My 2005 5.4L V8 Expedition 4x4 115k miles was hit directly on the drivers side front tire by a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix. When the car struck the tire it broke the “A” frame of the tire and it turned sideways. The woman driving said she was only doing 35 mph, but my Expedition was totaled out due to frame damage sustained during the crash. I have looked everywhere for the numbers but all I can find out is that the Expedition had a 5 star side impact rating and no mention of any frame damage occurring during the tests. Any information would be greatly appreciated
It is not data that will ever be made public. The side crash data is collected with the entire vehicle assembly carrying the hit. Body, frame, engine, everything. The frame itself is not tested independently for crash data. It is tested for stress but these are internal Ford tests and likely have no bearing on your question.
If this lady hit the tire hard enough to break the A-arm, it isn’t surprising the frame was bent as well. You can replace a frame. There is lots of labor involved, but the trucks body mounts have likely taken some damage as well. Why are you trying to find this data? Are you suing the lady? Or Ford? Either way, you survived a 35 mph (or more) side hit. A 5 star rating means the truck sacrifices itself to save the passengers. I’d give the truck a passing grade for that.
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I forgot to mention that when she hit me it knocked me from going straight to a 45 deg angle after impact.
I am not suing anyone, I need the information to try to verify that the woman was only doing 35 mph. The vehicle did what it was supposed to do and in all honestly if it wasn’t for the frame damage done it was only $4,000 in repairs and well within reason not to total out.
"if it wasn’t for the frame damage done it was only $4,000 in repairs . . .’’
But you do have frame damage
I don’t see any benefit in wondering about what ifs
What’s done is done
Be glad nobody was hurt
Since you are not suing anyone, I don’t see why you “need the information to try to verify that the woman was only doing 35mph.”
If there is evidence of speeding I will not be at fault and can get a ticket dropped. If I can’t find any I will just pay the ticket.
If you got the ticket just be glad she is not suing you and move on.
A 35 miles per hour hit on your wheel is more than enough to bend the frame. That said. I will comment on the ticket.
I am a Auto Adjuster. The speed of the other car should not be the only factor in this. I would need more info to give a opinion. If you did not run a red light or stop sign and you were hit from the left as you said that person should have been ticketed. Can you tell us more on how it happen. Also talk to your insurer they can sometimes help.
Thanks for that oldbodyman, that is the answer I was looking for.
Even if the other party was speeding, it wouldn’t make the accident their fault. I was in an accident as a teen where I WAS speeding, and a car turned left in front of me. I was only 40% at fault, because the other motorist is required to yield to all motorists, even speeders. (It also taught me there’s a huge difference between going 10 over on a freeway, and 10 over where there’s crossing traffic and unlimited access.)
I’m not sure why you flagged me off topic
I felt I asked some good questions
And I also felt I made some good points
I think he was looking for an answer like “37.2 miles per hour”.
Rather than look at frame damage, concentrate on the force needed to move your Expedition. The other vehicle would have to transfer momentum to move your truck sideways. Momentum is mass times velocity. It might be an easier problem to solve. How much momentum is required to move the Expedition sideways?
“the Expedition had a 5 star side impact rating and no mention of any frame damage occurring during the tests”
The OP apparently does not understand what these ratings mean.
The side impact rating tells you how well the vehicle protects the driver and passengers from harm, and it is NOT intended to tell you whether or not the vehicle resists damage from impact. In fact, the more that the vehicle’s structure is able to absorb impact, the less impact force is transmitted to the people inside the vehicle.
Before the advent of modern passenger protection for vehicles, many older cars & trucks would appear to have relatively little body damage from a collision–as compared to a modern vehicle. However, the driver and passenger would not fare very well in that collision.
To return to the OP’s question…Yes, a 35 mph impact is sufficient to cause significant frame damage, especially if the “hit” takes place in the area of the front wheels. The OP should be glad that the vehicle is designed so that IT receives the major damage, rather than the people inside it.
There really is no point. The black box would tell how fast she was going but it’s private information. You can be killed at 35 mph though.
Going back to our original question, frame damage and frame survivability has nothing to do with crash tests. It’s the passengers and driver safety that are measured. That the frame does an imitation of a wet noodle during a crash may be the idea of absorbing the energy necessary to protect the passengers. It worked…hopefully everyone is safe and not expecting the frame to survive is the intent.
Mleich, I think you’re correct.
To the OP, it ain’t that simple. Angles of impact, points of impact, coefficients of friction (of the tires & road), inertial energy absorption capabilities of the striking vehicle, speed of the stricken vehicle, whether brakes were used, and a whole slew of other variables would need to be known to even begin.
Police accident investigators try to recreate the accident as accurately as possible, and use standards to estimate speeds based on skid marks (if there are any) and inertial energies from standard estimates developed for various vehicles. Was there a police report? Did they do a follow up investigation? And, perhaps more important, was liability established?
A 20 MPH impact can create all kinds of havoc, much less 35.
The OP states they’re not suing anyone but there’s a flip side to that and trying to void a ticket is usually the first step in trying to keep the other party from having a little legal leg to stand on before they sue.
Ticket for “failure to yield” or something along that line?
I’m just glad she hit your tire, not your door. 35 mph may not sound like much, but that’s fast enough to cause a lot of damage, to both truck and driver. So happy you came through with nothing more serious than insurance hassles.
Question for the adjuster I have a picture of a car crash of a Ford F-250 extended heavy duty truck and the car that hit I need to know what you think you’re rough estimate of the speed was it would take to bend this Frame considering the car was basically stop coming out of a stop sign