hi everyone, i have just hit a curb 3 days ago, i was not being careful…i have a toyota camry 2009, its only one year old. about a month ago, someone hit my car while backing out, he hit my front fender right front wheel/lights and the car had just gotten fixed last week…and then this happened…my right front wheel rim fell off it has a lil bent, and my right back wheel came out a lil bit but i pushed it back in. I dont exactly know how i hit the curb, it happened so fast my mind went blank, i think i hit then sideswiped the curb, not sure…oh and then later that day i still drove it, and i found my steering wheel was slightly tilted, i was like ok alignment problem, Then later i felt the car feels heavy, like u know toyotas are generally pretty “light” but mine feels heavy now and also i feel unstable…like, i think i could hear the “bumpy” sound from the wheel…i dont know whats going on…someone plz help me.im gonna take it to a shop, but should i take it to the dealership where i bought the car? or just a general place…how much do yall think this would cost??? …thank u so much.
btw, i felt the car got HEAVIER now, do you guys think it could be becuz…i drove alot after i hit the curb? for the past 3 days ive driven alot cuz of work and school, do u guys think the problem couldve worsen cuz i drove alot after the incident??
This car needs to be towed to a well-reputed alignment shop for an examination.
If you bent a wheel or two, there is likely damage to suspension and steering components, and this is a serious safety issue.
I am having a hard time understanding some of your information…“my right front wheel rim fell off it has a lil bent, and my right back wheel came out a lil bit but i pushed it back in”…but it appears that you “pushed” a wheel back on???
What does that mean? Have you at least checked all lug nuts on the affected wheels to be sure that they are tightened correctly?
Anyway, you are endangering yourself and others if you drive this car even around the block. A responsible person would have this towed, rather than attempting to drive it to the repair shop. Are you a responsible person?
And, no–nobody can tell you how much it will cost you to repair this vehicle at this point.
err i meant the right back rim came off a lil bit, and i pushed it back in cuz its like piece of plastic…but do u think i couldve worsen the problem by driving it the past 3 days? i drove for about 100 miles these days i think…
Worsened the problem? You could have KILLED yourself in the last three days by driving the car like this.
I beg you, please have this vehicle towed to a shop to be checked out. As VDC said, none of us can even guess at the cost without seeing the car…on a lift.
“the right back rim came off a lil bit, and i pushed it back in cuz its like piece of plastic.”
I believe that you are referring to the plastic wheel COVER, as wheels/rims are made of steel or a metal alloy. The plastic wheel cover is purely cosmetic. A bent front wheel is NOT cosmetic, and is a symptom of possibly serious underlying problems in addition to the wheel that needs to be replaced. And, a wheel that is “a lil bit bent” is like “a lil bit of cancer”. It is serious, despite the amount.
Whether you aggravated the situation by continuing to drive it is not relevant, other than to cause people to question your judgment. The bottom line is that this car needs to be towed and repaired, or it needs to be parked until you are prepared to bear the cost of having it towed and repaired.
Additionally, you need to consider this one-car accident on its real terms, and you need to accept the probable severity of the situation. Using terms like “a lil bit bent” indicates a desire to minimize things.
Much about your post is unclear. If the accident took place because a wheel came off of the car, that would indicate responsibility on the part of whoever might have last worked on that wheel/tire. But, of course, you might be telling us that a wheel came off when you really mean that a wheel COVER came off. It is all very unclear. The only thing that is clear is that a car that steers/handles/drives differently after hitting a curb IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE.
And, something else that needs to be said, even if you don’t like hearing it is:
If you really don’t know how this accident happened, it makes one wonder about whether you are focused on your driving responsibilities, or whether you might have been talking or texting on a cell phone at the time. If this is a one-car accident you should know what took place.
I was looking in the rear view mirror for a long time and bam my car hit a curb. ur right, i guess i am trying to be hopeful and tryin to minimize the problem. and yeah sorry i made my last posts really unclear, i meant the plastic cover came off, but the rim was a lil bit bent, i mean seriously, just a tad. but since it is a piece of metal that is bent i suppose i did hit pretty darn hard. None of my wheels came off, yeah. Right now Im just trying to think, i mean yeah i hit the curb, and i feel very unstable driving right now, but the thing is, like i said before, i had JUST gotten my car back from the shop last week, so right now it kinda makes me wonder if they have fixed my car completely. my parents are calling tons of shops right now and theyre all telling my parents this is gonna take thousands of $'s, but like, none of them have even seen the problem yet, my parents just told them i hit a curb and its not unstable. alot of things we’re worrying about also includes, whehter or not to tell our insurance company, or just take care of the costs by ourself, etc, etc. i think ive really learned my lesson this time.
I wholeheartedly agree with VDCdriver and mountainbike on every point.
“I was looking in the rear view mirror for a long time and bam my car hit a curb.”
Okay, now we are beginning to get some reality.
Looking in your rear view mirror frequently is a good idea, in regard to safety. However, those should be fleeting glances. If you were looking in the rear view mirror for a long enough time to cause this one-car accident, then you were looking in the mirror for entirely too long. Hopefully you have now internalized this knowledge even before I pointed it out to you.
Once again, you are attempting to minimize things, and that is very unwise. By lying to your parents and telling them that the car is still driving normally, you are only delaying and hindering the process of getting the car repaired properly in order to assure the safety of those who are driving in your vicinity.
You need to bite the bullet, and tell your parents that the car is NOT driving in a normal fashion. And, they need to have the car towed to a mechanic for examination. Even if the car was operating normally, nobody can diagnose a problem and provide a cost for the repair via the telephone or via the internet. Yes, this could take thousands of dollars to repair. But nobody can tell you at this point.
If you were my daughter, I would pay for the repairs myself, and would set up a schedule for you to repay me for the repairs, even if it took you the next 6 years to pay it off, a little bit at a time. And, I would enroll you in a Driver Improvement course.
Only when you take “ownership” for the accident and its resulting costs will you begin the journey to maturity and adulthood.
well excuse me but i dont think i have ever said im not taking care of the situation, NOR that I didn’t tell my parents that the car is not safe to drive. I dont know why you’re making these assumptions. I’ve told my parent very well about what happened, i told them it happened cuz i looked at the rear view mirror for too long. My parents have drove my car after i told them cuz they wanted to see if the problem really do exist and yes my parents know VERY well of the problems. However, none of us are expert about cars so they are calling those auto places. i never lied to my parents, im just here to ask for advices, if i was being irresponsible i dont think i’d be on this forum and asking u guys about this. Yes I will be paying for the costs but my parents believe they are more experienced than me so they are calling those auto places that they know of. They are calling because im still under their insurance plan. I don’t care about paying for this because when it happened i know very well of what I had to do. I dont understand how you’re making these judgements. I am not minimizing any problems,Im trying to find all the problems that could exist. if i was trying to minimize the problem, i wouldn’t be on here talking.
Just in case i made something unclear again: I will be paying the costs all by myself, thank you very much
“NOR that I didn’t tell my parents that the car is not safe to drive. I dont know why you’re making these assumptions.”
Really?
Based on your own words, “none of them have even seen the problem yet, my parents just told them i hit a curb and its not unstable.”, I concluded that you had withheld the information about the car’s lack of stability. There are only two possible interpretations here–either that you are withholding information from your parents, or that they are withholding information from the mechanics who they expect to diagnose the problem via the telephone.
Withholding information is only delaying the process, no matter who is doing the withholding.
If I have misinterpreted your post, please let me know.
All we can respond to is what is provided, and that is what I have done.
i meant not stable…omg. yeah my parents told them its NOT stable. i apologize for making these ridiculous typos. but yeah my parents told them its NOT stable to drive right now, but yeah the mechanics are just sayin ok that sounds like alot of problems and the cost could take up to thousands.
Thank you for the apology.
All that we are trying to do is to help, but as you have now found out, posting incorrect information, or leaving out pertinent details, is not going to allow us to help in a prompt fashion. And, by first becoming irate and argumentative with those who are trying to help you, rather than actually re-reading what you typed, you only make yourself seem less credible.
I truly hope that this car problem is resolved safely and at the lowest possible cost for you and your parents. Please point out to your parents that mechanics are no more able to diagnose a problem via the telephone or the internet than an M.D. would be.
Many of us older folks who have grown children of our own and have been around awhile become concerned when we read a post like yours.
I give you a lot of credit for not only having written seeking information and advice but also for having amditted that you had a lesson to learn. The lesson I hope you’ve learned is that driving requires full time attention. It’s not something you can safely do while looking in the mirror, or texting, or playing “air guitar” or talking with your friends on the phone. I won’t ask the details of the car having hit your right front fender, lights and wheel while backing out, but I have to wonder if lack of attention was a contributor.
I know your parents have probably had this discussion with you already, but it’s way too important not to reemphasize. I’ve been driving for over 40 years without a signifcant accident until fours ago (someone hit me on the highway). My son has been driving for 12 years without an accident. You too can do this if you’ll only focus on the task at hand.
Sincere best. Drive carefully.
Thank you for your message, it sure was a lesson for myself. I was, and still am very bummed out about the accident, as well as the one that happened a month ago when I got hit by another car. but that was the other person’s fault we were entering a parking garage he was in front of me, it was at an angle, we had to turn right to enter the garage, that person was going in then he backed out spontaneously and hit my right front fender, he said he did not see me cuz it was at an angle…I’ve been driving for three years and that was my first accident, now hitting that curb became my 2nd accident…and hopefully the last one too. I try to drive carefully all the time I never text/call when I drive, really, because I know how bad it could get. it’s just that, this time, i admit, i was being stupid, i shouldn’t kept my eyes on the rear view mirror for that long, I should’ve known better.
We just took the car to the shop, the mechanics said they are busy and will take care of the car on monday but they did say it was obvious that it needs an alignment, so they said they’d do alignment on monday, once that’s done, they will exam the car. but like, they said they’d only align the front wheels, since my right front wheel was the one that hit the curb. But when I drive these days I feel that the back of the car feels unstable as well…so hopefully they’ll find the problems for that on monday too…
Thank you all again for your comments. I appreciate all your time and kind considerations. I am sorry that my previous comments have been unclear and I sounded impatient. I have been very emotional about the car situation for the past whole month. it’s really driving me nuts because I have been studying for summer classes and working at the same time, working out stuff for the Fall semester (in college) and car… but, thanks again. I will take this lesson to heart.
“i meant the right back rim came off a lil bit, and i pushed it back in cuz its like piece of plastic.”
Could that have been a plastic wheel cover???
Joseph–If you read through the entire thread, I essentially came to the same conclusion at 11:22 this morning. Since the OP did not contradict me about this plastic part being a mere wheel cover, I have to assume that she came to the realization this morning that this part was, indeed, just a wheel cover.
Unfortunately, it took me quite a while to convince her to focus on the danger posed by damage to actual mechanical parts, rather than focusing her attention on a wheel cover.