akiko2012

So I was westbound on I-10 heading up to PHX one cool evening last week. About 20 minutes out, I suddenly see a ball of light brown fur dart out from brushes on the the center median. Too late, by the time I could react, it was dead center in front of the TL and underneath the car. Huge BUMP!!! Not a bump from a rock but a fleshy bump. I just hit a coyote, javalena, or lost dog with my 6 month old TL. Not really sure. Too hard to see and was driving too fast. What a way to christen the car. WTF!!!!

So I check the alignment, tire pressure, handling, etc...everything seems ok. Five minutes later, high temp indicator goes off. There's a smell of coolant and something musky. WTF again!!!

Finally pulled over...coolant leaking all over. Confirmed the musky smell with some sort of fur on the underside of front bumper. Saw some bent metal but since it was too dark, couldn't assess the damage well enough. Long story short...had the TL towed to the dealership. Finally saw the damages...radiator bent and flushed 1/2 inch away from the engine. Body shop time. Insurance time. BEEP BEEP!!!

Pics of the damages below:

Wooty Woo

In your first picture, do you know what that cable that is dangling underneath your bumper? I have the same cable unattached and I'm unsure where it connects to.

Any input would help.


My condolences on the new ride visiting the body shop so quickly!

Redstorm

^That's the cable that attaches to the outside temp sensor on the front bumper.

potmilkz

cable suppose to be attached to your bumper with a oem zip tie thingy.

you probably broke it off while you were doing some mods with taking off the bumper.

on to OP case.



How big was the roadrunner?

it looks to be pretty big (maybe size of a peacock?) to be doing such damage to your radiator and radiator support..

under9hell

I hit a deer once long time ago at night, it was nasty. At least you're okay! Always think about the bright side!

akiko2012

^correct sir...the car did its job by keeping the passenger safe.

it was actually a coyote and that's why the road-runner got away. hehe...;-)
...however i can't confirm what i hit but it was a furry animal. they say chupakabras roam these parts of the country at night. i'll never know for sure.

Pseudomaniac

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