A few nights ago while driving my 2010 Prius III on the highway I suddenly heard a whistling sound, as if my window was cracked open. It was not, and I guessed that there was some other piece of the car that had come loose (similar to a previous incident with my splash guard under the bumper and I just popped it back into place and re-secured the pin). I was heading to a gas station not far, so I thought I would just peek at it when I got to the gas station. A couple minutes later, I hear a loud bang and it feels like I ran over something (I believe the fender), and some warning lights come on, specifically the ABS light and the Slip Indicator. I pull off the highway into a parking lot and upon looking at my tire (to verify it is not flat), the fender on the front driver side is gone. I drive it a short distance to the Marin Toyota dealership because I was so close, where I leave it to be looked at the next day. At this point I also notice the brakes are not responding as normal, and also not charging the battery according to my dash display. Once the car has been inspected and the mechanic is in touch with me, he says I must have hit some road debris, and the car will need both bodywork (for the fender and the part it attaches to - he was not specific) and repair to the ABS harness which also needs to attach to...the fender? The bodywork is apparently necessary for the harness to be able to attach to something. The explanation that it was road debris doesn't seem to fit with what I experienced, I saw no debris and no other cars reacting to anything in the road, and I did hear the whistling sound prior to the main incident. Of course, I have no other witness or proof. At this point I still don't have an estimate, and I'm trying to decide if getting a second opinion would do any good. There are a couple negative yelp reviews including one specifically about the dealership claiming damage had to be road debris, so I am slightly wary. Feeling really frustrated at this not-insignificant amount of damage and repair to occur seemingly out of nowhere.
My gut feeling is that you should have gone back and tried to retrieve the missing fender. And if the car hasn't had any wrecks or body work done at a non-dealers shop, I'd be REALLY tempted to squeeze the dealer for a warranty claim. That might be hard to do without the missing fender. P.S. And you understand that the car is NOT safe to drive in the present condition, right ?? The good news might be that your comprehensive insurance will probably cover most of the cost as long as THEY don't try to claim that there was an actual collision with another vehicle.
you say 'a few nights ago', was it dark? you may want to take it to luscious garage for a second opine.
Wow. Sounds as though you're in the unenviable position of having to prove this wasn't your fault. I probably would have pulled over as soon as I heard the whistling noise. Anything unusually different immediately sends up red flags for me, and I react immediately. Most of the time it's nothing, but I always believe it's better being safe than sorry. Good luck.
Maybe she can't post pics, it takes a minimum number of postings? To the OP, is this what you mean by "fender":
This part is bolted to body by many bolts, it cannot falls out by itself even if impacted, unless it is in a head on collision.
I agree. Just trying to ascertain what "fender" is. This is my best guess. It is a relatively flimsy piece, a glorified bolt-on fairing, but yeah: I suspect it wouldn't just fly off on a whim, lol.
Anyone else noticed an increase in new attractive female members, all with profile pictures, posting strange or possibly questionable posts and then disappearing into the night? Is our old troll friend back again? Or are we suddenly just attracting 20 something female members with long first posts with obscure problems?
And you'll notice there's a trend of that. A full, detailed explanation of some weird fault or failure barely reported by anyone else, all from rather attractive female members in their 20's or early 30's with face pictures (not their car, not their dog, not their cat but a clear face picture). I've been on here for nearly 5 years and in that time you could count such members on one hand. Then suddenly about 3 months ago we've been getting many (with the posts noted above). I have nothing wrong with such members - if they're genuine, but there's a trend appearing at a time when the old troll disappeared. Might be a co-incidence, might not. But it does appear this thread is from another one hit wonder. If this new member is genuine then I welcome her. If she's a new incarnation of the old troll, then I suggest we all consider new members and their posts carefully in future. Or is it just me being grumpy?
That should be easy enough... which 20 something yo doesn't take pics of everything nowadays? I say... video or it didn't happen....
OP, did you purchase this car new or used? Since you already had one part come loose and now it sounds like an inner fender came off, it sounds like sub-standard accident repairs.
And the last time you looked in a mirror was....? (note: this was meant as a joke - hence the smiley)
