Pothole in Vidor Texas Took the P85 Down

[alwaysru]

This was going to be an awesome road trip note, but unfortunately instead it's a tale of caution. On mile ~800 of the trip, we followed the GPS directions to get off the highway to skip some traffic. Unfortunately the expected on ramp was closed, so we ended up on a poorly maintained stretch of feeder road just outside Vidor.


Right after the forced U-Turn so we didn't end up in the Neches river, I avoided a pothole only to hit another... And this one was bad. So bad, in fact, that we became one of three cars with our hazards on right after it due to damage to the cars. I thought I had popped a tire, but when I got out, it was much worse. My rear passenger tire is now at such a strong camber that it is rubbing the wheel well.

We have now been stranded for 2 hours while a tow truck drives in from Houston to pick us up and take us to the Tesla authorized repair shop.

Wish us luck.

 

[jsm]

That's horrible. Does the city there take liability for pot hole damage?? Good luck.

 

[jlucero]

wow that is really unfortunate. i predict the city will not take liability unfortunately

 

[alwaysru]

4 hours to get from pothole to on the tow truck. Now for a 100 mile road trip to a repair place! Any guesses on a repair cost? I'm sure Geico is going to love me.

 

[bmah]

Yikes! Hope they can fix things up for you, and soon. Sending you good vibes from California...

 

[ozweepay]

Picture of the pothole?

 

[stopcrazypp]

wow that is really unfortunate. i predict the city will not take liability unfortunately

Here in the Bay Area they do. They never pay full, but do pay partial if you have evidence. Doesn't hurt to try.

 

[MTOman]

Picture of the pothole?

I, too, would love to see the beast that caused this.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Yikes. Sorry to hear.

A few years ago I hit a massive pot hole in my old Audi and it destroyed the wheel. Fortunately, the suspension components were all fine. Repair shop said the wheels are designed to crumple and absorb really bad hits before the energy is transferred to the far more expensive suspension and steering components. Here's hoping that's all the damage you encountered. Let us know.

 

[Drewflux]

Thats some extreme angle going on back there. From the pic it look like a broken/bent upper suspension arm.

 

[alwaysru]

There are the set of them. Bottom left one is the one that did the damage. Steered to miss the other two as that one looked more gradual. I was wrong.

 

[billarnett]

How fast were you going when you hit the pothole? How deep was it (can't tell from the photo)?

 

[pcdefl]

"... that we became one of three cars with our hazards on right after it due to damage to the cars."

Sorry about what happened to your car.
How bad were the other cars hit?

This was going to be an awesome road trip note, but unfortunately instead it's a tale of caution. On mile ~800 of the trip, we followed the GPS directions to get off the highway to skip some traffic. Unfortunately the expected on ramp was closed, so we ended up on a poorly maintained stretch of feeder road just outside Vidor.

Right after the forced U-Turn so we didn't end up in the Neches river, I avoided a pothole only to hit another... And this one was bad. So bad, in fact, that we became one of three cars with our hazards on right after it due to damage to the cars. I thought I had popped a tire, but when I got out, it was much worse. My rear passenger tire is now at such a strong camber that it is rubbing the wheel well.

We have now been stranded for 2 hours while a tow truck drives in from Houston to pick us up and take us to the Tesla authorized repair shop.

Wish us luck.

 

[alwaysru]

About 25/30 miles per hour I think. It was about 4-5" deep - hard to see that from the direction I was coming from unfortunately...

 

[rogbmw]

From looking at the picture of the rear wheel, I wonder if a control arm broke????

 

[Vitold]

About 25/30 miles per hour I think. It was about 4-5" deep - hard to see that from the direction I was coming from unfortunately...

It does not look that bad. By trying to avoid the other pothole you probably put extra weight (and lateral force) on the wheel that snapped.

 

[alwaysru]

Final Update - Took about a month to get the car back. The shop in Houston (Katy Coachworks) did an amazing job and the car looks new again. They ended up replacing the control arm, rim, tire, wheel well, parking brake, rear brake, shock tower, and painting the quarter panel. Total out of pocket for me was only my $1000 deductible, so not bad at all. The longest wait was for parts from Tesla - the actual labor was only about 9 hours, not bad at all.

 

[sickfox]

you should send the $1000 bill to the city. send also the pictures of the pothole and the other cars that also pulled over to check for damages.

Final Update - Took about a month to get the car back. The shop in Houston (Katy Coachworks) did an amazing job and the car looks new again. They ended up replacing the control arm, rim, tire, wheel well, parking brake, rear brake, shock tower, and painting the quarter panel. Total out of pocket for me was only my $1000 deductible, so not bad at all. The longest wait was for parts from Tesla - the actual labor was only about 9 hours, not bad at all.

 

[alwaysru]

you should send the $1000 bill to the city. send also the pictures of the pothole and the other cars that also pulled over to check for damages.

No can do. Texas doesn't allow me to.

Filing a Claim

Will the City reimburse me for damage to my vehicle caused by a pothole or an object on a City street?​

​

​

No. Texas law determines whether the City and other governmental entities in the State of Texas can pay for damage caused by a pothole or an object in the street. Under State law, the City is not liable for property damage caused by the condition of its streets.​

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​

 

[Olle]

Final Update - Took about a month to get the car back. The shop in Houston (Katy Coachworks) did an amazing job and the car looks new again. They ended up replacing the control arm, rim, tire, wheel well, parking brake, rear brake, shock tower, and painting the quarter panel. Total out of pocket for me was only my $1000 deductible, so not bad at all. The longest wait was for parts from Tesla - the actual labor was only about 9 hours, not bad at all.

Sorry to hear this but glad they were able to fix your car nicely. Replacing shock tower :crying: it must have been an unbelievable blow! I used to live in NYC, the pothole capital, and have have thus bent conutless rims. One time in a Volvo we hit such a mastodon hole on the GW bridge that the car flew all over the place and the exhaust system came off. Rows of cars with exploded tires and hazards on. t
I thought I'd seen the worst of the worst already but your accident is on a whole new level. The worst ones for me have been in the dark and rain, when you can't see, but just drive and hope for the best. Hopefully pothole avoidance comes in a future version of autopilot.