Model 3 Accident, Is this car really safe to drive?

[mongo]

Not a crosspiece. See pic I added it is the top half of the pole that split where the guy-wires were attached and swung down and hit the top of the car.

Thanks for the additional shot, and glad you are ok.
I think what you called guy wires are actually 2 telephone line branch circuits. Support stays would normally be used to counter the forces from a change in the main wire direction whereas this looks like a pole on straight run.

 

[kaite]

based on your accident picture looks similar damage compare to the one that hit the pole in CA (link/picture below)
and both steering wheel and knee air bags deployed
Assault on Battery: 2017 Tesla Model 3

 

[mongo]

based on your accident picture looks similar damage compare to the one that hit the pole in CA (link/picture below)
and both steering wheel and knee air bags deployed
Assault on Battery: 2017 Tesla Model 3

They do look similar, hard to say from the pics exactly how deep each pole went.

 

[Gavyne]

based on your accident picture looks similar damage compare to the one that hit the pole in CA (link/picture below)
and both steering wheel and knee air bags deployed
Assault on Battery: 2017 Tesla Model 3

Negatory, you can see the frunk was smashed in with the car you linked. Which means that car was traveling faster and hit the pole with greater force. Rapid deceleration force is what triggers the airbags to deploy. There has to be enough force.

Take a look at OP's car, frunk was barely damaged. The bumper and hood look bad, but it's obvious the car wasn't traveling that fast.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

@bigroccrek I’m a little surprised it isn’t totalled, based on that other totalled picture I saw...guess the determination depends on the salvage market value, and local auto repair labor costs (that other vehicle was in Oregon).

I would assume the repair bill will be in excess of $20k though... Probably substantially less than the hospital/surgeon bills at least! And the cost is small compared to other bodily injury that could have occurred.

 

[GregD60]

Not a crosspiece. See pic I added it is the top half of the pole that split where the guy-wires were attached and swung down and hit the top of the car.

I see; that picture helps. You also said that the pole was rotten. Did you say that because it split?

 

[bigroccrek]

@bigroccrek I’m a little surprised it isn’t totalled, based on that other totalled picture I saw...guess the determination depends on the salvage market value, and local auto repair labor costs (that other vehicle was in Oregon).

I would assume the repair bill will be in excess of $20k though... Probably substantially less than the hospital/surgeon bills at least! And the cost is small compared to other bodily injury that could have occurred.

Initial estimate from the body shop is $19937 to repair. Insurance company wants to fix the car. I am ok with that I suppose....just hope it doesn't end up being a problem and hopefully Tesla will continue to honor the warranty.

 

[bigroccrek]

Thanks for the additional shot, and glad you are ok.
I think what you called guy wires are actually 2 telephone line branch circuits. Support stays would normally be used to counter the forces from a change in the main wire direction whereas this looks like a pole on straight run.

I believe they are guy-wires. A telephone truck happened buy within minutes and the guy stopped and the CHP had him cut the guy-wires loose and wrapped them up since they were hanging low over the road.

 

[kaite]

Negatory, you can see the frunk was smashed in with the car you linked. Which means that car was traveling faster and hit the pole with greater force. Rapid deceleration force is what triggers the airbags to deploy. There has to be enough force.

Take a look at OP's car, frunk was barely damaged. The bumper and hood look bad, but it's obvious the car wasn't traveling that fast.

was originally thinking its worth to check with Tesla and can reference the blue Model 3 had similar impact.
and I do agreed it does look like the OP has less impact after comparing side by side from the pictures Mongo posted.

 

[wcorey]

Initial estimate from the body shop is $19937 to repair. Insurance company wants to fix the car. I am ok with that I suppose....just hope it doesn't end up being a problem and hopefully Tesla will continue to honor the warranty.

There's zero reason to suspect Tesla won't honor the warranty. Of course they won't warranty against accidents, insurance companies do that. So, guessing you paid between $50k and $75k for your car. It'll be hard to total that. Remember, that's not your decision, that's your insurance company's. Pretty good bet though your car's resale value dropped precipitously. People who buy used cars now-a-days are pretty savvy about Carfax. And, frankly, I think we'll all see a drop in resale value as, I suspect, a lot of people who really can't afford one, bought one. So once the initial blush of ownership fades and the insurance, loan payments, property tax, babies, new homes etc occur, the Model 3 will be the first debt to eliminate. That's just my guess. Don't go cheap on the repair shop. A good shop will return a car you'd be very hard pressed to ever guess had an accident. A not so good shop will return a car that will remind you every day.

 

[bigroccrek]

There's zero reason to suspect Tesla won't honor the warranty. Of course they won't warranty against accidents, insurance companies do that. So, guessing you paid between $50k and $75k for your car. It'll be hard to total that. Remember, that's not your decision, that's your insurance company's. Pretty good bet though your car's resale value dropped precipitously. People who buy used cars now-a-days are pretty savvy about Carfax. And, frankly, I think we'll all see a drop in resale value as, I suspect, a lot of people who really can't afford one, bought one. So once the initial blush of ownership fades and the insurance, loan payments, property tax, babies, new homes etc occur, the Model 3 will be the first debt to eliminate. That's just my guess. Don't go cheap on the repair shop. A good shop will return a car you'd be very hard pressed to ever guess had an accident. A not so good shop will return a car that will remind you every day.

Thanks. The shop that is doing the repairs is called AVIO Coach Craft in Los Angeles. They specialize in Porsche, Bentleys, Bugattis, RR, Lamborghinis, Aston Martin, Ferrari and.......Teslas. They are apparently expensive but I am confident that they will do the job correctly. They did warn me that sometimes they have had problems getting parts from Tesla and they may need my help getting the parts.

 

[derkan]

Sorry I have to ask... Did the integration between the car and the telephone pole result in improved cellular reception?

If the car registered the event as a airbag-deployment-relevant event, it might have data recorded on its Event Data Recorder. I'm told that might happen even when airbags don't end up deploying (but are maybe considering deploying). Tesla can tell you very easily/quickly whether or not EDR recorded anything. They can check over the air. They can check by connecting a cable (which you can also purchase).

 

[etmax]

I was in an accident on Tuesday 18 December at approximately 12:30 pm while driving my Model 3. I experienced a medical emergency which caused me to completely black out while driving. I am seriously concerned about what did and did not happen as a result of the accident. First my Model 3 left the roadway after I became unconscious and struck a telephone pole. I do not know how fast I was traveling at the time of the collision with the pole but I do know the car was crumpled half way to the firewall.

None of the airbags deployed, not one. How can a front end collision of this magnitude not result in any airbags deploying. The car also never alerted Tesla that an accident had occurred?? I confirmed this by speaking to the Tesla Service Center and they reviewed the data pulled from the car. They said all they were getting is that some “secondary systems” were reported malfunctions.

Now I need to determine if the car is repairable or not and then decide if I even want the car. I purchased the Tesla for several reasons, one of the biggest being it’s safety rating but I have serious concerns about the “real” safety.

I am really uncomfortable driving the Tesla in the future with my family inside if the safety systems do not function.

I would like to escalate this accident to someone who can provide answers. Both people I spoke to at the Service Center after seeing the pictures said that absolutely the airbags should have deployed and absolutely an accident message should have been transmitted to Tesla.

I would also think that Tesla would be very interested in finding out why they car did not function properly.

Airbags are deployed only in those situations where the the collision is detected early enough to ensure they don't crack your skull, ie you haven't moved too far towards the steering wheel at the time the deployment is decided. They also won't deploy if the vehicle is sufficiently decelerated by other means, ie. body compression. Poles tend to crumple a lot more car especially in an EV slowing you down. In an ICE vehicle the motor will be impacted by a pole early and transmit that to the body much sooner causing rapid deceleration requiring a deployment. With not much in the way poles in an EV afford much more crumple. Side airbags of course only do something in a side on collision. The basic rule is that if your airbags didn't deploy and you don't have severe head or upper body injuries, the airbags weren't needed and would have only trashed the interior more.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

I was in an accident on Tuesday 18 December at approximately 12:30 pm while driving my Model 3. I experienced a medical emergency which caused me to completely black out while driving. I am seriously concerned about what did and did not happen as a result of the accident. First my Model 3 left the roadway after I became unconscious and struck a telephone pole. I do not know how fast I was traveling at the time of the collision with the pole but I do know the car was crumpled half way to the firewall.

None of the airbags deployed, not one. How can a front end collision of this magnitude not result in any airbags deploying. The car also never alerted Tesla that an accident had occurred?? I confirmed this by speaking to the Tesla Service Center and they reviewed the data pulled from the car. They said all they were getting is that some “secondary systems” were reported malfunctions.

Now I need to determine if the car is repairable or not and then decide if I even want the car. I purchased the Tesla for several reasons, one of the biggest being it’s safety rating but I have serious concerns about the “real” safety.

I am really uncomfortable driving the Tesla in the future with my family inside if the safety systems do not function.

I would like to escalate this accident to someone who can provide answers. Both people I spoke to at the Service Center after seeing the pictures said that absolutely the airbags should have deployed and absolutely an accident message should have been transmitted to Tesla.

I would also think that Tesla would be very interested in finding out why they car did not function properly.

Not sure what your medical emergency was, but the fact that you're here to tell us about it is probably at least a tiny bit of evidence that maybe..just maybe...one of the 3 safest cars ever tested by NHTSA is exactly that....a safe car.

 

[whatthe2]

Not sure what your medical emergency was, but the fact that you're here to tell us about it is probably at least a tiny bit of evidence that maybe..just maybe...one of the 3 safest cars ever tested by NHTSA is exactly that....a safe car.

Burst apendicts.

 

[wcorey]

They can check by connecting a cable (which you can also purchase).

The cable costs $1000 and connects an analyzer to the car. Isn't it well past time for this thread to be closed?

 

[mongo]

The cable costs $1000 and connects an analyzer to the car. Isn't it well past time for this thread to be closed?

You can always click "Unwatch Thread".

 

[Grendal]

I didn't go through all the pages and this may have already been referenced but Model 3 Man had a significant accident in his Model 3. He made a video about his repair experiences. Perhaps his experiences will be helpful to you.

 

[roblab]

And I had an accident happen to my car. Won't tell you which one! It was fixed to be "as new", and it is. The other guy's insurance paid for the whole thing.

 

[JeffK]

Won't tell you which one!

Tell me it's not the blue hotness!