UDel

I just don't see how it is possible a light low speed tap that did no noticeable damage to your car has knocked anything loose or damaged anything to affect your steering or make a vibration. It either sounds like you really listened and felt for anything after the tap and noticed this when it was probably there before or it is just coincidence that there is this noise or vibration after a tap. Hitting small bumps on the highway, going over speedbumps, hard braking likely puts more stress on the chassis and components then a tap in the rear by another car at low speeds. I don't see a mechanic being able to diagnose or find anything wrong and they are definitely not going to blame it on the tap/rear end at slow speed.

Shad034

I don't think the vibration has anything to do with getting the bump you did, that being said, a bit frustrating that this kid isn't responding to you. As a former poor dumb kid, I applaud you for trying to hook him up on what is really not much of an issue. Going through insurance would definitely put a mark on him and raise his insurance rates. However, if he doesn't come back to you, I wouldn't fault you for letting insurance take care of it for you.

My only concern would be that the accident is going to show up on Carfax for your car. No one down the road is going to know or care that it was really a minor thing, its just going to be an accident. That will impact resale and it would definitely make me think hard about whether I want to claim it or just be pissed off and eat it.

FatherTo1

Thank you for reinforcing that assessment, UDel. I rely on everyone here to keep me grounded. My mechanic is doing me a huge favor by looking underneath the car and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He did demonstrate how the subtle vibration is tied into the AC compressor. While I had his LS 430 as a loaner I noticed an extremely faint vibration in its steering column too. I suppose it truly is all in my head. Geez, maybe that bump caused more damage to my psyche than my bumper! I appreciate everyone's objectiveness on this thread. I feel better now that nothing serious was done to the car. In fact, my mechanic said he already had one his employees buff out the scratch for me, lol. I didn't even request that. He is a standup guy and a great mechanic. I refer everyone to Folsom Japanese Auto Repair every chance I get, on CL, Yelp, Facebook, in my wife's office, my work, etc. I definitely want to see my mechanic succeed.

Thanks, Shad. Yes, I am mildly annoyed now at being ignored. I felt the kid handled himself well after the accident and hope he continues to do so. I hear ya about the resale, that does weigh heavily on my mind. Good thing the scratch can be buffed out (err, or actually has already been fixed by my generous mechanic). I need to get a gift for my mechanic and the kid should pay for something, if only to serve as a small reminder to take driving more seriously. Perhaps I'll have the kid pay for a gift instead of Scratch X. That is, if the kid decides to call me back.

Shad034

Hey Father, let us know how this one pans out. I'm a bit curious if the kid gets back to you and all resolves well. I hope so...

FatherTo1

I'm still wondering if he'll pick up the phone ever. I emailed him yesterday too and laid it all out, about the scratches, the body shop estimate, my mechanic's inspection, and how it can all be resolved with a small bottle of polish. I let him know I have dashcam footage and reminded him there are friends and family that would hate to see him ruin his future due to texting or inattentiveness at the wheel. I let him know that I wasn't going to call insurance and that he can completely ignore my email with zero consequences, but that I hope he demonstrates more character by calling me back to give all of this a proper closure. Still no reply by email nor phone. I am still holding onto hope for our younger generation.

SW17LS

He's not going to call you.

Honestly, car is fine, I would just let it go. I recently went through this with the van. I was at the dump on Christmas Eve (fa la la lol) and as I was pulling out, the guy next to me opened up his rear door into the van and put a big dent in the door. Thing was a month old. I got out and confronted him about it, and he hemmed and hawed and finally did give me his insurance info, I took pictures and all, etc. Called his company, and turns out after having admitted fault and given me his info on the scene, he was trying to say that it was my fault, and that his door was already open and I ran into his open door. Now, obviously thats ridiculous, I was pulling forward straight out of a space, how could the smooth, flat side of my van have somehow struck his rear door if it didn't open out into my car while it was moving? Even his insurance investigator admitted that didn't make any sense. Did I have a police report? Well, if I called the police for a door ding they'd have given me a ticket for being an idiot for calling the police for a door ding. Of course they found for him since that involved no cost incurred by them. I could have fought it, sued him, had my company fight it...all of which I considered doing, but in the end, it was a $200 PDR repair and its all fixed...

How much of your aggravation is this worth? I would just let it go!

FatherTo1

Sorry that happened to your new can. Just shaking my head over the antics the other party pulled in your case. Yea, it's good advice for me to move on. The LS is driving fine, no undercarriage leaks, and still caught myself marveling at its smoothness yesterday.

SW17LS

Yeah, unbelievable. For such an inexpensive repair too. People have no class nowadays.

213374U

Many years ago I had the opposite happen to me.

Bumped a Rav4 at low speed but it was enough to dent the tailgate. Worked it out with the owner to get her a new tailgate and have it painted and installed. Found one in Houston for a good price, made the 3.5-hour one-way trip to pick it up, got back home that evening, tried to call her and she didn't answer. Tried making contact multiple times over the next week and never spoke to her again. Wasted a day and a whole bunch of gas but thankfully I recouped the cost of the door after relisting it on local Craigslist. No idea why she didn't want me to fix her car....

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Petty IMO, Karma will catch up with him because ppl that drive like that will probably have another incident.

FatherTo1

Hoping mckellyb can chime in on this. I do not hear any strange noises and tried the Height Hight today for the first time and it worked fine. Something though still doesn't feel right, as if the car is riding on stilts. There's a little more rocking motion to the body than I remember. I also notice more body wiggle and shake when I close my driver's door compared to all other doors. I go out and measure the height from the ground to the top edge of the wheel well. The fronts are both at 29 and 1/16 inches. My rear heights though differ by 1/4". The driver's side rear (which would be closest to the rear-end impact) is higher than the passenger rear by 1/4". I do not see any leaks or cracks. There's just a little more wobble to the car and coming through to the driver's seat and I don't think it is my imagination (this time I believe the statement to be true).

Can others help with a favor and please measure the height from the ground to the edge of your wheel wells for comparison? Hoping mckellyb sees this and can chime in. From mckellyb's experience, it is normal for the rears to be lower than the fronts. It is just odd that my RL is higher than my RR.

EDIT: I also don't detect much difference between Comfort and Normal as before. I recall in the past that the car always stayed flat in straightaways in Comfort while the suspension soaked up the bumps. Lately the ride feels like what I can only describe as "wobbly", as if the car was higher than it should be. That is why I am surprised to find the RR 1/4" higher than the LR (because that is exactly what the sensation feels like). Tire PSI is consistent across all four tires, +/- .5 PSI. Maybe I should just fine an insurance claim and get all of this properly checked out.

comotiger

Hi Fto1, I am wondering if you are becoming a bit paranoid about sounds and shakes after the mishap . Can't blame you though because I would probably be reacting in the same way.

Here are my car's measurements. Michelins 245/45R19s, 33 psi
Normal: LF and RF 29", LR and RR 28 7/8"
High: LF and RF 29 13/16", LR and RR 29 5/16"
I never measured these heights before. I assumed that the suspension would rise the same amount front and rear. I am surprised the front (13/16") rises almost twice as high as the rear (7/16"). I am curious to learn what others are measuring.

FatherTo1

Thanks for taking the time to measure, comotiger! Much appreciated. Yours seems to show consistency side-to-side, which is what I would expect. My LF and RF are within 1/16", and both fronts are 1/4" - 1/2" higher than the rears, depending on which rear you go by. Between the rears, there is 1/4" difference, which seems sort of significant. I am trying to gather more data to rely on instead of my "gut instinct" that something feels off. Thanks again for the help!

comotiger

Hi Fto1, I agree a 1/16" difference between L and R is OK. Can you check whether the change in height from Normal to High is roughly double for the fronts compared to the rears?

FatherTo1

Here are my measurements, plus I broke out a level to make sure the car isn't compensating for an uneven garage slab. The slab seems very flat. On a side note, before any accident, when getting things out of the trunk it did seem as though the bumper was ever so slightly slanted (as if the driver's rear corner was lower...except the perceived slant goes counter to the actual measurement that shows the driver's rear is higher, not lower). I know, I'm driving myself, and the rest of the forum, nuts. I will say that Height High is really neat and does make a difference getting in and out of the car. I can just slide right out on the High setting, as opposed to pulling myself up a little and out.

The measurements are all over the place. The fronts started even, but in Height High there's now over a 1/2" differential between the fronts. Interesting. What used to be a 1/4" difference between the rears grows to 1/2" delta in Height High mode. Looks like the LS does rise roughly .8-1.0 inch in Height High.

Normal Height:
LF = 29 1/16
RF = 29 1/16
LR = 28 11/16
RR = 28 7/16

Height High:
LF = 29 8/16
RF = 30 1/16
LR = 29 12/16
RR = 29 4/16