I WAS INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT IF I CAUSED ANY MECHANICAL DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE CAR.

Don't ask how, but I hit a curb in a parking lot going about one or two mph.
The two front tires hit the 8 inch tall curb, rolled over it and the front end of the car landed in the center island, which the curb surrounded.

The car was stuck and I had to have it towed. No cosmetic damage to the car at all. The frame did not get touched, nor did any of the undercarriage, except for under the left side sill which scraped the curb.

The car drives fine, with no noticeable problems, but,
I WAS INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT IF I CAUSED ANY MECHANICAL DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE CAR.

Any suggestions or comments would help.


Thanks

 

Maybe just emotional damage, I would think if there were any damage it would be an alignment issue by the sounds of it. But you say it drives fine, I would keep my eye on it and see if anything develops.

 

I was going to have an alignment done just to be safe. Tire balance too.

Thanks

 

As above. Drive the car on a flat, straight road, (notice if there are any cross winds etc.) and see if it drives straight with your hands off the wheel, check for vibrations etc. Then brake and see if the car wants to veer to either side (again, make sure road is flat).
If all is well, should drive straight like an arrow.
Cheer up, sounds like you got lucky and nothing happened.
Daniel

 

you drove up and over a curb? an eight inch curb? you didn't stop until you bottomed out on the rocker panel?

i'm guessing that you were going A LOT faster than one or two miles per hour and that you MAY have done some damage to your front suspension and bumper. i'm pretty sure that the bottom of your front bumper doesn't have eight inches of clearance... more like five or six.

my advice... get an alignment check by a GOOD shop.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ace10
[B]you drove up and over a curb?

 

I did that once in my last car. I parked in a spot with a raised concrete curb-like object in the front of the parking spot (what do they call them?) They are low enough where most cars will clear them until the tire hits them.

Anyway, this particular spot you cannot see the barriers from the driver's seat. It looks like you could pull forward into the next parking spot and leave that way. I did that, and went over the barrier.

Boy was I worried about my car after that! I got out, looked at the underside, determined I could back up over it, and did so. Then I got out and saw a puddle where my car used to be! Thinking that I'd damaged the car enough to cause something to leak, I popped the hood to see where the leak would be. Five minutes later I remembered that the air conditioner condenser accumulates moisture that drains out of a small hose in the engine compartment. Phew!

Now that I drive my S, I'm super paranoid about clearence. I always stop short, and am paranoid as heck about the curb when parallel parking. So far (knocks on wood) no major incidents ...

If this is what happened to you, you're probably fine. If you cleared the nose of the car, the curb isn't high enough to cause serious problems. You probably damaged the black air damns in front of the wheels, since they are lower than the nose of the car, but if you look at the underside of the car, it's got supports so that the weight of the car is held off from sensitive parts like the transmission or driveshaft. But do get it checked to be sure.

 

I hit a curb once in a parking lot. It didn't turn out that well. At first I didn't think 2x. Everything seemed fine. Then, for some reason my dad was doing some work on the car, and removed the wheel. Well, when he tried to put it back on he said there was something wrong. All in all, we ended up buying a new axle or something. (Of course I never fessed up about the curb).

 

i would definatley do the alignment to adjust the toe/camber settings.

 

Dayum Dood! Sorry to hear that. She'll be good to go in no time though. Plus the damage wasn't that bad so it's all good.