Hit right on charge port

[howardbc]

Today I was driving very slowly through a shopping mall parking lot (I had the right of way) when a woman in a Camry suddenly just backed into me! I laid on my horn as fast as I could, but she just kept coming. She definitely hit me right in the charge port area. I noticed later than part of her car had also hit my driver's side outside rear-view mirror hard enough to push it inwards. But there is no visible damage. I did get her name, number, driver's license number, and name of her insurance company. I didn't call the police and hope that wasn't a mistake. Wondering if I should report it to my insurance company, or would they count it against me, even though it was definitely not my fault. I was so shook up I forgot about things like taking a photo of things. 

 

I was just wondering if there could be any later complications due to the area around the charge port being hit. Again, there is no visible damage but it is very upsetting. 

 

I've found the horn on the 2013 FFE to be difficult to sound in an emergency like this. It's not right in the middle of the steering wheel like most cars I've ever driven. But now that I know where it is, I will try to remember that it's almost at the bottom of the steering wheel hub. 

 

Does anyone have any advice for me? Especially about any later complications. Thanks. 

 

 

[murphy]

The mirror is manually foldable.  It should move back into position with very little effort.

 

Do you live in a no-fault state?

[howardbc]

Thanks, murphy. Yes, I know the mirror pops right back into place. I wish I'd noticed it though when the other drover was saying she didn't hit me.

 

I live in Arizona and I don't know if it's a no-fault state.

[Doug0716]

I don't know about the specific laws in your state, but in TX if you file a claim with your insurance company you pay your deductable (if there are any damages) then they go after the other driver/insurance company.  When/if they get paid, you get your deductable back.  If they don't get their money then it counds as a claim on your insurance and you don't get your deductable back, so double whammy.  If there's no visible damage then there's probably no damage and not really any need to report it.  Usually with electronics if something would be an issue it would already be an issue, not typically grow over time into an issue.  Of course if you're that worried about it you could take it to the dealership on a slow day (mid morning on most weekdays if possible) and ask if they have a tech that could spend a couple minutes looking it over for you.

 

If you do file a claim with the other drivers insurance, do NOT mention the trouble finding the horn as they are scumbags and will use that to say you were partially at fault (they love technical details like this!)

 

On edit: Also worth considering is that if you do file a claim, even if it's for very minor damages like a small scratch, it will probably go on the carfax report as a minor accident, and that may not be worth it.

Edited October 17, 2014 at 03:33 AM by Doug0716

[rbort]

Is it hit or is it not hit?  If she ran into the side of your car, there is no way there would be no damage.  Aluminum will bend with the slightest hit and you will see a divot where she touched your car.

 

What is more likely is that she hit your mirror only and stopped in time before hitting the rest of the side of the car.  The mirror closed some and gave way and avoided injury in this case.

 

Either way if you can't see a dent or a scratch on the car I'll just thank my lucky stars she didn't damage your car.

 

-=>Raja.

Edited October 17, 2014 at 04:48 AM by rbort

[Hybridbear]

MN is a no fault state but in cases such as rear-end collisions the other driver's insurance pays. We've been through it twice in the last two months...

 

Sorry to hear about the incident. I hope the other woman will be honest in reporting it to her insurance company. And I agree about the "no damage". It's so easy to damage body panels nowadays. You would be very fortunate to really have no damage.

[Rexracer]

The back of the Camry is all plastic, so its possible it flexed to prevent damage.
 

On a separate note, I agree that the horn is not easy to activate. Frequently at lights people sit on a green, and I try and do a courtesy tap to make them look up from their phones and pay attention. I generally have to hit it 2-3 times, to get enough force to sound the horn, then instead of it being a minor beep its a BIG BEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP, and by this point they are thinking about moving, so they just act pissed off that I am being impatient, not realizing that the light has been green for 3-4 seconds already.

And if you think sitting at a green light for 3-4 seconds is no big deal and I should be more patient... count it out one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand. Thats a long time... ;-)

[howardbc]

Thanks, Rexracer. Glad I'm not the only one who found the FFE's horn to be hard to activate. But now that I know where it is, I will have my palm on it the next time I'm driving through a parking lot.

 

Also good to know about the Camry's back being plastic. I guess that's true of most cars these days. 

[zippoking]

You should probably get it inspected at a dealer if possible.  If there is any potential damage to the charge wires that might lead to an unsafe situation down the road.  Dealers are usually good about working with insurance companies anyway.

 

I also agree about the horn, seems you have to hit it on the bottom whereas I got used to using the top on my older fusion, although there have been a few times when I'm frustrated that someone starts moving before I get the horn press correct...

[HotLap]

I too find the FFE horn very difficult to give a "courtesy" beep and by the time I get it to honk it sounds like I'm leaning on it. 

 

I probably would report the incident as the other driver now is going to claim there was no damage (just because nothing was visible at the time that she hit you).  I'd have it inspected by a savvy friend or dealer just to be sure.  I once had a freeway cone knocked into the grill of my 535i by an idot in another lane who was riding the shoulder not paying attention and it did significant damage besides just punching out the front grills.  Ended up replacing the entire front clip, grilles, plastic braces behind the grilles AND a lower radiator mounting bracket.  Even the body shop missed the lower bracket, but I questioned why the lower radiator was now "listing" at an angle, they tried to say it was normal but I looked for myself and sure enough.  Anyway, I have had the charge port hood weather-strip plastic piece (and stuffing bag) out of mine and looked down around the backside of the charge port ring.  It is very fragile in there, lots of very thin aluminum and plastic, I'd check it out.

[shaggy314]

Ok, so am I the ONLY one who didn't think the title was a euphemism? I mean come on... click bait!

 

:happy feet:

 

 

Yes, I find the horn and the courtesy double tap to go on green a little too hard to do.

Edited January 25, 2015 at 10:42 PM by shaggy314

[lonzo71]

I'd like to know the outcome.....

[howardbc]

Hi, everyone. The outcome to that woman backing into me was that I didn't do anything about it. There was no visible damage on the outside, so there could have been no damage internally. Fortunately she was backing up slowly. She must have hit the driver's side mirror because it had been pushed back and that must have been the "clunk" I heard. 

 

I am sure that if I'd mentioned it to my Ford service adviser he would have shrugged his shoulders. 

 

It was very upsetting but I just couldn't see calling the police or reporting it to my insurance carrier when there was no damage to be seen. The woman was very apologetic and cooperative and I got her name, insurance info, and all that. It was in a public shopping center parking lot. 

 

But now I try to remember to keep my hand/palm on the horn area when I am driving through a parking lot. The problem with the location of the Fusion's horn, though, is that it is not where it usually is on most cars. Now that I know where it is, it is somewhat easy to find if one is driving straight but impossible to find quickly if one is turning left or right. That's why I wish Ford had put it smack-dab in the middle of the center of the steering wheel. 

[Rexracer]

Since this discussion I have had the same experience as you. Now that I know its at the bottom of the wheel its not as bad, but that is not generally where my hands are. So if i need to do a quick beep I have to take my hand off the wheel shift it to the bottom and tap there (and yes in a corner that would be nearly impossible to do quickly).