I High-Centered My Car Yesterday

Defrost · Nov 7, 2010

:doh: :doh: :doh:

It was a long, tiring, stressful day. I won't go into the details of how I did it, because it was just stupidity. There was a curb, a really wide one, and my poor car ended up straddling it.

The two young men in the car behind me, and my dh, helped me push it back off the curb. It made a horrible noise, but no parts were left behind and nothing's leaking. (They didn't even take pictures to post on the internet to mock.)

Anything in particular we should check for, besides just looking at the underside and looking for broken stuff? I'm pretty sure I should have the alignment checked?

tweetykl · Nov 7, 2010

I'm sorry. I've done it before too.

Auntie2Avi · Nov 7, 2010

I don't know anything about cars but I wanted to give you {{{HUGS}}}.

Once my dad gave his car to the valet (literally right after coming home from the car being serviced at the dealership) and they must have driven over a curb. When he got the car back it was making a strange noise and drove really weirdly. $500 later it was fixed, sadly with no way to prove it was the valet that did it.

Judi · Nov 7, 2010

I NEED to know how you did that.

Defrost · Nov 7, 2010

LOL fine!

We were helping my friend move her stuff into a storage unit. We were leaving, me in my car, dh in the U-haul. I had the code-key to get OUT of the storage area; dh didn't. I pulled up to the gate and waited for dh to catch up so we could both leave at the same time. He got hung-up somewhere, and then someone else pulled up behind me. I waved at him to back up so I could let him out; he didn't back up very far so I tried to just turn left and swing around - and found that stupid curb.

It really is a stupid curb - there's really no reason for it to be there at all, and you can't see it when you're sitting next to it. I hit it, thought it was just the edge, so I kept going. Oops. It's about the width of a sidewalk. Ouch.

I got out just as the guy behind me was running up, and I just looked at him and said "It's really not my day." He was so sweet about it, though, didn't make fun of me or imply that only a woman would do something like that.

Judi · Nov 7, 2010

No, it is our job to make fun of you, not his.

npauli · Nov 7, 2010

I'd just take a good look underneath. What looks like the low points that would hit first? Can you find the scrape marks to see what hit? Does the exhaust, suspension, and drivetrain look ok?

OK:
scrapes & scratches
slight bends in heat shields, etc.

Get checked:
dangling wires
anything bent that looks structural
any sign of oil, xmsn fluid, brake fluid leaks
any new noises or smells that might indicate an exhaust leak
any new vibrations or sounds

urchin_grey · Nov 7, 2010

Oh no! I almost did that once... I drove a tiny, low-to-the-ground car at the time and I parked somewhere with parking lot blocks, which I'm totally not used to. There wasn't a car in front of me on the other side and there was a line of cars behind me, so I decided to just pull through to the other side. I was already so close to the damn thing though, that my front tires were over it before I could stop. Made a HORRID noise going over it too.

3acorns4Christy · Nov 7, 2010

I did do that once. I was driving my dads tiny tiny festiva, was trying to pay attention to the whole clutch thing (yes I can barely drive a stick, and am naturally blonde). Suddenly a random small island (traffic circle, but too small to actually work) appears in the middle of the intersection. I go over it and ended up straddling it. Luckily I had a friend that lived down the street it was on, somehow never noticed that thing before. He laughed a lot and my dad freaked when I got home, until we drove over to where it happened and I showed him where the circle was. He admitted he probably would have hit it too.

flipper68 · Nov 7, 2010

My dad did that - in a 4 wheel drive Bronco, no less!

We were out "drift busting" during

a snow storm [Think drive around looking for piles of snow that will act the same as a big puddle. Problem was, one of the "drifts" wasn't a drift - it was plowed snow (think ice) covered with fresh snow. OOPS!

Rather embarrassing to get hung up in a 4w dr. but IIRC, there was no damage to anything but ego.

Hope your car is okay.

skitle1802 · Nov 7, 2010

We were in line at a taco bell once and a lady thought the drive thru was an immediate right from the driveway into the parking lot. She was in a pilot or something and ended up stuck on a landscape rock in the middle of a grass parking lot divider. The guys at the jiffy lube next door brought out a jack and helped her get off it. I felt so bad for her, I knew my DH would give me hell if I did that. Hope everything is ok with your car. :thumbsup:

lovinwaves · Nov 7, 2010

I bet the Mazda dealership would be kind enough to put it up on their car lift and take a quick peak for you. Honda was gracious enough to check the underneath of my car after some kids set off a roll of 500 firecrackers that ended up under my car. They also gave an estimate to me on the inside damage to the cloth fabric and carpet.

And yowch to your car! LOL

spokaneCPST · Nov 7, 2010

My grandma did that once when I was little. I was riding with her to the lake and we stopped at the bank while the rest of the family drove separately. She made me promise not to tell my dad. Of course, I told him as soon as we got to the lake. He found the damage and asked GMA what happened without mentioning that I told. It was actually kind of funny, but she didn't think so.

beeman · Nov 8, 2010

Check the oil pans (engine and tranny) very carefully for slow leaks now and a couple times in the next few weeks.

Defrost · Nov 14, 2010

Beeman, you called it! There's a slow leak somewhere, my dad says probably the power steering fluid. Not much visible damage; some kind of insulation got torn and rubbed off? It was shiny silver on the outside. It's a bit more noisy on bumpy roads, but I think that's the alignment, which I'll get fixed this week (after payday!)

Thanks for all the replies everyone! It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Pixels · Nov 14, 2010

What color is the fluid? Putting a white paper towel under the drip will help you tell what color it is, better than trying to guess what color the drop on the asphalt is. Most automotive fluids have unique or near-unique colors to really help narrow it down.

Defrost · Nov 14, 2010

Pixels said:
What color is the fluid? Putting a white paper towel under the drip will help you tell what color it is, better than trying to guess what color the drop on the asphalt is. Most automotive fluids have unique or near-unique colors to really help narrow it down.

It's not dripping onto the ground; it's too slow a leak. It's getting caught in the pan/spoiler/thingie under the car, so it all looks black. It's in the area right under the power steering reservoir, though; only other thing over there is the windshield wiper fluid and engine coolant, and it doesn't smell like antifreeze.

My dad topped up all the fluids so they're marked and he can keep an eye on them and check next week or so and see if one looks like it's lost more than it should have.

littleangelfire · Nov 14, 2010

I didn't know it had a name - but I've done that once. Tilted in the car back and forth until the front wheels hit the ground and I could go again.

Defrost · Nov 15, 2010

Alignment's all good! :thumbsup:

I should change the title of the thread to say "How well a Mazda 5 stands up to abuse." But then I'd have to add the two times I ran her out of oil (seriously!) and the engine survived, and the time I drove her up a mountain (literally!)

And THAT would be embarrassing!

Pixels · Nov 16, 2010

How do you manage to run it out of oil? No matter how it's losing the oil, the oil pressure light should come on long before it's out of oil.

I High-Centered My Car Yesterday

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