Posted: Jun 16 2004 at 2:25pm | IP Logged

Hey guys,

My wife and I were stopped at a stop light last Sunday and a guy in a GMC Sonoma hit my Titan squarely on the back bumper doing what I'd estimate to be between 35-40 MPH.  We never heard any skidding from the approaching truck, ie brakes locked up or anything.  The impact was really hard.  My wife was driving so I think the impact knocked her foot off the brake as we were pushed into the vehicle in front of us.  No injuries thankfully. 

Damages:  I'm really surprised at how well the Titan held up,,,,or at least seems to have held up.  I'm still driving the truck and all appears to be operating normally.  I have the SE with chrome front bumper plate and that was smashed all the way back against the radiator, but does not appear to have damaged the radiator.  The bumper plastic held together but was shifted out of alignment pretty badly.  The tailgate has a good skuff on its lower edge and the bumper was pushed in and cocked downward.  I think the tow package on my truck is what really transferred the majority of the impact energy to the frame of the vehicle.  Unfortunately, even though the truck seems to drive normal, I think the frame may be bent as the entire bed appears to be tilted downward at the rear like a dump truck.  The gap between the cab and bed is no longer uniform and the siderails have shifted a bit from the front of the truck box indicating some twist has been introduced to the bed box. 

Overall, the truck seemed to really protect its occupants.  I'm very happy for that, but I'm afraid the damage may be worse than it appears.  I'm open to any advice you guys can give me regarding repairs and possible problems / pitfalls in dealing with insurance and body shops.

The little GMC truck that hit me was majorly damaged and limped away leaking all sorts of fluids.  At first glance, the Titan didn't even appear to be damaged from the rear,,,,so it IS a VERY tough truck.

Chad

Posted: Jun 16 2004 at 7:54pm | IP Logged

No insult intended here, but do you have any pics you can post of your damage?

Posted: Jun 16 2004 at 10:19pm | IP Logged

I wish I could say you were the first in the group to test it's metal.    I took a dubble shot myself. Mine in the sides. The boy must have some Timex DNA cause it did take a licking. Held up great! Hurt VDC  though. System is off. Won't ingage. I allways thought the front had too much chrome. I'm going back with the XE bumper. I'm sure some of you think me a fool to drop it's resale value.  It's that kind of thinking that puts people on Harleys. Actually it cost more to go XE. Bumpers mount differently. Had to buy all mounting hardware from frame foward.

Posted: Jun 28 2004 at 10:51am | IP Logged

Earl,

I dropped off my Titan to the shop on Friday, so they should be busy today taking it apart to see what kind of hidden damages there are behind the grill on the front.  Hopefully, they'll also be able to tell me what kind of a repair will be necessary where the frame is bent just forward of the tow hitch attach points.  The two box beams were bent forward of the tow attach due to the concentration of the energy from the rear impact to the hitch assembly.  I'm also interested to see if they will be replacing the bed assembly as it appears to be cockeyed / twisted. I've tried to post photos, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to do it.  Anybody got some instructions for me?

Chad

Posted: Jul 03 2004 at 5:51pm | IP Logged

So you were rear ended by another vehicle doing 40 mph?  You should be in the hospital or something...  I want to see some pictures of the truck!