Door ajar light on after accident & seatbelt question

[mbergen]

Hi. Someone rear ended my car yesterday. The hatch now looks like it is open about 1/4" - 1/2", though I can't pull it open when the door is locked. The rear driver side car door also sticks - is hard to open so that latch may not be quite working right as well - They hit me on the rear driver side corner of the car and bumper.

Will the light being on all the time wear down my battery?

Is there any way to temporarily disable that until I have a chance to get it fixed? I also had to turn off the dome lights because they were staying on all the time.

One other question - does anyone know with the vibe, is the seatbelt supposed to stop you from going forward, if someone hits you while you are stopped? It didn't and I hit my head on the steering wheel. I know it tightens if I make a sudden stop. The police officers said if I was wearing my seatbelt - I was - I shouldn't have hit my head.

Luckily no serious damage done to me it seems though I'm a little sore today.

Meg

[KITT222]

Your insurance guy might have some bad news for you. If the frame is that messed up, the unibody could be badly bent. My Vibe was totaled (previously, with the original owner) in the same way. Of course, they did fix it and I ended up with it, but my point is that insurance is likely to total it. To check this, get under the car and see if the frame rails are straight or not, and check the plastic in the trunk for bent/warped plastic. I'd applaud you if you stuck with it and had the car fixed. Then our Vibes could compare scars!

But onto your questions...

The rear hatch could be causing the issue. If it no longer closes properly, it might not press the button that turns the interior lights off. I'm not quite sure where it is, but that is probably the issue. It could also be the rear door. Press the little rubber thing on the rear side of the door jam.

In a rear end collision, the biggest impact on your body would be head on headrest. Maybe you didn't go forward quickly enough to catch the inertia brake on the seatbelt. Or since they got you an an angle, the force would propel your body at an awkward direction, and if the seatbelt isn't adjusted on the B-pillar, you could hit the wheel.

If you could post a pic, I'd love that. Kinda out of morbid curiosity, another out of proper curiosity, to see the extent of the damage. My friend recently got rear-ended with ZERO damage to anything other than his bumper cover, so I know these cars have tough rears!

[DennisLee]

Hatch no longer closes all the way? Rear door "sticks"? I'm afraid you have some serious damage there. If you're thinking of not getting it repaired, I'd take it to a body shop to get an estimate before I'd just accept a check from the insurance company.

[09vGT]

No idea on any of the fixes. I had a Mustang that I had bought at a salvage yard and had fixed. It was in a rather nasty rear end crash. The drivers door would have a tough time closing and the trunk never looked quite right, but no lights were ever on. As far as the seatbelt goes, yes, if you were moved fast enough forward it should've locked. I was rear ended, poor 'Stang, and when I was propelled forward after being thrown in the back of the seat, the seatbelt locked. Like others have said, maybe it was just in an awkward position.

[mbergen]

I've attached photos. Thanks for the replies. I took it to have a shop look at the car - They would work directly with the insurance company - said they'd need the care at least 2 weeks. I'm hoping they don't total the car, but I'm not sure.

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[zyzyix]

I've attached photos. Thanks for the replies. I took it to have a shop look at the car - They would work directly with the insurance company - said they'd need the care at least 2 weeks. I'm hoping they don't total the car, but I'm not sure.

IMG_1333 small.jpg

IMG_1332 small.jpg

Since it and the brand have discontinued, they probably will.

[trb]

Seeing as the car is most likely 5 yrs old or older, since you didn't say what year it is, they will probably total it out if it does have too much damage. But if they do, since it drives just fine and if you want to keep it, you can buy the car back from the insurance company (usually for 10-20% of the value) and have it repaired by your shop. Hopefully it is paid off and then you can just use the insurance check to pay for the repairs. Hopefully that would cover it. I know a couple of people that have done this and it worked out for them, but you do get a salvage title so you take a loss when you sell it later on.

Good luck!

[mbergen]

Thanks - the mechanic looked at the car and thinks they will total it. $7500 to fix. I'll have to make a decision on what to do. Really too bad - I like my car.

[joatmon]

seems like what you get from an insurance company when they total a car isn't enough to buy a twin of the car in pre-accident condition. Let us know what the insurance company says. Are you still sore? have to lookout for latent symptoms

I think that it most likely the door ajar light is coming from the hatch lock. There should be a connector on or near it that services the remote unlock and the door ajar sensor, inside the hatch. The effect that light being on has on your battery depends on the condition of your battery, but you could probably go a week or two between starting the car.

The seatbelts are designed to lock up on a rear impact, don't know why yours didn't

[mbergen]

Yep it's totaled. They are taking it away tomorrow. I ended up buying another used ford escape on Sat.. I'll be sorry to see it go, but decided to go something different, since it's been 6 years and I felt like a change since I had decided to get a different car. The mechanic said frame damage, so I didn't really feel safe continuing to drive it. Strangely enough, after I got it back from the mechanics, the door ajar light was off.

I feel ok now, I have to press pretty hard now to even feel any pain on my head (so I don't press hard).

Meg

[SeattleJeremy]

Glad you're feeling better