So SoCal traffic got me... I rear-ended someone on the freeway this morning going pretty fast. I dont know if anyone has read anything about how well the Prius reacts to being slammed into an F150... and I couldnt find a thread on it. Does anyone know if my car is a considered a loss or if its fixable? I dont think it hit the engine or the battery but its hard to tell... and the car was leaking radiator fluid. Help!

2-2.jpg

 

The insurance company will have to make that call but it looks pretty bad. Losing coolant is not a good thing. The battery is in the rear so it should be OK but your inverter is at the front.

Were you able to drive away? If so, repairable. If not, insurance.

Bob Wilson

 

I was able to drive it to the shoulder... and on the side of the road it started leaking fluids.

 

if it just mangled the hood, bumper cover, radiator and supports its probably pretty easy to repair. These parts all bolt on so the repair would be easy to do very well. If the sub-frame was bent then there may be a long term safety issue worth considering. The car is designed to crumble in an impact. If someone straightens it out to "fix" it this feature will be impaired and the next time you have an accident you may be in for a surprise.

Insist that if there is frame damage that they address the safety issues. Any welding or straightening will deviate the way the car reacts to impacts from the careful calculations the people designing your safety features performed.