by Guest » Wed Dec 10, 2008 06:21 am
I was just in an accident last night in my 08 Nissan Sentra. 2 weeks ago my car had a brake recall done for a faulty master cylinder. Traffic stopped abruptly in front of me, I slammed on my brakes (the first time doing so since the repair), and the brakes did not respond as they should have, and I plowed into the back of a Ford Excursion. As of right now, the body shop is estimating $10,600 in repairs or 68% of the value of my car. they said the insurance generally will total the vehicle at 70%. They are unable to check the status of my brake system until the car has multiple repairs made. What can I do to help this process along to get the vehicle totaled? With the brakes failing and such extensive front end damage, I do NOT want this vehicle back, as I have a 10 month old daughter, and need a safe car. Any input would be much appreciated, thank you.
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:36 am Post Subject:
mistyc, you need to stop these repairs right now! if they haven't begun do not allow them to..you need to get a claim filed with nissian on this...have you told your adjuster about this? Nissian should be handling this entire claim including the damage to the other vehicle...and any injuries why allow your rates to go up? Seriously you need to think about this, now I'll tell you more than likely it will slow down the process but in the end you will be much better off...what did your adjuster say? because (IMO) if they pay the other party AT ALL, it should be under innocent party, and without liability accept against you at all...this is called a ''products liablity' claim, I hope you stop these repairs and save the evidence you it will be too late, your policy will pay and so will you (deductible and increased premium for years to come)
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 01:07 pm Post Subject:
Wow really sorry to hear this happened to you. I would do exactly what Lori says and stop all the repairs. This is Nissans baby to handle. It may be discouraging to have the claim slowed down but I agree if the problem was in the faulty braking system why allow your rates to go up. Also you may be able to request to not have this vehicle anymore even if they do think they can fix it. I woudl give the adjuster a call asap. Let us know how it all works out and Good Luck.
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 02:25 pm Post Subject:
If your insurance company is addressing the damage to the vehicle and there were no injuries, then it's your carriers responsiblity to address any subrogation. You will be out your deductible and you could file a claim against Nissan for this but...
It would need to be shown that the brakes were not repaired correctly _and_ that this lead to you rear ending the other vehicle. I can't tell you the number of times I've had someone tell me that the could not stop as the brakes did not work correctly. Usually this means that the person did not press on them soon enough (i.e. nothing wrong with the brakes, it's just the person blaming the brakes). I'm not saying this happen in your situation but I also doubt that you did not apply the brakes _once_ before the accident. You did not need to stop or slow down when leaving the dealerships lot?
The claim would not be against the manufacture, it would be against the dealership who made the repairs.
I think there is a good chance that your carrier might have someone quickly look over the brakes but I'm betting that they won't look into it too hard and will probably just pay the claim and close it. This does not mean you cannot pursue recovery against the dealership for your deductible amount. But without the financial backing of your carrier, this would probably not be worth it. Again, your carrier might pursue a recovery claim, I'm just guessing on what I think will happen.
How can you get your carrier to total the vehicle? You can't make them do this but you can explain to the adjuster that you would like for them to consider it a total loss and from you see, you think there is going to be "several supplements" so it "might be better for them to total it out". That is, you can try to lead the adjuster into that frame of thinking. If they don't total it and it's repaired, you can then sell it for it's value of your don't want to keep it.
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 02:41 pm Post Subject:
Here's my thought on this though Tcope, I've had claims that were to be subro'd back onto the manu. or the repair facility, and the main deal is they will require, or demand the opportunity to inspect this prior to anything being done with it or deny the claim...and rightfully so...that is why IMO i'd stop these repairs, talk to the adjuster and also get ahold of Nissian...I wouldn't want to 'lose' out because I went ahead with the repair instead of letting them inspect it as it sets...
T, I don't think the OP was saying he had not applied the brakes, but rather than he hadn't 'slammed' on the brakes or had to stop quickly in an emergency situation.
I slammed on my brakes (the first time doing so since the repair)
Also OP, I reviewed this recall, and I don't see that the recalled problem would've caused your brakes to fail, without a warning light coming on...which really was the biggest part of the recall, ''if the warning lamp is ignored one of the brake circuits on the vehicle may not operate as designed increasing the risk of a crash' (it will leak brake fluid causing the light to come on and eventually leak out enough to cause it not to operate 'if' you don't address the light)...HOWEVER, the repair or faulty repair COULD cause the brakes to fail..do you know if they indeed did replace the master cylinder? If they did they they would've had to bleed the brake system...and this could be were an issue resulted...did your abs work properly? Has the shop indicated that they can see anything wrong with the brakes? (ie abs sensor not plugged in? brake line leaking or damaged? etc).
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 02:51 pm Post Subject:
Not to say what happen but I'm still seeing red flags. Why did the OP need to "slam" on the brakes? Sounds like he was not paying attention and needed to stop very quickly. Sound like what anyone described above?
My point was that it's the carriers responsiblity to protect _their_ right of recovery, not the OPs. His only right of recovery against the repairer is for his deductible. Granted, the OP should have told the adjuster that he thinks the brakes were not repaired correctly but it looks like he's already done this. So unless he wants to go after the repairer for his deductible amount, it should not matter to him if his carrier does not handle the recovery correctly.
Note: If his carrier really wanted to pursue recovery, they would see about reading the computer information stored when the brakes were applied (usually this is recorded if the air bags deployed).
Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 03:26 pm Post Subject:
My air bags did not deploy, as when I hit the vehicle in front of me,the shop explained to me, that because I went underneath the Explorer, my bumper sensors were not triggered- the bumper is entirely intact.
The brake issue is exactly what Lori explained, I had obviously used the brakes, but not in an emergency situation. I had to stop abruptly due to traffic literally coming to a sudden stand still (there was another accident less than 2 blocks away from what the security personnel <it>) told me.
I told my adjuster about my concerns immediately, and he seemed to think that the fault would still be mine because I didn't "know that the brakes were faulty and should have returned the car to Nissan if I had any concerns about the brakes".
I was given a rental car that was also a Nissan, and I believe that the brake system was not bled properly after the master cylinder was repaired, and there was an air bubble. Reason being, as soon as I started driving a similar Nissan, I could tell that my brake system wasn't as responsive as the similar car- it had more play in the pedal.
Thank you for your replies, no repairs have begun yet, the body shop is currently trying to talk to my adjuster about totaling the car because due to the damage to my wiring and computer system in the accident they can't properly pull information to see what happened with the brake system. I am going to call the Nissan dealership today and let them know what happened, and call my adjuster as well to reiterate my concerns.
Thank you again
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:47 am Post Subject:
So unless he wants to go after the repairer for his deductible amount, it should not matter to him if his carrier does not handle the recovery correctly
No, Todd, my concern was more with the carrier jumping all over the PD and not as an innocent...thus affecting his rates...I have successfully denied third party claims and also have handled them under 'innocent third party' on this type of claim...however it is of the utmost importance to preserve the evidence...also OP if you have a light of any kind on the dash on (abs maybe?) then there will be stored codes whether the bags deployed or not...it may be all for not...but if it were me and i KNEW those brakes failed, i'd be all over it...OP since you said you slammed on the brakes did you notice the abs kick in? it's kind of like a pulsating of the brakes or like they were on and off, pumping them like feeling (wow that's hard for me to even understand.. :roll: )Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:52 am Post Subject:
No I didn't get that sensation at all, I know what you mean. It honestly felt like the brakes were soft. At the site of the accident there are skid marks where I applied my brakes, not the typical grab and release of ABS either.
The body shop called me today to inform me after completing the tear down- it is 72% of the value. Now we are just waiting on the adjuster to make his decision. The dealership that performed the brake repair did not really seem surprised when I called them about my concerns today, they told me to let them know what was decided about the vehicle being totaled or not, and they would "see what they could do"
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 06:12 am Post Subject:
The claim would not be against the manufacture, it would be against the dealership who made the repairs.
This is what I was curios to know. Maybe the brakes have worn out with the use and therefore required mending. Nissian may not be responsible for the damages but the bodyshop or the dealer store which has made the repairs on the car afterwards. Can Nissian still be held responsible for the damages?
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:16 am Post Subject:
Maybe the brakes have worn out with the use and therefore required mending
That's not possible Jeorge in a two week period, unless you spent that entire 2wks applying the brakes.. :wink: It would be the dealership who is nissian...Add your comment