Phambam12

I was driving down a pretty steep hill and my tires were slipping due to the snow.

I was trying to follow the road and make a right at the bottom of this hill but my car slid straight into the curb at about 15 mph.

As i went to check the outside of the car... Nothing. no visible damage whatsoever.

but as i tried to drive off.. my car's steering wheel would not straighten out

it was only turning right and i was not able to turn the wheel left.

does anyone have any idea what it is?

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

alignment for sure. check the tie rods if they are damaged.

at a 15mph hit tie rods should be the only thing damaged, i think the control arms should be fine

Phambam12

my friend said the rack and pinion is damaged because i'm not able to turn the steering wheel to the left..

Phambam12

**i had to have the car towed to my house because the steering wheel would not turn**

lusid

I think your visual test failed :P

Time to take it into the shop.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

I say a combination of both rack & pinion and tie rods

GRAF-FITI

Probably bent the control arm as well

Jesstzn

Nothing stupid about snow .. usually driver error or wrong tires. Hope the damage isn't too bad.

YeuEmMaiMai

rack problems are going to be big $$$ when I curbed my car it was $4800 and change to repair..

GKinColo08TL

You have definitely bent the steering mechanism as well as other parts.

flyromeo3

^this

nfnsquared

Beat me to it!!!

ez12a

its interesting how i watch youtube vids of people living in snow states not using chains and crashing, slipping and sliding...but i use chains when it is snowing up at mammoth here in california.

maybe its just the habits of a californian and snow.

if there's snow on the road and i got all seasons, i'm putting chains on.

GRAF-FITI

Chains are not legal in all states

ez12a

hmm but it is in the OP's state, and also legal in Washington where many of those sliding incidents take place.

https://www.udot.utah.gov/public/uco...:T,V:385,53025

side thought: people make fun of californians when we get first rain of the year...and yet those people arent prepared for their own state's conditions.

GKinColo08TL

When driving to Mammoth many times those chains are required as they are here in Colorado in the mountains.

Cable chains perhaps, I think those are legal everywhere.
Sliding in the snow is driver error...not the snow's fault. Bottom line, the OP was going too fast to make the right turn at the bottom of the hill. Also, instead of hitting the curb with the wheels turned like he did he should have straightened out the steering wheel, then he most likely would have only needed an alignment.

GRAF-FITI

Dang now Utah has 2 laws going for it. : tire chains and polygamy.

PS Californians don't get made fun of just because of driving inability when it rains . Just saying

GKinColo08TL

Think pot will ever be legal in Utah?

bignutz

Lower Control are, Alignment, and possible inter/outer tie rod. I did the same about a month ago, and that is what I had to replace to get the car back to normal.

jblessing

My wife did something similar to my 3G...it was $3500 in repairs. The sub frame was bent (the bolt on the side of impact was sheared off, and the sub frame was 1-2" from where it should have been). Had to get a new wheel, and one other suspension part replaced. Amazingly the spring, strut, axle, and sway bar were all fine. Take it somewhere good...they may have to do a lot of work.

Grim.

They are working on it aren't they?

To the OP you need to learn how to handle your car in the snow, if you were going fast enough to destroy your steering when you hit the curb then you were going too damn fast on an icy road!!

I have a round about on a hill i have to tackle every time it snows or ices over and Ive never even clipped the curb.

DuoDSG

If your car isn't turning to the left at all, I'm willing to bet it's more than just the control arm (I've had to replace mine before, but it was able to still steer). It's almost certainly your tie rods as well. Hopefully not too much more than that, but I can't say since I can't see your car.

As for Utah's laws...

Chains are "required" when driving in a lot of places, especially the canyons, between November and March. I've never ONCE seen it enforced. There's a canyon 15 minutes away from my house here and most of the time there is no snow on the ground, so following the law to the letter means you would be using chains unnecessarily.

Ironically enough, the only place I've ever seen the use of chains enforced has been around Donner Pass (California-Nevada border), on the California side. Which is understandable- I detest that portion of I-80 more than anything else on this earth. It is a hellhole, no wonder people resorted to cannibalism there.

And I don't want to start a religious discussion, but polygamy has been outlawed for over 100 years, so I'm not sure why that stereotype got brought up. It's illegal everywhere, and if you want to find people that practice it openly, you need to go to places like Colorado City, AZ to find it.

As for pot...Utah is too politically and religiously conservative for that to happen. That's about all that needs to be said about that.

YeuEmMaiMai

you will be replacing some other parts soon like a wheel bearing.. and now 40K miles later I am replacing shocks due to left side (impact point) one wobbling around...

ez12a

heck when i use chains i dont feel mandated or enforced. i do it voluntarily when i see snow. OP tried without, and failed. I dont do it when the sun's out and the roads are clear and dry with no ice. Let's not get into the legality of it as that is irrelevant. It's kind of common sense and recognizing the road conditions, guys.

of course that's not the only reason..it is one, however.

ez12a

blows my mind no one in this video appears to use chains..and in Utah!

dont get me wrong there is a lot of driver error. but a lot of that can be mitigated with chains.

nfnsquared

Lesson learned... Pay attention to the forecast and only venture out if the forecast calls for smart snow...

DuoDSG

I was actually there when this video was filmed...my friend lives on that street and I had just flown in from the airport, so I crashed at her family's house for two days until things cleared up enough for my drive back up to Logan (and hour north).

So we got our parkas on, got some hot chocolate, sat on some lawn chairs and watched the craziness. But not just to be amazed at what was happening- I'm a certified first responder, so I was there with my kit in case people legitimately got hurt.

ez12a is right, though- it's about common sense and watching road conditions. This year we haven't had much snow where I live, so I haven't had to use chains yet, but I still have them in my trunk in case. They've saved my butt a few times.

Acura_Dude

Ez12a I remember seeing that vid. Now did anyone see that Trailblazer slide into the plow? Now if I'm not mistaken was that the SS version with 20s? If so I wonder if the owner actually had snow tires on it? I'm guessing all-seasons.

candrews

Most California drivers need chains on their cars like kids need training wheels on a bike. Both provide a safer and slower ride ;-) OK, I used to live in CA so don't flame too much! Seriously though, I've been through 7 Minnesota winters with the TL on decent snow tires - no studs and no chains. I've never had a problem and manage not to crash. Snow, ice, water, whatever the conditions the driver needs to be aware of his vehicles limitations and drive within them. That being said i've had some scary moments doing a 360 on an empty road...it's how we learn ;-)

OP - best of luck and glad this was not worse for you.

mattpete

iTrader: (4)

this is one of the reasons we have an MDX with snow tires… much more confident driving that as opposed to the TL.
We've only had the TL for a few months now so I haven't had time to do my summer/winter tire set up, also not sure if I will though as I really like the type-s waffles

For those of you running chains on your TL's what do you use?
Do you put them on all 4 wheels?

DuoDSG

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000UNLVD...I1RD3HYI4R5QO6

These babies. I only use them on the front two wheels.

GKinColo08TL

I was being quite facetious when I said that about legalizing pot in Utah...

lusid

Guys - you scared the OP away.

MilanoRedDashR

Overkill

usdmJON

Wont be overkill after youve hit the curb.

MilanoRedDashR

I can't imagine using chains just because of a little snow on the roads, lol

ez12a

same thought went through the OP's head.

this is just my opinion. if you want to gamble with your car, that's your prerogative. 20 or so people in that video i posted did.

another one in colorado:

Skier4lyfe303

iTrader: (32)

I had all season tires on my 3G TL, was going 20mph, hit some black ice (car was sliding for over 200 yards). Finally I went through a T intersection and hit the far curb. I had the wheel all the way turned to the right hoping I would get traction at some point and the car would turn but it never did.

What I had to replace:
-inner & outer tie rods on driver side
-front subframe
-front driver lower control arm
-front driver knuckle (came with new wheel bearing installed)

I took it to Firestone (have a lifetime alignment there) who said that they could not fix the alignment until all those things were replaced. Then I took it to another frame shop who verified what Firestone had said. I ordered all the parts from Acura of Peoria, was like $1600 (I got free shipping even though the subframe is huge because I spent over $750). Took the car to my local Honda and had a parts guy drop me off at home and pick up the parts I had received. They installed everything for $500 along with an H&R front sway bar. Went to Firestone to get an alignment once it was done at Honda and it went fine.

The only thing I see being an issue with hitting the curb head on is if you hit it hard enough to make a front impact sensor to go off, then you will be replacing the dash and driver air bag. Which is more than the front subframe.

I did notice the price of the MT front subframe dramatically increased in price as of recent (around $2600). Then I looked up the 07 Type S MT front subframe and it was around $800.

I read on here that the 07 MT subframe will work on the 04, which I too think will work. I also read that it is lighter because it is made out of magnesium instead of aluminum (like the 04-06 IM vs the 07/08 IM). Can anyone confirm it does indeed work or what it is made out of?

Skier4lyfe303

iTrader: (32)

Should of done my 10 minutes of research before posting.

All 04-06 TL's have the same Front subframe both Auto & MT
Part number 50200-SEP-A03 $2634

07 TL Part number 50200-SEP-A12 $782

08 TL Part number 50200-SEP-A13 $1232

These prices are from DCH Automotive Parts. The 07 & 08 parts numbers are for both Auto & Manual.

On DCH's website the diagrams for the 04-06 and the 07 are identical, while the 08 diagram is different. But I looked on other websites and they have the diagrams placed differently. The most logical thing would be 04-06 are one style and the 07/08 are another.