So, am I the first to have a TCH vs. Deer encounter on our boards? My month-old TCH has its first major blemish.

I hit a deer square in the grille today on my way to work this morning, and sadly, the car isn't really driveable. Fortunately, I was only about a mile from my house, so it was a short trip back, but the radiator was punctured by the broken grille pieces, and there was pink coolant spraying out the front. The tow truck just left to bring it to the body shop.

Hopefully parts aren't too hard to come by (and I hope they don't try to put a non-TCH grille on it), and the repairs don't take too long.

I posted pics in the share area if anyone wants to see the "carnage". Looks like I need a new hood, bumper/grille, radiator, and who knows what else...

https://www.greenhybrid.com/share/br...imageuser=4711



It bums me out that my first "accident", in 17 years of driving, is in the car that I most looked forward to getting (and waited nearly 2 months to get).

Oh, and did I mention that I just spent hours washing and waxing it this past weekend?

Does anyone know if a Toyota body shop will have trouble matching the paint (Magnetic Gray)? I love the way the paint looks on this car (aside from the orangepeel), and I just hope the new parts look as good (namely the hood)!

 

OUCH! I feel your pain

So did you have some deer jerky for your pain?

 

Sorry to hear about your car. Hope the fix doesn't turn out to be too much of a hassle/expense.

 

Not that this is in any way relevant, but how did the deer fare in your collision? Actually, I've heard of deer causing much worse damage to cars - e.g. the force of impact causing the crumple zones to buckle the front end (thereby causing the front airbags to engage) and/or causing the deer to propel itself through the windshield (a scary proposition). Thankfully, it looked like either you weren't travelling that quickly, the deer was smaller or a fawn (or both).

I hope you didn't sustain any injuries. Sorry to hear about your "baby"....

 

Oh no! I don't think you will have trouble getting a color match, because Magnetic Gray is also available on the "regular" Camry.

You are very lucky. I know someone whose car was totalled in a deer vs. car collision.

 

Ouch! You poor thing! That's awful. I hope you're all right- you didn't specify. Was anyone else with you in the car? Hitting a deer is no laughing matter- that kind of accident can be really severe. Best of luck getting everything fixed, and I hope it doesn't happen again any time soon.

 

Thanks, everyone for your kind words...

I am fine, no injuries, no airbag deployment, etc. I have no idea how the deer fared. It was nowhere to be found - I assume that it just bounced forward and managed to scramble back into the woods. I was alone in the car at the time.

It did seem pretty small, from the very brief glimpse that I saw. I was able to stomp on the brakes, but I don't think I scrubbed off more than 10-20 mph from the 60mph I was traveling at.

 

Sorry to read and view the pics of your TCH. Hope all is well with you and any occupants you might have had in the car at the time.

 

Deer are a big problem around here (Central NJ); its not a matter of if, but rather, when you will hit one. Consider yourself fortunate, a bumper and a grill are replaceable!

 

Is that a tuft of deer fur caught in a jagged little bit of plastic that can be seen on the left side of the third image?