5th generation (2023) engine racing after accident

Anybody know what happened?

I was rear-ended by a big construction rig and pushed into another...

After the initial impact from behind, i pressed even harder on my brakes and then hit the car in front. After impact, my engine started racing, but was disengaged from the transmission. It was still in drive. I tried putting it in park and back into drive, but it would not engage in gear.

I shut the engine off and it did work and I was able to drive it.

Did I activate a system like the hill holder or something else?

The tow hitch was pushed an inch or so into the spare. The Toyota body shop says they have a special machine to deal with that.

I was warned that pushing my engine concerns might inspire the insurance company to total it.

No pictures because there's a potential lawsuit...

 

If you got it in the front and rear at the same time, you probably snapped the drive line shaft.

 

Is there a solenoid that engages/disengages? I was able to drive it to the body shop.

 

Argh!!! Noooooo!!!! That sucks man! Hopefully you’re ok (not a question, no need to answer that here given the potential lawsuit).

It’s hard to say what caused the high RPM. How high was the RPM? Was it bouncing off the rev limiter, or less than that?

Was it RPM as if it was unloaded in neutral, or is it possible that the trans was still engaged but the brakes were clamped down automatically as if in a safety mode in response to a collision?

When you put it into park, did the RPM stay high, go higher, or settle down to normal?

Did the high RPM happen after the initial impact, or after impact with the car in front?

If your hitch receiver got pushed in, that means your crossmember is bent/dented in. That’s a pretty hard hit. Even if they can’t bend it back into shape, it’s probably not enough to total it. I bet they could weld in a new crossmember. That said, it’s probably worth some diagnostic time figuring out why the high RPM happened. Wouldn’t want that to happen on the road.

 

It’s not a broken driveshaft if you drove it after the collision.

 

My Volvo 145 stick shift had a similar engine speed issue after getting rear ended. Seems the firewall moved and rear frame slightly bent. I simply adjusted the idle and drove it. The vehicle that hit me was a junker with a half drunk driver.

Your runner may have suffered hidden damage. Do you have all the other drivers insurance info? You do not want to gloss over this accident as claims need filing timely. Be sure to describe mechanical drive train damage and get a estimate from top notch body shop. Do your research on its pre-accident value. Try to detach from it and study all your options. You can always find a clean replacement same year & model. Then move your accessories to replacement rig. Its value has been compromised due to no fault by you.
My 2 cents.

 

Anything could have happened, it needs a competent professional to go over it, we’d only be guessing.

 

i'm sorry, I realize this is not helpful but i've been waiting for an accident-related thread so I could post this photo from my childhood.

 

And you still haven't learned your lessons! playing with toys that were too much for your age!

 

Might not be the worst thing to get it totaled? I get it, I love my truck and plan to hopefully keep it until it decays so I’d be devastated. But not sure I’d feel so attached to it after a serious collision and a ton of “best we could do” repairs.

Never been through a totaled process so maybe I’m missing other big headaches with the insurance. But if they offered me market value after a big collision and I could jump into a comparable used one with the payout, I’d opt for that over big frame repairs and extensive rebuilds.

 

I'd probably total it as much as I love the 5th gens. There are plenty of good shape used ones out there to get your hands on with low mileage or average mileage. And the new LCs and 4Rs aren't the worst thing in the world - certainly better than a straightened up formerly crashed and repainted 4R.

 

My sympathy to you and that you are well.

Two good things out of this:
1. The 4R did it's job and protected you. Period.
2. You can might as well consider this unit done and go find another one. Your body and bones will thank you.

I wouldn't bother with fixing the first unit. Sounds like the impact was pretty significant.

 

Oh, frame bent real good. Amazingly, insurance hasn't totaled it yet (maybe they're waiting for the results of interactions with the other insurer, who knows). Considering the law enforcement and repair adjusters commenting on how lucky I am, I'll give the 4Runner extremely high scores for driver protection. I got a concussion from the impact. The impact busted up my cell holder, knocked the electronic seat gears out of whack and obviously did the engine thing (since the frame was bent, maybe my car was Volvoed ). The car was in perfect shape, it had a ceramic coat on it and it was just perfect.

While I did so much to give it a great start to life (the break-in oil change was so full of fine metal particles I'm glad I did that), before I found out the frame was bent, I had decided I would prefer it be totaled.

The racing engine thing could not be answered. Since, ultimately, I was going to hand this vehicle down to one of my daughters, I decided to replace it with a new hybrid Sienna. I absolutely did not want to buy another hybrid because of the carbon footprint involved, but the Sienna will give me the ability to move bigger things and it'll be easier for them to drive.

Every used 4R that I see has really crappy service records. Whether private party or dealer, The people selling their 4Runners so quickly having crappy service records indicates there's something else going on that I don't want to be part of. One thing that rings very true is when people cannot afford their vehicle, they tend not to afford maintenance either. This is very true with bargain basement brands marketed to the low-maintenance demographics like Nissan, Hyundai and Kia.

The Sienna I'm buying is an LE version, no power back gate, the LE package (moon roof, homelink and extra tweeters) and spare tire the only options.

I've had really bad luck with my 4Runners. My 2014 that I bought from a dealer who didn't have title, my 2020 was Toyota certified used and they bought the car back after a full year because of numerous problems, Their biggest problem being that the inspection that they gave me prior to sale could not have been for the car that they sold me.

I had fun modifying it although I had a lot more fun with my 2014 because I did all the fluids and a lot of electrical modifications...

I have a checklist and a bag of tools. I'm going to go to the car one last time to strip out the modifications that I can take somewhere else... RIP 4RTRDORP your frame may be broken but the memories will live on... Gone too soon

 

RIP 69146
I know the feeling. Totaled my 2014 but able to roll into a 21 w/o much hassle!