Yet another rear-end collision

[KITT222]

If I count this one, the slight bump I got from my friend some time ago, and the crash that totaled her prior to my ownership, this makes THREE rear-end collisions for my Vibe. Ugggggggghhh.......

Story: I randomly decided that I should take a left at an intersection where normally I go right or straight. But tonight was abnormal because I was going from job two to job one, and if I went left it could be better for coasting and gas mileage....... Evidently, I'm about ready to say screw fuel economy. I proceeded into the intersection after a line of cars going straight passed by. Then a speeding Impala came out from behind an SUV, so I stopped. Crunch. Bam. 1999 Chevy Malibu happened.



Sonuva..... Bumper cover not even a year old. And it's ruined. As for the bumper bar:



Yep. That needs replacing.

I swear, the amount of rear-end action this car has seen... I might need to make a cage to protect the bumper cover!

She claimed fault, as did her insurance. So I have to work with Geico now to get my Vibe fixed. Of course I plan on doing everything myself. Oh, and her car was fine. By fine I mean that coolant was leaking. Not from the radiator, as her car was FINE but it must have knocked a hose off or something, 'cuz that stuff of EVERYWHERE But they were nice about it, and the second thing she said was, "Don't worry, I have insurance." I hope her kitty wasn't frightened.

I've secured the bumper with extra zip ties, and may come up with some straps to placate my paranoia. Unfortunately, it means I can't exactly get a car wash now. And she needs it.

[09vGT]

Man that sucks! Ironically, I got rear ended in my Mustang. We bought it with a salvage title, which was caused by a rear end accident.

[tpollauf]

Nick .... Say it aint so You had better start driving BACKWARDS just so you can protect that rear end of yours Also, they had better pay you off handsomely so that these mishaps can benefit you in the long run

[KITT222]

Nick .... Say it aint so You had better start driving BACKWARDS just so you can protect that rear end of yours Also, they had better pay you off handsomely so that these mishaps can benefit you in the long run

That trailer hitch on Craigslist looks attractive for a good reason: rear bumper guard. If I start to go through rear bumpers like this, then it will be necessary. It'd bend the metal guard, but leave the plastic shiny and unbent. Maybe a pivot at the mount, and breakaway pins holding it in place, so it doesn't ruin the subframe if a bigger impact comes sometime in the future. On a related note, I planned on reinforcing the rear frame rails at some point in the future. This isn't the time, but eventually it could be done.

By doing my own labor, sourcing my own parts, and getting everything via my uncle (works at Keystone) I'll save a bundle. If I come out on top with this, I'm not sure what I'd do with the extra cash. Any suggestions? Racing stripes? Carbon Fiber hood? Vegas? Or paying off the Vibe....

Y'know, if I do this the right way, I CAN Come out with a generous amount of cash in hand. Only problem is, even though I'm eighteen, I'm not her titleholder. I wanted to save $50 and wait for college before registering the car in my name. So Geico needs my dad to give the thumbs up to me being Vib's caretaker.

[thebarber]

Maybe with the extra cash you'll have from bilking geico you can finally procure some lowering springs...

[vibenvy]

That sucks Nick, but I'm glad to see it wasn't totaled. That was my first thought when I read the title . Good luck with a speedy and semi-painless recovery. Keep us posted !

[star_deceiver]

That sucks!!! Good luck with the repairs!

[KITT222]

Maybe with the extra cash you'll have from bilking geico you can finally procure some lowering springs...

I'm already lowered. Canuck springs. It doesn't show too well with the winter 15's (tire size and high offset), but I am lowered.

That sucks Nick, but I'm glad to see it wasn't totaled. That was my first thought when I read the title . Good luck with a speedy and semi-painless recovery. Keep us posted !

Yeah, if THAT is totaled, an insurance adjuster is going to have his head examined. I have an appointment to have her looked at Tuesday. It was still an option to do the repairs myself, and my uncle who works at Keystone auto parts is already looking up pricing for me. I don't want an extra bit of cash leftover from the repairs, but I'm not sure what I'd do if I had some leftover.

Anyway, I thought I'd procure some better damage pics.

Sides don't look as bad since I took some zip ties to pull them closer to the body. As today's 40mph winds proved, this thing is "solid" up to 90mph (50mph driving, 40mph winds).





The black plastic mount that snaps the bumper closer to the car is still there on the driver's side, but gone on the passenger. I think I saw it today when driving by the accident scene (going right. Never again going left there). Good riddance, it was an issue when we were putting this bumper on.... in June. As for the bumper, it's ruined. Completely.



It shattered. And I can't get it even remotely back into shape. I didn't think it would do this after my other bumper only peeled after its collision. Hopefully the next bumper won't have to deal with this.

[lannvouivre]

Maybe people just think the back of your vibe is super-sexy.

EDIT: PS: I backed into my older brother's dark green solstice the other night when he parked right behind me. I DID look, it's just his car is really tiny. BAM, bumper now has a vertical license plate indentation.

[NoRemorse249]

lil bondo and some paint n itll be good as new. a good afro-engineering job can be just as good and reliable as a professional one.

[vibolista]

Vibes seem to attract bumps from the rear. It was probably nighttime? I really think people don't pay enough attention to the situation ahead of them as well as they should at times, causing these incidents and accidents. Hope you get your rear bumper fixed (again!) without trouble. Luckily, no one was injured... so at least that was a good outcome. I've heard people say that everything happens in "threes", so I think your Vibe has definitely reached the limit!

We should make a list of member's Vibes that have been banged into from the rear like this. Could it be that our brake lights don't show as intensely as they could, or maybe it's the Vibe's ability to stop in shorter distances than other cars on the road, or both?

I got bumped on a clear sunny morning by a Chevy S10 Blazer about 3 or 4 years ago. It was at slow speed when I stopped at a stop sign to check for oncoming traffic and then take my turn to the right. Spotted driver behind me on cell phone. That always worries me, but she didn't notice that her car was still moving, when I stopped and BUMP. No visible damage, luckily, but it was a good bump. I did ask her to please try driving without the phone to her ear in traffic. Her attention was clearly not focused on driving.

My son's Vibe got rear ended a couple of weeks ago. He had just made a right turn, cars ahead stopped and the driver in the car behind him didn't notice the line of brake lights (nighttime, good visibility, no precipitation), so she slammed into his bumper. No one hurt, but the Vibe is now out of service and getting a rear bumper repaired. The Chevy HHR's front bumper was crunched pretty badly. Way more damage to it than the Vibe.

I've driven behind a few Vibes, and have noticed that the third brake light and the two normal brake lights are not spectacularly bright when they come on. In bright sunny conditions, it's hard to tell that the Vibe's brake lights have come on at all! I did order a couple of LED third brake light kits right after I was bumped from the rear, and when they finally showed up we installed them in both of our Vibes. That LED center high mounted brake light apparently didn't help warn the driver behind my son's Vibe the other night.

What could we do to make the Vibe more visible to drivers behind our cars when braking? Maybe add another brake actuated red LED to the bottom red lens where the reflector is located? A hatch mounted LED billboard that flashes "Hey!!! You there behind me!!! I'm Braking!!! You need to do the same thing now!!!"? Any ideas?

[NoRemorse249]

hahaha love the led billboard idea. that would be epic put it above the license plate on the hatch under the window.

[vibolista]

Under the back window... that's what I was thinking! Some drivers apparently need enhanced visual aids to keep their attention and help them out. Anything to keep them from messing up our Vibe rear bumpers!

[tpollauf]

What could we do to make the Vibe more visible to drivers behind our cars when braking? Maybe add another brake actuated red LED to the bottom red lens where the reflector is located? A hatch mounted LED billboard that flashes "Hey!!! You there behind me!!! I'm Braking!!! You need to do the same thing now!!!"? Any ideas?

Hey. I just may be onto something here You're giving me MORE ideas for LED mods and that can be dangerous As you pointed out, a "message" lighting up grabs more of your attention than a "taken for granted" brake light. If I can come up with more mods like my original 3rd brake light to where the entire hatch area is one brightly RED lit billboard, then that should keep all drivers off our backs

[vibolista]

I like it!!!

[KITT222]

Nighttime, clear, dry. My lights are pretty good, and I have to believe that people just don't pay any attention. Other Vibes are noticeable, but need new 3rd brake lights. Brighter lights would be useful, though. I have thought about full LED-conversion, where I crack open the lights and do something custom (Tim....). Something similar to the newer LED taillights, like on the Charger, with an outline going on with the parking lamps, and the center lighting up with the brakes. An LED 3rd brake light would be nice (Tim.....).

lil bondo and some paint n itll be good as new. a good afro-engineering job can be just as good and reliable as a professional one.

Yeah, there's zero chance of that happening. Literally zero. Estimate has already been done, and I have many ways of getting this sorted. Once I get the check the Vibe will get a new rear end, and maybe some rubber bumpers. This happens way too much. My Vibe has been rear-ended three times in its life (once totaled, one due to my friend not paying attention, now this) and my friend (same one that hit me) was hit once, and totaled a Taurus.

I don't know, I'll devise something...

[KITT222]

This LED taillamps idea has been on my mind, and now I can't get it off it... So I made a concept in GIF form...




Thoughts?

[vibolista]

Anything that could be added to the Vibe's rear lighting to get it noticed is going to be an improvement. One drive behind a Vibe on a bright sunny day will illuminate the need for some increased brightness behind our cars... especially when applying the brakes. Not much happens back there to grab someone's attention.

Nice GIF!!!

[MrHatchWagon]

I'm sure it's doable, and it would definitely make your vibe unique. I've always been a fan of that style of LED tail light, and I have to admit I've thought of doing something like that more than once. The only contraint is time and money, but if you plan it out properly I'm sure you can pull it off very well. Your work tends to be meticulous, so I'm not worried for you.

Another thought would be to extend the outline into the bottom tier of the tail light, since you'll have it cracked open anyway.

In short, you have my full support to pioneer the Pontiac Vibe LED tail light.

[DVibe]

Sorry to hear about the bad luck, those LEDs would looks sweet! From despair comes ingenuity!

[tpollauf]

I have thought about full LED-conversion, where I crack open the lights and do something custom (Tim....). Something similar to the newer LED taillights, like on the Charger, with an outline going on with the parking lamps, and the center lighting up with the brakes. An LED 3rd brake light would be nice (Tim.....).

Yeah Nick, those new Charger park/running lights are awesome. You can literally see one of those several miles down the road. The brake lights on them are OK but the engineers should have come up with something more like sequential lighting when hitting the brake. You don't know how hard it is to know exactly what mod you want to attempt but not have the time to perform it. My shop is still in the middle of moving and it may be another month or two before I have the freedom to start working out of it again. PLUS the "honey-do-list" is slowly starting to grow again and gots to keep her happy Real nice GIF you put together there BTW

On first gen Vibes, the "latch/handle" piece which is on the back hatch and contains the words "PONTIAC" would be a nice mod to make a mold of it and incorporate bright LED's in the lettering grooves to where the entire word "PONTIAC" lights up when hitting the brakes. I know I could create such a mod BUT it will have to wait till ........ someday