Hit a Deer at 50mph in Model 3

[Sgos]

Hey all, at exactly the 1000 mile mark in my 1 month old Model 3, I hit deer in the Philadelphia suburbs! It was a full-sized doe. If I were to guess, I'd say close to 200 lbs. After initial impact, it slammed against my windshield and (I guess) hobbled away. It came absolutely out of nowhere and I'm not even sure I hit the brakes until after impact. Happy to report that I am okay. But unfortunately, I'm pretty positive the deer did not make it. To my surprise, the car only sustained limited damage and still runs fine. The front fender is cracked, the drivers side headlight is busted, the hood and drivers side front panel are dinged up. Wish me luck with the insurance/repairs saga...

 

[mongo]

Hey all, at exactly the 1000 mile mark in my 1 month old Model 3, I hit deer in the Philadelphia suburbs! It was a full-sized doe. If I were to guess, I'd say close to 200 lbs. After initial impact, it slammed against my windshield and (I guess) hobbled away. It came absolutely out of nowhere and I'm not even sure I hit the brakes until after impact. Happy to report that I am okay. But unfortunately, I'm pretty positive the deer did not make it. To my surprise, the car only sustained limited damage and still runs fine. The front fender is cracked, the drivers side headlight is busted, the hood and drivers side front panel are dinged up. Wish me luck with the insurance/repairs saga...

Sorry about the car, glad you are ok!

TMC really needs another emoticon category...

 

[Akikiki]

wow. good report on survivability of you both.

 

[mkspeedr]

Sorry to hear about your car. It could have been worse.

I might not be very politically correct but I am glad the deer didn't make it. In the past I referred to deer as "rats with hooves" - then I realized rats are smart.

 

[Chris350]

YIKES!

 

[DanCar]

Hopefully a future autopilot update will minimize impact.

 

[mongo]

Hopefully a future autopilot update will minimize impact.

That would be impressive. A white tail deer can run 30 MPH. That means it can go from 18 feet away to the center of your hood in half a second. Highway shoulders are 10 feet, so that's into the woods/ ditch. Maybe cross traffic collision warning system could be used?

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

I expected more damage. The 3 held up well.

 

[chronopc]

Sorry to hear that. I'm glad you're okay and I'm very surprised at how little the damage was.

 

[scottm]

Oh dear oh dear!

When reporting to insurance, remember, the dear hit you - not the other way around.

 

[cmaster]

Wow. Looks like the cost to repair the dent on the hood is about $900 (est. labor). With a little heat, it will mold back to its form. The headlight is about $200.

 

[chronopc]

Wow. Looks like the cost to repair the dent on the hood is about $900 (est. labor). With a little heat, it will mold back to its form. The headlight is about $200.

So what you're saying is that it'll be cheaper to fix than getting a paint protection wrap.

 

[Moderatefan]

Sorry about the car.

Just checked, seems you can possess (cook) the deer you kill on the road with police officer's permit or donate to a food bank/soup kitchen. That is if done promptly before it spoils.

 

[Moderatefan]

Wow. Looks like the cost to repair the dent on the hood is about $900 (est. labor). With a little heat, it will mold back to its form. The headlight is about $200.

Seems it's never cheap with Teslas. Wouldn't be surprised if they find $10k+ of repairs.

 

[cmaster]

Trust me. I had a dent. You would be surprised that the costs to repair isn't what you expected to be. I once thought the same as you.

Seems it's never cheap with Teslas. Wouldn't be surprised if they find $10k+ of repairs.

 

[gilscales]

Lucky the deer did not go through the front windshield, could have been much worse, I just came back from a 2,100 road trip to northern California and a similar sized deer ran across the road in front of me, if we were about 1/2 second earlier than I imagine I would be posting something similar

 

[PoitNarf]

I expected more damage. The 3 held up well.

Me too, I would have thought at least twice as much damage as what the photos show.

 

[Sgos]

Lucky the deer did not go through the front windshield, could have been much worse, I just came back from a 2,100 road trip to northern California and a similar sized deer ran across the road in front of me, if we were about 1/2 second later than I imagine I would be posting something similar

Wow. You lucked out. Amazing the difference a fraction of a second makes.

 

[Sgos]

Me too, I would have thought at least twice as much damage as what the photos show.

Yes. When I pulled over to access the damage, I was expecting much worse. It looks more like a fender bender.

 

[gilscales]

did the deer make contact with your front windshield at all?