Rear-Ended: Gap around trunk wide... how prevent water leak?
 

Hi. Got in first accident in my 04 TSX today when I was rear-ended by a big ol' 2003 Dodge Durango SLT (my and my wife's biggest concern is latent pain in our 15month old daughter who was in her car seat). Needless to say the TSX lost that battle and the rear bumper panel is toast as is the trunk lid. Speaking of which...

The gap around the trunk lid is certainly widened now and, living in Seattle, I'm concerned about water leaking in before I can get it into a shop hopefully in the next two days. Is there anything you guys know of that can help me temporarily seal the gaps without causing paint damage that I'll be held responsible for?

:( Sorry about your accident.

Sorry to hear about the accident and hope everyone is okay. The rain has been crazy around here lately... If you can, post a pic so we can come up with a suitable suggestion to prevent the water leak.

I would use a combination of plastic and painter's tape to secure it down. Sorry to hear about the accident and especially the injuries to your young daughter. Best of luck.

Quick note: she seems to be ok, but symptoms of whiplash can take hours to manifest... and it can be bad news for a baby (yes, I'm probably overreacting - but that's my job, damn it!).

If you see vomitting or erradic behaviors, then be concerned. Good news is kids are tougher than we give them credit for.

I too was rear ended by a Durango on a rainy day. I took it to the body shop right away. All they did was cover it in plastic and it sat in the rain until they got to it. $7,600 later all is dry and new. I wouldn't worry about causing additional paint damage. Panels will probably need to be replaced and painted to blend with the rest of the car.

damn sorry dude. Don't worry, i'm sure the youngin will recover much faster than us adults can.

As for ur leak, just take some plastic painters covering stuff (to protect floors) and seal around with automotive tape or painters tape, they're good for like a week w/o damage.

Best news: daughter was merely a touch sore/cranky like her parents but otherwise we all seem to be ok and it's been over 24hrs.

Temporary fix: I went ahead and used wide-strip painters tape to seal up the trunk where I thought water might leak in. An a good thing, too, since it started raining again!

Repairs: Unfortunately, my car is 26 months old so my insurance (USAA) treats it like a "used" car in terms of forcing the repair shops to locate used or after market parts before resorting to those awful OEM parts. Sigh. Initial estimate based on visual repairs is 5 days and about $2k. Based on experience in my Integra where I had the bumper replaced twice due to being rear ended, I can guarantee that it will be 10 days and $5k - $7.5k based on the parts and materials between the bumper and the frame. So I get to drive a Chevy Malibu or Dodge Stratus for two lovely weeks (unless I want to pay $$ out of pocket for a better rental).

New thing learned: the repair shop's estimator said that, based on the damage, he'd be less concerned about water leaking in than air, in that the exhaust can curl up and around the trunk area and, unless the windows are open to equalize pressure in the car, the exhaust can be sucked back into the trunk and leak into the passenger cabin. So, in other words, the painters tape for water protection was a good idea, but for life protection even better!!