So I just go this 2020 Honda Civic about two months ago. Tonight I ran over a fairly large object in the middle of a ramp going onto the highway going probably about 45 or 50 mph. It was dark and the object was black, possibly a car part, so I didn’t see until I was almost right on top of it. I heard a couple quick thuds and could feel it hit my undercarriage. I pulled over at a gas station and couldn’t find any damage to the front of my car or on the wheels, and nothing seemed to be amiss on the back end either. But still I’m wondering how worried I should be about damage to the undercarriage? As far as I can tell the car is still driving fine. I was concerned that the brakes weren’t as sensitive as they usually are but I also think I could just be overanalyzing. Any advice?
Take it to the dealer, tell them the story and let them have a looksie. Any damages may be picked up by your insurance company, as it will not be covered under warranty.
Yeah someone needs to take a good look underneath. I hit a big chunk of heavy sheet metal going about 75. Don’t know what it was and had to continue home 500 miles hoping nothing was leaking. When I checked underneath it had just taken a chunk out of the heavy plastic air foil. No harm no foul. A lot of the cars have quite a bit of the bottom covered for wind resistance but you need to make sure.
You need to get your car on a lift to see what the object hit. If you haven’t already, contact your insurer and ask them for advice. They may tell you where to take it for an inspection. One advantage of using your insurance shop is that an adjuster will have to OK any work. It is less likely that you will get scammed that way. Ask to see the undercarriage yourself, of course.
To all of the preceding good advice, I want to add that the OP should check carefully for leaks underneath the car. Placing a large piece of cardboard under the engine/transmission area would help to detect slow leaks that might not otherwise be visible.
I say this because, many years ago, I ran across debris in the roadway that punctured the transmission pan. In my case, the leak was sufficient to completely drain the transmission w/in about 20 minutes, but a very tiny puncture could take much longer to deplete the trans fluid or motor oil.