SLegacy99

We had some snow here and I borrowed my dad's AWD IS 250 because my tires are in need of replacing and I wasn't prepared to spend $400 on them. I work at a grocery store during the holiday season as I am trying to pay for grad school without loans, so needless to say I have been working my butt off and now this happens.



I would have been better off not going to work at all, as my ten hour shift will probably only net me $75 bucks after taxes. The roads were slippery and I was travelling slow. I began sliding down a slope when I saw a man walking his dog down the center of the road. I couldnt stop and my ABS chattered away. The man jumped the guardrail and attempted to grab his dog, but he slipped. Not having a choice, I flung the rear of the car into the guard rail and bounced off of it, miraculously missing the dog. I imagine it was pretty close. 70 feet later I finally came to a stop. The man and his dog were alright. He didnt seem too upset, but was sure to tell me that I should slow down. I was a bit dismayed, as I was travelling slow, and I spent the last 4 years in the trechorous winters of the Pennsylvania mountains. Perhaps I am used to deeper snow. Im not sure why this man was walking on a road that I wouldn't walk or bike on a clear day. The thought of what if I had struck the dog haunted me all day.



I couldnt believe how minor the damage is to the IS. I expected the whole rear end to be smashed in, so its nice to see that Lexus makes a durable vehicle, the bumper didnt bend at all, as it did in my Legacy when I was gently ran into a few months ago. However, this will still probably cost me about $300, which negates all my hard work during the holiday season. I would have rather spent that money on tires for my car. My parents would prefer that I put the money into buying tires rather than fixing my dads car. But it just seems wrong to me to borrow someones car and not fix damage you do to it. I suppose I will redeem my Subaru points and get some tires for myself. But, with 116k on the clock, I was hoping to save those in case I need a repair.



I've been a driver for 7 years and I suppose this qualifies as my first accident. ...I would have rather done it to my 11 year old Subie.

mmarshall

First, glad to see that all three of you are all right......you, man, and dog.

Did your dad's IS250 have the stock tires (or equivalent) on it? That has been one of my complaints about the 2Gen IS series....they don't offer the 55-series, 16" factory all-season tire option that the 1Gen did (my 2001 IS300 had it). Standard IS tires, on both the 1Gen and 2Gen models, are generally dry-weather, high-performance tires, and are not well-suited to wet/slippery roads. That is probably why the ABS churned away, with little effect, before the accident....the tires simply did not have enough grip on the slick surface. Of course, even with all-seasons, traction control, and a snow-mode for the automatic transmission, my old RWD IS300 was still a handful on slick roads....that is one of the reasons I got a Subaru. Today's IS250, of course, offers AWD, but that probably wouldn't have made much of a difference in your situation (braking on a slick road), because AWD doesn't necessarily stop you any quicker....that is more a function of the tire grip. And the IS250AWD, like other IS models, also comes from the factory with dry-weather tires, instead of all-seasons.

As far as the fender is concerned, Lexus sheet-metal, although extremely well-finished and well-painted, doesn't seem to me to be any thicker or stronger then anything else in its class. I think the reason you got off with just a few scrapes is probably the minor angle and speed that you hit the guard rail (although, out of respect, you know more than I do about what happened). A more-solid impact would have probably dented the IS's fender just like on any other car.

Och

iTrader: (3)

I hate the retards that walk in the middle of the road, why cant they use the sidewalk?

Back in 2002 I had a very similar accident. I was driving slowly during a snowy day, and there was an older couple walking right in the middle of the road. Apparently they were completely unaware of their surrounding, because as I approached them and started to pass them on the left, and when I was just several feet away, the lady must've heard my engine and panicked, and jumped right toward my car. I yanked the steering wheel the the left, the lady slipped and fell onto the side of my car, bounced of it and fell to the ground. My car proceeded to skid off the road and onto the sidewalk, and I hit somebody's wire fence with the left side of my front bumper, and closed my right sideview mirror with a tree that was on the right. I got out of the car, being scared to hell, asked the lady if she was allright, as her husband helped her get up. Apparently they were fine, but her husband tried to get smart with me. Luckily for me, there was another car traveling right behind me, and the driver saw everything that happened. He got out of the car and started yelling at that couple for being complete retards. The couple quickly ran off. The guy left me his phone number just in case, and there was a bunch of kids playing nearby, they helped me push my car back on the road. Luckily I didn't even have any damage, just a tiny scratch on the sideview mirror.

In any case, sorry to hear about your accident, but luckily it isn't anything major. It shouldn't cost you much more than $300-400 to get it repaired, so don't even bother reporting it to your insurance - its less than your deductible, and they will make your rate go up if you report it.

SLegacy99

The tires are Yokohama all season performance tires. Looking at the tread, it appears to be pretty good.

I wasn't so much impressed by the sheet metal as I am of the bumper mounting brackets. My experience working on Subarus is that the mounts generally bend and if you ever want the seems to line up again properly you must replace the mounts. Looking at the seem of the rear bumper on the IS, well its still perfect, no bowing at all.

SLegacy99

I guess I should have expected it, given that people drive their cars down the middle of the road in SE PA. Thus, I am all for DRLs as dark colored cars can easily get lost on wooded back roads.

But year, my deductable is $500 and I just recently changed my insurance to State Farm.

mmarshall

All season high-performance tires are generally better on wet/slick roads than straight summer-only (dry-weather tires), but not as good as traditional all-seasons like the Bridgestone RE92 (RE92's came on both my IS300 and Outback).

Sounds like you just hit a patch of very slick ice.....which is difficult for ANY tire, old or new, without chains. I wouldn't blame yourself.....under the circumstances, there wasn't much you could do, and you probably chose the best way out. .

Yes, Lexus DOES use some quality parts in the frame/chassis, even if the interior trim parts are not as solid as they once were.

tex2670

I have the OEM RE92s on my 07 IS AWD, and I am less than impressed with their performance in the snow.

That pedestrian should thank his lucky stars. People are so clueless sometimes--and obviously, it's not just drivers. The morons who tailgate during a snow storm must be the same boneheads that walk down the middle of the road, not thinking about what it may take for a car to stop in the slick weather.

Jetfire

iTrader: (3)

I've never had summer tires, but re92s are some of the worst all season tires i have ever used. terrible in wet traction, hydroplanes easy, can't grip in light dusting of snow. even with 100lb weight in the trunk. even going under 10kmh(~5mph?) trying to brake with abs, it still slides an extra 5 feet like it's on skis.

can't wait to get some real snow tires and some real summer tires next year.

SLegacy99

I've heard lots of Legacy GT owners complain about the RE-92s. I have Goodyear Eagle RS-As and will likely grab another set of those.

IS-SV

Sorry about the little accident, glad nobody was hurt.

From what I can see that amount of damage will exceed the $500 ded.

btw, Do you have leash laws (for dogs) in your area, and was the dog on a leash?

SLegacy99

We do have leash laws and no the dog was not on a leash.


I'm trying to make a decision on my tires right now. I committed an AWD vehicle no no and replaced the tires in pairs given that I was a poor college student (and still am for that matter) at the time. Having rotated the tires recently, the rear tires are the ones that are in poor shape, but the front ones still have alot of tread left. I have a hard time justifying replacing all four given that I don't have the cash and that the front ones are still useful. And as far as I know my diff. is still working properly 4 years later. Come to think of it, when I got the car it had one Goodyear and three Continentals on it... Perhaps I should consult my owners manual.

An examination of the car's manual states that tires can be replaced in pairs, but it cautions against using different sizes, types, brands, etc. which is no surprise of course. Tirerack has RS-As for $63 a piece. Something to think about.

Och

iTrader: (3)

You guys get a LOT of snow in PA, and if I was you I would invest in a set of snow tires. You might look at it as an extra expense, but it is really not, because you will not be wearing out your summer tires during winter, and they will last you longer.

mmarshall

They work quite well with the AWD on my Outback. I once went through 6" of pure sleet (ice pellets) build-up on the road, and still got where I was going.....that was a real test for them. I agree, though, they are not a particularly durable tire, and somewhat prone to edge-feathering. In my experience, they last a little over 30,000 miles with average driving and wheel alignments.

In heavy snowstorms like the 18"-24" blizzard we got here in the Northeast a few weeks ago, it may simply not be possible to walk on sidewalks or the usual pedestrian areas, especially with pets. It's hard enough just getting the main roads plowed.

mmarshall

With a car-based AWD vehicle and center differential, you can replace tires two at a time, if they are not severly worn and have only a minimal difference in rotation speed, without tearing up the center diff. What you DON'T want to do is have two brand-new ones and one or two that are practically bald....that WILL screw it up. That's why Subaru supplies a fuse-puller to decouple the AWD on models that have temporary or dount spare tires....you put the two good tires on the front (with the FWD) and the temporary one in back, regardless of which tire went flat.

Och

iTrader: (3)

This is what happens to pedestrians in Russia when they try to walk around on the main road instead of using the sidewalk

Scroll to 0:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI359...eature=related