hit from back

My tacoma was hit on the back today at a traffic light by an Accord. I have the ball mount and ball installed in the hitch. So my bumper was not involved at all. I am not sure how fast the Accord was, but should not be too fast. The driver said his foot slap off the brake. His front bumper was deformed with a big dent about 1'' deep. Visual examination of the rear end of my truck didn't show any damage. Actually I don't even know where to look, but everything appeared and nice and stable. I was on a tight schedule today so I didn't even call the police. We just exchanged insurance and left.

In your opinion, is this a big deal? Do I need to check for damage more closely and how?


btw, the driver is pretty young. The truck is a DC SB with the tow package.

Comments please~

 

the tow hitch is very strong. Does it look bent? I wouldnt worry about it.Seems he got the worse of it.

 

Ive been in the same situation when i had a jeep. I think you did right. And additionally as far as any future buyers of your tacoma are concerned you have never been in a wreck with it

 

Pics or it didn't happen.

glad no one got hurt, if it hit your hitch hard enough it is possible for frame damage.

 

I had this happen on my first gen. Tacoma. Bumper and hitch were bent down just a little, The insurance adjuster came to inspect it and showed me two small dents where the bed had moved forward and hit the back of the cab. Take a look at that area.

 

craw under and take a good look for any signs of damage. If all looks good , dont worry about it. he probably just bumped you, but with you having the ball installed damaged all of his plastic.

 

Thanks, Taco06. Everything I can see has no crack and bent at all. Nothing seemed loose either. I just squat and looked briefly from the outside though.

 

Please the the bottom rear of the truck, check it now before it is too late.

 

I was thinking exactly the same way...

 

will look tomorrow, thanks.

 

hi, do you mean to check the bottom rear of the truck?

 

Should I keep the ball mount in the hatch or use the bumper to absorb the collision energy?

 

Steel vs. Plastic at a slow speed....pretty sure steel wins everytime, give it a good look, if you don't see anything you are fine. Leaving in the hitch will help with slow impacts like this, have someone hit you with a lot of force it will do more damage as the majority of the force will go directly into the frame causing more frame damage.

 

Thanks, that make sense. What do I expect out of a frame damage?

 

You can HOPE for a new truck.

I would just let a trusted mechanic give it a once over and and you should be fine.

 

+1, don't be fooled, frame damage in these trucks DOES NOT mean a new truck, they can and will try to replace the entire frame.

If your hitch looks stright, follow it where it bolts to the frame if it looks fine, you should be OK. But like Wilson said, if in doubt take it to a body shop and have them look at it, they will be more than happy to point out any damage they can fix. My guess is you are fine.