Accidentally drove over curb

[Former_Neon]

Last night, I accidentally drove over a curb (about 5" high) as I pulled into a gas station. The curb juts out into the lot and that's where I encountered it. It didn't scrape the bottom of the bumper or anything, however it did dent that black plastic thing that's bolted to the underside of the front of the car (I have no idea what it's called). If I knew how to attach pictures here, I'd show you.
I'm worried that I might have damaged my Yaris.
I probably hit the curb at about 15-20 km/h. There are no marks on the tires or rim that I can see. There are no leaks either. I just took my car onto the highway today for a quick test-drive and, at 120 km/h (75 mph), there is no shaking or shimmying. The car pulls very, very slightly to the left at high speed, but I don't know if it was like that before or not.
From kneeling down and looking beneath the car, I can't discern anything having been bent (other than the hard, black plastic thing I mentioned).
Do you think I lucked out and it's okay? :frown:

[YAR1S]

the engine tray or cover or whatever? shouldnt be a problem.... you should get a metal one from garm to replace it :)

[Former_Neon]

I figured out how this thing works. The first picture is under the right, front corner of the car (you can see the dent). The second one is of the left, front corner for comparison (no dent). The third picture is of the front, right wheel well (you can see the black, plastic piece out of alignment). The fourth picture is of the front, left wheel well where all is fine.

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All those white spots are salt (for those of you who live in the South). They're not scrapes.

[ctrj]

It looks fine. The large, black plastic piece is called the engine under cover.

[1NZYaris1]

That dent will just pop out if you push or pull down around it .
and be just like new :biggrin:

[Former_Neon]

Thanks for your replies. I think I'll have to use my ratchet to unbolt the engine under cover on that side & realign it. In picture 1, on the right side, just behind that bolt, you can see it's not flat like it should be. It's bunched between two bolts there for some reason.
I'll get at it once the weather warms a little. It's freezing today.

[auxmike]

Your driver's side fender liner is sticking out. It should'nt be.

[Former_Neon]

Your driver's side fender liner is sticking out. It should'nt be.

Isn't that connected to the engine under cover?

[auxmike]

I think that's correct.
The bump may have shifted and pushed up the fender liner from under the sheetmetal.
It's not a tough fix....:thumbsup:

[Former_Neon]

Thanks for the info. And thanks for taking the time to address my issue. Very much appreciated!

[auxmike]

:burnrubber:

[Yaris Hilton]

You need to get your wheel alignment checked.

[Former_Neon]

Do you think I should, despite the fact the car is not drifting?

[Sir A.Y. Atoyot]

I'd worry more about all the road salt corroding the steel parts.

[Former_Neon]

Little can be done about that, when the roads are covered with it.
I'm not going to wash the car down when it's -10 out.

[Aothachos]

for soem reason yaris' can take curbs no problem, i jumped a curb doing about 35-40 mph and i have no damage, and my car is lowered with rims, no damage at all +D

[marcus]

hope you dont get a leaking shocks....

[Former_Neon]

hope you dont get a leaking shocks....

I did a visual inspection under the car (as far as I could get without a jack or a hoist) and everything is dry.

[Former_Neon]

for soem reason yaris' can take curbs no problem, i jumped a curb doing about 35-40 mph and i have no damage, and my car is lowered with rims, no damage at all +D

How high was the curb? It must have felt like you hit a wall. It did with me, and I wasn't going as fast as that.

[Aothachos]

How high was the curb? It must have felt like you hit a wall. It did with me, and I wasn't going as fast as that.

curb was about 4 inches high, yea it scared the crap out of me it was pitch black out and i didn't see it switching lanes lol pulled over right away and no damange, bumper was perfect, no scratches, rims were straight, no leaks, nada

[Former_Neon]

curb was about 4 inches high, yea it scared the crap out of me it was pitch black out and i didn't see it switching lanes lol pulled over right away and no damange, bumper was perfect, no scratches, rims were straight, no leaks, nada

Unfortunately it did damage the engine under cover on mine (as shown in my pictures). I undid the bolts and popped the dents out of it, but the plastic still seems out of shape between the bolts, as if it's been stretched.

[Aothachos]

as least its just minor damage really, not like u have to take it to a shop to get the engine fixed or tranny or something haha, I'm glad our car was made for curbs =P

[Former_Neon]

as least its just minor damage really, not like u have to take it to a shop to get the engine fixed or tranny or something haha, I'm glad our car was made for curbs =P

I hope you're right. The pessimist in me keeps whispering that something will go wrong related to this.

[Aothachos]

I doubt it, this happened to me last month, and so far no problems

[CTScott]

This weekend I saw an Aveo hung up on an island in a parking lot with all four tires in the air. The island was about 4 feet wide and the Aveo was sitting on its rocker panels with two wheels in front of and two wheels behind the island.

I don't know if it was cruel joke or if the driver was trying for a Darwin award. Just be glad your Yaris didn't end up in that embarrassing position.

[Former_Neon]

This weekend I saw an Aveo hung up on an island in a parking lot with all four tires in the air. The island was about 4 feet wide and the Aveo was sitting on its rocker panels with two wheels in front of and two wheels behind the island.

I don't know if it was cruel joke or if the driver was trying for a Darwin award. Just be glad your Yaris didn't end up in that embarrassing position.

What happened to me was an accident. What you describe sounds like someone deliberately did it.

[Former_Neon]

New pictures after my "repair":

Looks okay from the front now.

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In this one, you can see the plastic still bunched (although not as bad as before) between the two bolts. It obviously got stretched when it impacted the curb.

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[DevilGirl]

I know when I was backing out of a parking space (next to curbing), I cut the wheel too soon, and my passenger front tire went up on the curb. I continued backing up, not thinking it would do anything to my car when the wheel came down off the curb, but it did. The front passenger corner of my bumper, on the bottom, is all scraped up, and pretty bad too. I know I should do something about it, but just havn't had the time.

The car isn't lowered, and I think it was like a 4" curb (which is the usual standard in curb construction).

[Aothachos]

I know when I was backing out of a parking space (next to curbing), I cut the wheel too soon, and my passenger front tire went up on the curb. I continued backing up, not thinking it would do anything to my car when the wheel came down off the curb, but it did. The front passenger corner of my bumper, on the bottom, is all scraped up, and pretty bad too. I know I should do something about it, but just havn't had the time.

The car isn't lowered, and I think it was like a 4" curb (which is the usual standard in curb construction).

i didn't measure it, i just did it from memory and its a median type of curb on a road, the bottom of my bumper has already been scratched up but its not noticeble at all unless u look under the car thats why I didn't care much for the bottom of the car.

[Aothachos]

u dont have to believe me, i could care less if u don't, i just know what i hit and how hard i hit and being that this happened how reliable my car is by hitting curbs lol

[marcus]

I did a visual inspection under the car (as far as I could get without a jack or a hoist) and everything is dry.

hope so mine didnt show till almost 8 months after..

[Former_Neon]

hope so mine didnt show till almost 8 months after..

Did you drive over a curb or hit a pothole? How much did it cost to replace the shock?

[Former_Neon]

I just spoke to a mechanic about the whole fiasco and he said, since I hit the curb head-on and didn't slide sideways into it and since it doesn't pull to one side or the other while driving, that it shouldn't need an alignment and should be fine.

[Altitude]

you should get a metal one from garm to replace it :)

+1 Loving mine!

[Former_Neon]

+1 Loving mine!

What good would a metal engine cover be? Isn't plastic more durable?

[tk-421]

Definitely not. The OEM plastic cover is a joke. The aluminum one that Garm sells is well worth the investment.

[Former_Neon]

Definitely not. The OEM plastic cover is a joke. The aluminum one that Garm sells is well worth the investment.

Do you have a link for Garm? Do they sell these things in retail stores?
Also, is there a DIY tutorial to remove the existing shield and replace it? I couldn't see too far under my car due to the cold weather, so all I could see were the bolts near the front.

[tk-421]

Do you have a link for Garm?
http://shop.microimageonline.com/Aluminum-Underpanel-Kit-YARIS-MI-up100.htm
Installation instructions are included BTW.

[Astroman]

Definitely not. The OEM plastic cover is a joke. The aluminum one that Garm sells is well worth the investment.

Yeah, I've ripped mine off by hitting a dirt patch... twice. I'm sure the new one the body shop has put on will also be getting ripped off soon. Hopefully business will stay good and I can get that one from Garm to compliment the new hood and bumper I got from him. :biggrin:

[bankrobber]

That damage is minor. I had my Yaris 2 weeks still had temporary tag on when I was going 70 MPH half asleep at 4:30 AM when I hit a wooden crate head on. I knew if I swerved I would have rolled. I will post pics tomorrow. I did 700 dollars damage and never fixed the front end. Car looks like crap from the front. But still drives like new and I am too cheap to fix. My plastic guard under engine is actually held on with a wire clothes hanger wrapped around motor mount. Check back for pics soon

[Former_Neon]

That damage is minor. I had my Yaris 2 weeks still had temporary tag on when I was going 70 MPH half asleep at 4:30 AM when I hit a wooden crate head on. I knew if I swerved I would have rolled. I will post pics tomorrow. I did 700 dollars damage and never fixed the front end. Car looks like crap from the front. But still drives like new and I am too cheap to fix. My plastic guard under engine is actually held on with a wire clothes hanger wrapped around motor mount. Check back for pics soon

I look forward to your pics. I still can't believe that my car is not damaged, other than the misshapen part of the engine under cover. When I hit the curb, it felt like I was going 70 mph, although I was going considerably slower. Even though I have the word of a mechanic (without him looking at it) that my wheel alignment should be fine, I still have nagging doubts. I guess I'm too much of a pessimist.

[bankrobber]

I look forward to your pics. I still can't believe that my car is not damaged, other than the misshapen part of the engine under cover. When I hit the curb, it felt like I was going 70 mph, although I was going considerably slower. Even though I have the word of a mechanic (without him looking at it) that my wheel alignment should be fine, I still have nagging doubts. I guess I'm too much of a pessimist.

I cant seem to attach the pics

:hitcomputer:

[bankrobber]

I look forward to your pics. I still can't believe that my car is not damaged, other than the misshapen part of the engine under cover. When I hit the curb, it felt like I was going 70 mph, although I was going considerably slower. Even though I have the word of a mechanic (without him looking at it) that my wheel alignment should be fine, I still have nagging doubts. I guess I'm too much of a pessimist.
One at a time I guess

[bankrobber]

Aint she prettyI cant seem to attach the pics

:hitcomputer:

[Former_Neon]

You must have been quite upset when that happened. It'll cost you a bit to get that repaired. I know I would have been hopping mad if that happened to me even now, much less just after I bought the car.
I have to say, though, that despite the damage, your paint job looks better than mine. Mine is peppered with little chips all over the front because the paint is paper-thin and I think it'd come off if you rubbed it hard enough (a topic for a different thread).
I still can't believe I didn't do any damage to my car other than the splash shield underneath. I even checked my tire pressure tonight and all four tires are at the correct pressure. Even though it seemed like I hit the curb hard, it didn't cause any air loss. :iono:

[DARK AGE 53]

I still can't believe I didn't do any damage to my car other than the splash shield underneath.

The only fix for that is to run over a bigger curb next time, jk:smile: now if you had low profile tires you probably would have seen some damage. As for changing from the plastic cover to the aluminum cover I'd just keep the plastic cover, if down the road you think it would be a good investment then go for it. JMO

[Former_Neon]

The only fix for that is to run over a bigger curb next time, jk:smile: now if you had low profile tires you probably would have seen some damage. As for changing from the plastic cover to the aluminum cover I'd just keep the plastic cover, if down the road you think it would be a good investment then go for it. JMO

Yes, next time I'll inadvertently run into a police barricade or something. :laugh:
I was obviously fortunate and this has made me extra wary when on parking lots now.
I'll probably leave the plastic shield on for awhile. It's only misshapen in one small spot.