Case Study: Deer Strike in a MYP

[Freewheeler]

So the damages came to $20,241.13 w/tax, so Bad Dolphin wins the guessing contest! It will take 4 weeks to complete.

I asked the shop if they’d be willing to send photos of the entire restoration so I could post them on forums. That serves two purposes, one is that they get some good marketing and second is that I get confidence they are doing a good job. Before I even finished asking they said they thought it was a great idea, so one more confidence boost. If they were going to cut corners I suspect they wouldn’t have agreed.

Other than paint I imagine they’re just bolting all new parts on, so maybe nothing to see like aluminum welding or anything, but if anyone’s interested I can start a new thread of those images once they start coming in.

It’s funny, it’s like watching someone go into surgery; my app lost the car at 9:08am yesterday when they disconnected battery, so it’s like the car is on anesthesia.

 

[Freewheeler]

I fell your pain. Just hit a deer about three weeks ago in my Model S. Was able to slow to about 25-30 mph at the at the time of impact. The worst part is everyone telling you that " I thought Teslas were smart." Yeah, but it's physically impossible to have a 0-foot stopping distance. There was a group of 3 deer that darted out in front of me so swerving was out of the question. Oh well... hood, headlight, bumper and nosecone and surround... about $4800.

Yeah, you fared much better than I, and experienced the exact amount of damage I was expecting.

 

[LasVegas2019]

Note to self: remember to install the deer whistles

They dont work. Save you money.

 

[Ml007]

Almost hit a deer last weekend on my second ever time driving my new Y.... took me a minute to remember that I could just honk to save the footage! SEEN A DEER.mov

 

[SimoRAV]

New here, so hello everyone. Sorry to open with this post, but I figure it might be useful for reference.

I hit a deer late last night, maybe a 200# deer at ~40mph. Totally unavoidable; just ran in from the side of the road directly in front of the car. It's hair is still plastered to the car. Didn't get a warning chime. It was like watching a silent movie, no real sound or feeling of impact which leads me to the sense that the front end really did absorb a lot of the energy, but in doing so the damage is pretty intense. If anyone dares proceed, I photographed the extent of the damage for future reference. Yes, there is a fluid leak, too, which is coolant. The airbags didn't deploy.

I am a bit surprised the entire fenders on both sides shifted back to the point that they chipped the door paint. I'm used to seeing fenders bulge out at the sides, not slide straight back. The fog lights and headlights dismounted. The structural bumper seems to have held up, but everything else caved into the frunk. I didn't pop the hood as I'm not sure it will close again for the tow. We'll see the true extent of the damage (and cost!) once the car gets to the body shop and torn down.

Bummed out beyond words! Love this car!

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New here, so hello everyone. Sorry to open with this post, but I figure it might be useful for reference.

I hit a deer late last night, maybe a 200# deer at ~40mph. Totally unavoidable; just ran in from the side of the road directly in front of the car. It's hair is still plastered to the car. Didn't get a warning chime. It was like watching a silent movie, no real sound or feeling of impact which leads me to the sense that the front end really did absorb a lot of the energy, but in doing so the damage is pretty intense. If anyone dares proceed, I photographed the extent of the damage for future reference. Yes, there is a fluid leak, too, which is coolant. The airbags didn't deploy.

I am a bit surprised the entire fenders on both sides shifted back to the point that they chipped the door paint. I'm used to seeing fenders bulge out at the sides, not slide straight back. The fog lights and headlights dismounted. The structural bumper seems to have held up, but everything else caved into the frunk. I didn't pop the hood as I'm not sure it will close again for the tow. We'll see the true extent of the damage (and cost!) once the car gets to the body shop and torn down.

Deer, as cute as they are have absolutely no road sense... Nor a license or insurance. I had an uninsured deer hit my Ford years ago. Totalled even tho it was just panel damage. Years earlier when living in NY State, I had a Caprice Classic. You know the vehicle... Takes a licking, keeps on ticking. Well many times people asked me if I went deer hunting with it!
Unfortunately claiming from the deer is difficult so getting compensation will be very difficult...

 

[SEndicott]

Almost hit a deer last weekend on my second ever time driving my new Y.... took me a minute to remember that I could just honk to save the footage! SEEN A DEER.mov

I am sure you probably didn't think to look at your screen. I wonder what the deer looked like on the screen?

 

[Freewheeler]

So as an update since May 20th, Tesla has not yet successfully delivered all the repair parts to the body shop. Evidently everything arrived last week, but there was an issue with one of the fenders, details not provided but per the person I spoke to the wrong fender was shipped. This pushes completion out beyond July 4th weekend, or 6 weeks since the incident, with parts arriving 4 weeks after placing the order. I told the body shop if Tesla screwed up the order they should overnight a new fender. They'll get back to me on that. My rental reimbursement lapsed so I'll have to pay full clip on a rental for the holiday weekend or subject the wife to road trips in the Miata which is fine with me but not so much for her!

Even when they receive the correct fender, the process to finish and install (or install and finish) takes 4 days, mainly the paint process. Anyway, for whoever was interested in how this is working out.

 

[DDrawer]

Any chance Tesla can get you in a loaner for the remainder of the extra time since their shipping is causing you to be without a car past your rental coverage?

 

[Freewheeler]

I'm checking but only found access through their site mail. They say I'll get a response within three days. Yeesh!

Anyone got a number for Tesla dispatch?

 

[rxlawdude]

This sounds very similar to the first three years of Model S having very slow fulfillment of body parts. (Not that kind of body parts.)

 

[tsmithlxix]

Yeah, you fared much better than I, and experienced the exact amount of damage I was expecting.

FYI, I'm still waiting on parts also. Apparently, the hood arrived at the shop a couple of weeks ago, then was sent out for paint. Still waiting. But, hey, it is what it is.

 

[tsmithlxix]

Yeah, you fared much better than I, and experienced the exact amount of damage I was expecting.

Quick update... Went to the service center to have my hood replaced last Fri (03Jul). Turns out they had the correct hood but it was painted the wrong Tesla blue. I'm currently awaiting another hood (ETA 10Jul), then will have to wait another week or so for paint, then make my appt. I'm currently in Week #9 since the accident (07May). It is what it is I guess.

 

[scissorfighter]

When I lived in Idaho, hitting deer was all too common. This is what I put on the front of my F450. When you hit a deer there was typically little to no damage to the truck.
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I bet the Cybertruck will make mincemeat out of a 14 point buck just like this F450. MY, not so much! Drive safe everyone!

 

[mark95476]

Thanks for your post and keeping us updated.

Glad you're okay, but sorry to hear about your new car. The parts inventory shortages and shipping screw-ups aren't helping, either.

So as an update since May 20th, Tesla has not yet successfully delivered all the repair parts to the body shop. Evidently everything arrived last week, but there was an issue with one of the fenders, details not provided but per the person I spoke to the wrong fender was shipped. This pushes completion out beyond July 4th weekend, or 6 weeks since the incident, with parts arriving 4 weeks after placing the order. I told the body shop if Tesla screwed up the order they should overnight a new fender. They'll get back to me on that. My rental reimbursement lapsed so I'll have to pay full clip on a rental for the holiday weekend or subject the wife to road trips in the Miata which is fine with me but not so much for her!

Even when they receive the correct fender, the process to finish and install (or install and finish) takes 4 days, mainly the paint process. Anyway, for whoever was interested in how this is working out.

 

[HyperionMark]

I bet the Cybertruck will make mincemeat out of a 14 point buck just like this F450. MY, not so much! Drive safe everyone!

Really doubt it. Tesla's build their vehicles for the best safety possible, for occupants and pedestrians. This means a very soft crumple zone will always be at the front of every Tesla.

 

[BruceT45410]

Old Navy squadronmate earned the callsign "Bambi" after a similar incident. His Honda was totaled.

 

[johnmodely]

Ouch sucks your insurance didn't total with that kind of damage. You get a damaged car back with who knows what kind of structural alignment issues, and your resell will take a huge hit.

 

[Jashev]

Thanks for the well-wishes. The only damage to me is psychological. Really bummed and there’s the fact that I’ll be living with a crash-repaired car I just got a week ago. The place the car is going to is highly regarded and Tesla certified, so I trust it will come back as good as new.

Regarding any warning: I think the car had a blind spot In these specific circumstances. This deer entered the road running a full clip from brush on the side of the road and entered just ahead of the bumper. Pitch black out. The radar is front facing so wouldn’t see anything. The side camera is visual and wouldn’t likely have seen the deer in the brush, then there’s the parking sensors which aren’t intended to serve that purpose.

The car didn’t alert me at all, even after impact when half the sensors flew out of the bumper and the deer was flying through the air. I thought it was odd not to be alerted of any issues.

No airbags as I think they’re associated with the bumper beam which looks fine and maybe some G-sensors / accelerometers which wouldn’t have noticed anything.

My takeaway is not without blind spots and that the body is very “soft” up front. You can dent the hood by not closing it correctly. Everything was affected but in my opinion not everything should have. The fenders in particular. The front edges are hardly damaged yet the entire fenders are tweaked to the doors. This will make these cars expensive to insure over time. I hope my accident forgiveness is intact on my policy!

I'm not an engineer, but I read somewhere that the fenders moving back have to do with energy absorption from the impact.

 

[tsmithlxix]

Quick update... Went to the service center to have my hood replaced last Fri (03Jul). Turns out they had the correct hood but it was painted the wrong Tesla blue. I'm currently awaiting another hood (ETA 10Jul), then will have to wait another week or so for paint, then make my appt. I'm currently in Week #9 since the accident (07May). It is what it is I guess.

Another update: The hood still hasn't been fixed but this one may be on me. I stopped by to get the hood replaced (again) and it has gone from replacement in a couple of hours to we need to keep your car at least a couple of days. Basically, it's a relatively new service center, they're pretty slammed with repairs, so they'd like to keep the car in order to get to it if they get a chance over the next few days. I wasn't prepared to leave the car (didn't have a ride or rental) for 2 to 3 days for a 2-hour fix so the appointment has been rescheduled for Aug 07, so again, we'll see what happens.

 

[Freewheeler]

Ouch sucks your insurance didn't total with that kind of damage. You get a damaged car back with who knows what kind of structural alignment issues, and your resell will take a huge hit.

It was not even close to totalled. There was no structural damage whatsoever; all damage was soft parts. All factory structural alignments checked out 100% so not a factor there. The aluminum cross member (where the hood latch lives) was dented in but is sacrificial and not considered structural. I received the car back looking like new...in fact probably better since it was hand-assembled over days rather than banged out of an assembly line in a few minutes. Came with a lifetime warranty on the repairs.

I have noticed pre-owned Teslas with accidents reported do not drop in value to any significant degree, and not nearly as badly as ICE cars. That, plus the fact I have no intention of selling any time soon really makes resale a moot point.