Summary:
I have a 2009 Fit. I ran off road into snow bank at ~20 mph along a left turn, due to some light snow covering and not judging the turn correctly. The front of car was buried, and it took 4 guys pushing to get it out. What things should I check for damage?

Long story:
I was driving along when I came up to a 90 degree left hand turn. The road was more slippery than I anticipated, and I'm not as awesome a driver as I thought, and my Fit goes into a snow bank at around 20 mph (maybe even slower, because the deceleration wasn't that abrupt).

The front passenger wheel was barely off the pavement. Front of the Fit was buried in the snow, and the Fit didn't budge at all. I'm ready to call a tow truck when 4 or 5 cool guys came by and helped push me out.

I barely miss a metal pole, and cosmetically everything seems ok. No warning lights came up (yet), and when I had a peek under the car there wasn't anything dangling, but there's snow packed everywhere so it's a bit hard to see.

Is there anything specific I should check for under the car? Did I get lucky and escape without any harm to myself or my Fit?!

As an aside, my thought process during the entire episode:
1. IT'S NOT TUUUUURNING
2. OH NOES SNOOOOOOOOW BAAAAAAANK
3. NOOOOO my poor fit
4. #%^@! I'm stuck

 

i would check alignment, and pretty much anything with moving parts in the front end. i would worry about mechanical stuff before bodywork for sure.

 

check the radiator lol

 

Definitely agree about the bodywork. As for alignment, I didn't notice anything too amiss, but I'll check further tomorrow when I go out.

I guess I'll head to the dealer to let them have a look .

Thank god I did the condenser mesh mod, otherwise I'd be in trouble .

 

Check your bank account, and then buy snow tires.

I wouldn't worry too much about this one - if nothing obvious is wrong, chances are very good that nothing is wrong. I've slid cars off the road quite a few times. Minor bodywork things are the most likely issue - bumper clips, front lip, etc. And an alignment is a very good idea, but anyone who has a daily driver that goes through winter weather & bad roads should get an alignment every spring regardless.

 

Body condition is secondary, if you notice it later you can fix it.


Check for alignment issues, Front suspension problems, steering problems, pay attention for any feed back from the steering wheel that youdid not get before....Hmmmm


Try to scrape out the snow and take a good look at things. Odds are you are fine, take it into the dealer for a precautionary look over (are you under warranty?)



I have plowed into snow alot harder and done nothing. Snow is pretty forgiving as long as there were no curbs or poles hiding in it.

 

This event did make me kick myself for not getting snow tires. Live and learn I guess. The collision into the snow bank wasn't enough to dislodge the bumper. I've been meaning to get an alignment anyway, so maybe this will be a good reason to do it .

I plan on getting the snow out tomorrow. I am still under warranty, is that a good thing or a bad thing? (I don't mind paying for the inspection, or stuff I broke, though I would be concerned that they would invalidate coverage on any suspension component further down the line, though I'm probably just paranoid...).

Funny you should mention a pole, there actually was one hidden in the snow bank, but I barely missed it.

Thanks for the reassurances that everything is probably OK. I've just been very freaked out by this, since it's the first time anything like this has happened!

 

Well the thing about warranties....They cover the car breaking, but not if you screw it up...So you need to think carefully about what you say if you want it done under warranty.

Think along the lines of " I have noticed this ------ problem for awhile, can you take a look?"

--------- NOT -------- "Damn man I rally car'ed into a snow bank it was sick!! Oh and fix my ride man!"


And it sounds like you did not roll over anything that would cause damage so I bet your fine.

Suspension damage etc, would only come from slamming into something (A La curb) at 20 +, if you did that expect bent wheel, bent tie rods, etc.....

 

Oh I'm not trying to have the damage covered under warranty -- I messed up so it should be on me to pay for it -- I'm more worried about that, I dunno, in maybe 30k miles I'll have a wheel bearing problem and they'll say... hmm, yea, that snow bank you crashed into 2 years ago did it, too bad.

In any case, based on what everybody's said, I should be safe -- no curb under the snow, no poles, the snow was soft and I drove it home alright. I'll clean out the snow tomorrow, have a look underneath, and drive it on the highway and if everything's OK, then I won't worry about it.

Thanks for all the help!

 

To follow up, I took the Fit out today and nothing seemed out of the ordinary in terms of steering or moving, no lights on the dash, and no strange sounds.

I did take a few pics.

Underneath the Fit -- I don't think snow usually gets into all those places...



I got most of the snow out in the DIY car wash, but I'll probably have to wait a few days for the rest of it to melt. I think I avoided disaster this time .

 

Since you didn't hit anything, I think you're fine.

This happened to me semi-intentionally in December 1970. We were driving along the rim of the Grand Canyon, on a packed snow road. Since the Honda N600 was my first experience with a FWD car, I decided to practice skids, using the parking brake. After successfully steering through several skids at higher and higher skids, I ended up on the side of the road, with snow up to the headlights. Two guys in a Jeep, from Ohio, headed for the Rose Bowl, pulled us out. We didn't tell them we were UM graduates. My wife was seething. Now I practice skids only in empty parking lots.

 

Glad to know you are OK and looks like the Fit just has some cosmetic damage. We got hit by another big snow this morning and I was thankful it was Saturday and the Fit could stay in the garage for the day. I really can not wait for spring!

Cat :x

 

huh.. i have the same dent in the same spot. in my case i didnt hit a snow bank but some pickup truck decided to smash into me.

 

here... hope this makes you feel like part of the team..(?) hahaha.

 

i couldve been much worse... like my other GD...

 

It does make me feel a little better .

 

I had my '09 for 3 months when I ran it off a rock ledge in a dirt road at 10 MPH and buckled the right front fender when the wheel rolled off the rock and the fender grounded out on it. The first one's always the worst.

Then, back in January, I hit a deer on the way home from a band gig, and crumpled the hood. I hadn't had an insurance claim in the previous 14 years. I buy a Fit and BAM!- 2 accidents in 8 months! I'm telling you, man, there's bad juju at work here.

 

Car seems all good .

 

I ran over a snowbank avoiding another driver who did a super wide exit out of a parking lot.. actually it was more like an ice bank and it was -30c or so.. tore up the dirt shield and snow got packed all over the place.

get the snow out from in between everything under the engine/exhaust area.. I had snow buildup in there from just regular driving during a snowstorm and it packed in nice and tight then melted a bit and turned to ice and the vibration of the engine and exhaust at certain rpms rattled the whole cabin pretty bad because there was no space for the absorbing mounts to work.

2007 manual SSM