?
  2. What are the things to watch out for beside the fixes mentioned above? Have anyone in similar situation?
  3. Since the car was towed (on none flatbed – I didn’t know until too late), What to check to make use the car is not damage from towing?

Thanks in advance...
 
Add couple pics
airbag.webp
front.webp
 
Yes it’s normal and safe to replace these units.

It’ll cost more by the time they’re done. You won’t have any firm answers until it is inside a shop and disassembled. Guarantee you there is some hidden damage under plastics. It will be addressed between shop and adjuster. It’s routine and you don’t need to be involved.

Pick a reputable shop and let them have at it. If towing damage occurred it will be evident, and part of the insurance claim.
 
Not enough info for anyone to know anything. That car needs disassembly. Betcha anything you have broken plastic tabs on at least one headlight, inner bumper structural damage, etc. It obviously needs at least one seatbelt replaced also...likely two. SRS modules and sensors likely need replacement depending on Honda bulletins. Radar behind the missing emblem likely needs replacement. Your insurance appraiser just wrote a very preliminary estimate based on visible damages only, which does nothing more than get the ball rolling, and he/she fully recognizes that there will be a host of hidden items exposed after disassembly and further research into Honda's recommended repair practices.

Don't get ahead of yourself, and don't worry. Just get it to a good quality repair shop, presumably you have a good quality insurance company, and beyond that there is little an owner can do but trust the system to get your car fixed.

FWIW I am retired from a career in wrecked auto appraisals and handling insurance claims for 25 years...I see $10K as far more likely than $5K as a final repair price, but I'm guessing just about as much as your own in-person appraiser did...and he/she is NOT permitted to guess on anything that he/she cannot physically see being broken. Thus the requirement of disassembly. And he/she already knows this...so no sense in pointing it out to him/her.

Get it to a shop, sign authorizations to repair, and wait patiently for updates. If disassembly results in final expected repair price increasing past a certain threshhold (usually 70-ish % of value...but this varies by state and insurance company), the insurance company will change their mind on repair and will contact you to discuss total loss settlement. I don't see this being likely in your case, but it is a possibility depending on what is exposed after tear-down.
 
"Don't get ahead of yourself, and don't worry. Just get it to a good quality repair shop, presumably you have a good quality insurance company, and beyond that there is little an owner can do but trust the system to get your car fixed."

Absolutely agree. I realize it is upsetting, but it is out of your hands now. Let the repair and insurance experts handle this.
 
It's going to be a lot more than 5K. Someone had backed into the front of our Clarity a few weeks after we got it. The damage was so minor that the initial estimate was under 1K to repaint the bumper cover. After they started working, they discovered more damage inside, which required some parts. The final bill was over $3K. Seriously, it was so minor that the other driver was trying to convince us that there was no damage at all!

BTW, why didn't the Automatic Emergency Braking feature of the Clarity prevent this accident? You might want to look into whether the system failed.
 
A little surprising that the air bags deployed for such a minor impact, but if it's covered, I'd get it fixed if I were in your shoes.
 
it’s true that airbags are very expensive to replace and many cars result in a total loss because of deployed airbags. With a new Clarity and little damage that you have I don’t think you should have any issues.


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Thank you very much for the advices. I was more worry about safety as this is my wife main car but the body shop said there is minimum damage. They are not replacing the radar even the emblem fell off (Should I be concerned?)

We pick a body shop near us with good Yelp reviews and also recommended by our dealer.

Approx. breakdown of costs:

Bumper:
Bumper cover - $340
Impact bar – $730
Grille – $195
Upper molding modern steel – $347
Emblem - $400
Lower grille – $260
Lower molding – 2 * $85
Bracket – 3 * $33 + 2 * $22


Restraint system:
LT belt – $330
Driver air bag – $950
Diagnostic unit - $940
Knee air bag – $280
Impact sensor – 2 * $110


Plus misc…


Parts total: $5,600
Labor: $1900

Total: 7500 before tax…

Didn't know the emblem cost that much!
 
All makes sense. Roll with it. Price likely will still go up from there, but again they’ll handle it. Don’t worry about radar, computer resets will determine if it’s damaged or not. They’ll align or replace it if needed.
 
So how does one manage such huge repairs? Never been involved in a car accident/collision. So if it costs 7K, you pay your insurance deductible of 500-1000$ or whatever and rest is taken care of the insurance? And that’s it?


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Yes. If you choose a reputable shop, and a high quality insurance company, that’s exactly how it goes.

And if you just chose either the shop or the insurance company based exclusively on low bidder? That’s almost NEVER how it goes....
 
PHEV Newbie said:
BTW, why didn't the Automatic Emergency Braking feature of the Clarity prevent this accident? You might want to look into whether the system failed.
Click to expand...

Are you joking I assume? All the automatic systems on this car are near useless. For instance I got the big BRAKE sign flashed at me 4 times today, always for cars in the other lane. Lane departure tells me I'm out of my lane every 10 minutes when I'm not. Its good that the basic car itself is so excellent!
 
David Towle said:
Are you joking I assume? All the automatic systems on this car are near useless. For instance I got the big BRAKE sign flashed at me 4 times today, always for cars in the other lane. Lane departure tells me I'm out of my lane every 10 minutes when I'm not. Its good that the basic car itself is so excellent!
Click to expand...

Independent testing (below video is not independent) has shown that Honda's AEB works pretty well. Yes, it reportedly will cause false braking on occasion (I've not experienced that though) but emergency braking seems reliable. Although I'm still unhappy with American Honda for not honoring my warranty, the car is remarkably good for a very low volume car.
 
Guys, Honda clearly states in the manual that it’s not designed or marketed to be crash avoidance, just crash mitigation, as in hopefully it will at least make the crash occur at a slower speed and thus a lesser impact. Although it may in some instances stop you in time it does not claim to be designed to do that.

Mine seems to come on only at the very last minute and it always wins when I play chicken with it and hover my foot over the break pedal. I always hit the brake before it does. However, the visual warning notifications do come on early and are greatly appreciated as they have saved me from a couple of possible fender benders.
 
Sorry, here's the video:


Oh, regarding crash mitigation vs crash avoidance, Honda has to state that because it won't avoid collisions if the road conditions are poor (e.g., gravel, snow, etc). On dry surfaces, it does a pretty good job of avoiding collisions even if you continue pressing the accelerator.
 
David Towle said:
Are you joking I assume? All the automatic systems on this car are near useless. For instance I got the big BRAKE sign flashed at me 4 times today, always for cars in the other lane. Lane departure tells me I'm out of my lane every 10 minutes when I'm not. Its good that the basic car itself is so excellent!
Click to expand...

I’ll go on record recommending that your car needs to be serviced. What you describe for your car is a number of “cry wolf” occurrences quite literally 40 to 50 times more than mine. I’ve found the system works quite well with only the occasional false alarm, and that is only in unique circumstances.
 
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