Rear-Ended; New Bumper?

93 Civic DX sedan. It was a collision hard enough that the drawer
beneath the radio opened and sent the coin change I keep there flying.
As I got out, I thought I would find the Civic's rear would be partly
flattened. I was amazed that externally, the bumper only showed
scratches. The exhaust system is intact. Is the integrity of the foam
etc. in the bumper compromised, though, after a hard rear-ending?

The police made their report. I spoke with my insurance company last
night. While only once before (on another car 20 years ago) of several
rear-endings have I pursued a claim, this collision was so hard that I
am concerned.

 

if there's no deformation, there's nothing to worry about.

if there is damage, of much more concern is whether you get to keep your
own car - if you have full insurance coverage, chances are, the insurer
will take your car, junk it, and give you a trivial settlement as
"market value". only insure old cars third party if you like them and
want to keep them.

 

if there's no deformation, there's nothing to worry about.

if there is damage, of much more concern is whether you get to keep your
own car - if you have full insurance coverage, chances are, the insurer
will take your car, junk it, and give you a trivial settlement as
"market value". only insure old cars third party if you like them and
want to keep them.

 

To clarify and/or double check: There is no deformation of the bumper
that appears on an external inspection. I asked the policeman about
the styrofoam inside, and he said the external plastic would often
bounce back, showing no deformation, but meanwhile the styrofoam
inside could be permanently deformed.

Is this not so from your understanding of bumper construction?

Thanks for giving this some time.

 

To clarify and/or double check: There is no deformation of the bumper
that appears on an external inspection. I asked the policeman about
the styrofoam inside, and he said the external plastic would often
bounce back, showing no deformation, but meanwhile the styrofoam
inside could be permanently deformed.

Is this not so from your understanding of bumper construction?

Thanks for giving this some time.

 

Hope you were OK. Did you see it coming?

The foam is usually cracked and compressed. If you push on the bumper skin
with your hand, you'll probably find that there is air space that wasn't
there before. You may have a slightly increased chance of parking-lot
damage to the skin (creasing, paint cracking) than you did before, but
otherwise it should be OK.

You can try reaching inside from underneath with your hand (don't know if
you'll actually be able to touch the foam) and see if the foam is loose.

Is there obvious displacement of the bumper skin relative to the trunk,
taillights and fenders? Does the trunk still shut exactly as it did before?

The trunk latch is right next to the bumper, so it's a pretty good proxy
for evidence of structural deformation.

 

Hope you were OK. Did you see it coming?

The foam is usually cracked and compressed. If you push on the bumper skin
with your hand, you'll probably find that there is air space that wasn't
there before. You may have a slightly increased chance of parking-lot
damage to the skin (creasing, paint cracking) than you did before, but
otherwise it should be OK.

You can try reaching inside from underneath with your hand (don't know if
you'll actually be able to touch the foam) and see if the foam is loose.

Is there obvious displacement of the bumper skin relative to the trunk,
taillights and fenders? Does the trunk still shut exactly as it did before?

The trunk latch is right next to the bumper, so it's a pretty good proxy
for evidence of structural deformation.

 

:

The cop is correct. A junkyard crawl will confirm this.

The steel bumper rebar is bolted to the car. The foam is affixed to the
bumper skin which covers the rebar.

The foam is meant primarily to hold the bumper skin out to its finished
dimensions and shape. It also absorbs very minor "parking lot" type nudges.
Under heavier impacts, the foam tends to compress and break up into large
chunks. Those chunks often stay in place on account of the shape of the
skin, but they can become dislodged and even fall out.

Theoretically, the rebar comes into play above 2.5mph (5mph in Canada), and
theoretically protects the lights and other safety systems from damage
during those impacts. Although I've seen too many instances where the
bumper appears to have provided little more protection than a 1960s bumper,
while costing a lot more.

 

:

The cop is correct. A junkyard crawl will confirm this.

The steel bumper rebar is bolted to the car. The foam is affixed to the
bumper skin which covers the rebar.

The foam is meant primarily to hold the bumper skin out to its finished
dimensions and shape. It also absorbs very minor "parking lot" type nudges.
Under heavier impacts, the foam tends to compress and break up into large
chunks. Those chunks often stay in place on account of the shape of the
skin, but they can become dislodged and even fall out.

Theoretically, the rebar comes into play above 2.5mph (5mph in Canada), and
theoretically protects the lights and other safety systems from damage
during those impacts. Although I've seen too many instances where the
bumper appears to have provided little more protection than a 1960s bumper,
while costing a lot more.

 

Yes thanks no injuries; just shook up. Mostly while waiting for the
police report I was just really unhappy that my beloved Honda may have
been blemished+ or more. I was and am really irritated with the person
who caused this and have half a mind to maximize her insurance
company's hit to compel her to think twice while she drives (with two
small kids in the car). But gosh I loathe insurance companies, so...

I was at a stoplight that had turned green yet the cars in front of me
were not moving. So I did not see it coming.

I will do all the checks you described soon. Thank you for the detail!

 

Yes thanks no injuries; just shook up. Mostly while waiting for the
police report I was just really unhappy that my beloved Honda may have
been blemished+ or more. I was and am really irritated with the person
who caused this and have half a mind to maximize her insurance
company's hit to compel her to think twice while she drives (with two
small kids in the car). But gosh I loathe insurance companies, so...

I was at a stoplight that had turned green yet the cars in front of me
were not moving. So I did not see it coming.

I will do all the checks you described soon. Thank you for the detail!

 

Glad you are all right.

When I got rear-ended, I was stopped a bit short behind another car
waiting to make a left turn. I watched in the rear view mirror as a
driver of a little econo-box stomped her brakes, making the rear end pop
up and swerve back and forth as it approaced my bumper. I had a split
second to turn my car left, but not into oncoming traffic, to avert the
oncoming blow. Luckily she turned out of my lane and a full-on smash to
just graze the rear right corner of my bumper cover. Deep scratches in
the plastic, but fixable. I should have made the insurance pay for a
whole new bumper, but instead, I just had her pay for paint. I just
repaired and repainted the whole bottom of the cover that needed
refreshing anyway. I didn't give much thought to the styrofoam underneath.

It is fairly easy to remove the rear bumper to see what's going on under
there.

dan

 

Glad you are all right.

When I got rear-ended, I was stopped a bit short behind another car
waiting to make a left turn. I watched in the rear view mirror as a
driver of a little econo-box stomped her brakes, making the rear end pop
up and swerve back and forth as it approaced my bumper. I had a split
second to turn my car left, but not into oncoming traffic, to avert the
oncoming blow. Luckily she turned out of my lane and a full-on smash to
just graze the rear right corner of my bumper cover. Deep scratches in
the plastic, but fixable. I should have made the insurance pay for a
whole new bumper, but instead, I just had her pay for paint. I just
repaired and repainted the whole bottom of the cover that needed
refreshing anyway. I didn't give much thought to the styrofoam underneath.

It is fairly easy to remove the rear bumper to see what's going on under
there.

dan

 

I checked everything people listed here. The factory shop manual has a
single page for directions on how to get the bumper cover and
styrofoam absorber apart, and it is dead-on correct in what (easily
accessed) screws and bolts to remove. Everything looks good! I am
amazed that the styrofoam absorber is not cracked nor does it appear
deformed. At most, the bottom 3/8-inch of the styrofoam has small
indentations from where gravel from the road accumulated over the
years between the styrofoam and bumper cover. Then the gravel got
pushed into the styrofoam some, either from this rear-ending or lesser
ones over the years. The bumper beam looks fine.

I guess the styrofoam, the bumper beam, and the car moving some upon
collision took the force (in the vein of Tegger's post). Kudos to
Honda engineers or whoever sets standards for bumpers. A little more
touchup paint here and there; some Armor All, and I think my Civic
will be good to go.

Thanks again Jim, Tegger and Dan.

 

I checked everything people listed here. The factory shop manual has a
single page for directions on how to get the bumper cover and
styrofoam absorber apart, and it is dead-on correct in what (easily
accessed) screws and bolts to remove. Everything looks good! I am
amazed that the styrofoam absorber is not cracked nor does it appear
deformed. At most, the bottom 3/8-inch of the styrofoam has small
indentations from where gravel from the road accumulated over the
years between the styrofoam and bumper cover. Then the gravel got
pushed into the styrofoam some, either from this rear-ending or lesser
ones over the years. The bumper beam looks fine.

I guess the styrofoam, the bumper beam, and the car moving some upon
collision took the force (in the vein of Tegger's post). Kudos to
Honda engineers or whoever sets standards for bumpers. A little more
touchup paint here and there; some Armor All, and I think my Civic
will be good to go.

Thanks again Jim, Tegger and Dan.

 

Postscript: On reflecting on this accident and preventing it in the
future, and from reading Dan's post, I think one of the lessons here
is when there is a green light yet people ahead of one's car are not
moving, glance at the rear-view mirror throughout and see what people
in the back are doing. Maybe scoot the car up a little until people
start moving.

 

Postscript: On reflecting on this accident and preventing it in the
future, and from reading Dan's post, I think one of the lessons here
is when there is a green light yet people ahead of one's car are not
moving, glance at the rear-view mirror throughout and see what people
in the back are doing. Maybe scoot the car up a little until people
start moving.

 

Yes moving forward when the vehicles in front of your vehicle haven't
moved would increase the odds of having your vehicle pushed into the
vehicle ahead of yours. Increasing the amount of damage to your vehicle
and involving other vehicles and people in the collision.

 

Yes moving forward when the vehicles in front of your vehicle haven't
moved would increase the odds of having your vehicle pushed into the
vehicle ahead of yours. Increasing the amount of damage to your vehicle
and involving other vehicles and people in the collision.

 

That design was why I chose a Civic Si over a VW Golf in '86. (The
VW salesman cheerfully explained the Golf's lack of a 5MPH bumper:
"That's what the collision insurance is for!") And it survived at least
one significant impact unscathed.