Anyone See This Prius Toad - Nearly a Total Wreck?

[Nomad Mike]

I follow McQuade Travels and he has a Prius on an ACME EZE Tow. His Prius got a flat tire and was driven that way for 10 - 15 miles. Major damage occured and he is in limbo arguing with his insurance company as they want to total it and he wants to repair it.

He made two serious errors. No TPMS and he assumed the insurance company would repair the car and pay for parts. He ordered them himself and the insurance company wants to total it. Strange, as the totaling cost is more than the repairs.

McQuade Travels

[Libero]

Thanks for the link. Good testimonial supporting the need for TPMS on all tires touching the road. Mine occasionally give a false alarm, but I can put up with that.

Don't understand the insurance company position - perhaps there is more to the story but I would have done nothing, re approving repair, until I got the OK (in writing or email etc) from the Insurance company.

[Nomad Mike]

Yea, I would have waited for the insurance company. He is paying a lot in campground fees and was motivated to get going.

I feel bad for him, he is one of my inspirations for going fulltime and towing a Prius too.

[ga80486]

So how would you put TPMS viewable in the coach, on a vehicle that already has it installed?

I have a Grand Cherokee that I want to tow, but it already has TPMS from the factory. And when I'm driving it, I'll want that to be active, but I'll also want to monitor it from the coach when it's being towed.

[luvlabs]

Think of the vehicle factory TPMS as something that is totally separate from the TPMS you added to your motorhome and the toad. So if you have a TPMS for your coach and you add a toad - whether it is on a dolly or flat towed, you add four more sensors and reprogram the monitoring unit for the TPMS. Easy peasy.

[BrianGlenn]

Originally Posted by ga80486

So how would you put TPMS viewable in the coach, on a vehicle that already has it installed?

I have a Grand Cherokee that I want to tow, but it already has TPMS from the factory. And when I'm driving it, I'll want that to be active, but I'll also want to monitor it from the coach when it's being towed.

I did the same as luvlabs; I added external TPMS sensors on the valve stems (I used TST), added a repeater near the centre of my coach and have the monitor in the drivers area of the coach.

The external TPMS does not interfere with the OEM TPMS which are mounted inside the TOAD tires (mine are backside of valve stem). I can run both on the Grand Cherokee simultaneously.

Hope this helps,
Brian

[JMonroe]

The factory TPMS will not interfere with the aftermarket systems many of us use with our motorhomes/toads or visa versa.

You can not simply compare the total repair cost to the retail value of the car, before the accident, to determine if the car is a total loss. Everything has a salvage value, regardless of the extent of the damage. I can imagine that parted out the mechanicals of this Prius would be very valuable.

Just to illustrate, lets assume a pre-accident retail value of $5,000, a repair cost of $3,700, salvage value of $1,800. The repairs are considerably less than the retail value but the insurance company can then sell the wreck - $5,000 less $1,800, for a net of $3,200. Then there's always the very real possibility of damage not visible to the adjuster or shop until tear down and repairs begin. With that much damage you can expect to find more things needing repair or replacement after repairs are started.

If you read your policy carefully you'll see that repair vs total is at your insurance companies discretion, not yours. As an option you may be able to keep the wrecked car but the insurance company will subtract the salvage value from what they would otherwise have paid you, and then you're on your own if hidden damage is found.

I see two mistakes here. One, lack of a TPMS, two, expecting the insurance company to pay for parts/repairs without their commitment to do so.

[allegro1x]

For me this is another reason not to use a tow dolly. Four down might have some damage, but I wouldn't think a flat with four down would be as bad as the Prius. Dave

[Nomad Mike]

Originally Posted by allegro1x

For me this is another reason not to use a tow dolly. Four down might have some damage, but I wouldn't think a flat with four down would be as bad as the Prius. Dave

Why do you think a left rear flat on a vehicle being flat towed would not cause the same damage?

[ramcquade]

Hi all

I am the guy mentioned above with the very damaged Prius.

And I agree with all of you on the error of travelling the last 58,000 miles without a TPMS and am presently awaiting my Pressure Pro system to arrive here in Dawson City so I can attach the monitors to the tow dolly wheels and the rear wheels of the newly repaired Prius. Yes, you heard that right … repaired after all. Of course, I also will attach sensors to the motorhome's 6 wheels.

The reason I allowed the repair facility in Dawson City to order some parts before getting approval from the insurance company was purely a matter of timing and I was fully aware that I might end up having to pay for the repairs out of pocket. Dawson City may as well be in the middle of nowhere and I was warned by the repair facility that obtaining parts and getting them shipped here was going to be at least a two week process, so if I waited for the insurance company before ordering, I would be here more than a month rather than the two plus weeks that it now will turn out to be.

Knowing the approximate value of the Prius and the cost of repairs, I also didn't think insurance company approval would be a problem, and on that point, it turns out I was wrong. After 24 emails ( no cell service for me here ) with the adjuster that determined the Prius had to be totaled, I worked with his supervisor to get that erroneous decison reversed and repairs were authorized the same day my replacement axle happened to arrive at the shop. A very frustrating week plus of arguing with the insurance company, but perhaps it now is going to turn out all right. In the end, I did save myself 2 weeks delay and a lot of money, I really was going to have to go in the hole to purchase and register a new Prius.

Two lessons learned .. use a TMPS … and when dealing with an insurance company, educate yourself on your specific state insurance rules, learn about how the "total" value the company uses is calculated, investigate "salvage values", in this case, the salvage value of the Prius in reality was all but zero because of the cost to the insurance company of getting the Prius shipped or towed out of Dawson City to an entity that would actually pay the insurance company to salvage the vehicle. In the end the adjuster's supervisor realized that it was better to repair than to total. Hope to be back on the road early next week!

[JMonroe]

Here's hoping the repairs proceed without any surprises.

[Libero]

Glad the Insurance Co came around and supported your action. I had to get another cable to extend my TPMS receiver antenna so it could receive the tire valve mounted sensor transmitters on the Towed.

[emcee]

I think I may have asked this question before but I don't remember the answer so sorry if this is a repeat.

The OEM TPMS has sending units installed in the tires. They broadcast a signal to a receiver installed in the towed vehicle.

Why can't we get another receiver, just like the one in the towed vehicle, and install it in the MH? This way we can see the status of the OEM TPMS in the MH and we don't need two sets of TPMS sending units installed on the tires of the towed vehicle.

[Nomad Mike]

Originally Posted by ramcquade

Hi all

I am the guy mentioned above with the very damaged Prius.

And I agree with all of you on the error of travelling the last 58,000 miles without a TPMS and am presently awaiting my Pressure Pro system to arrive here in Dawson City so I can attach the monitors to the tow dolly wheels and the rear wheels of the newly repaired Prius. Yes, you heard that right … repaired after all. Of course, I also will attach sensors to the motorhome's 6 wheels.

The reason I allowed the repair facility in Dawson City to order some parts before getting approval from the insurance company was purely a matter of timing and I was fully aware that I might end up having to pay for the repairs out of pocket. Dawson City may as well be in the middle of nowhere and I was warned by the repair facility that obtaining parts and getting them shipped here was going to be at least a two week process, so if I waited for the insurance company before ordering, I would be here more than a month rather than the two plus weeks that it now will turn out to be.

Knowing the approximate value of the Prius and the cost of repairs, I also didn't think insurance company approval would be a problem, and on that point, it turns out I was wrong. After 24 emails ( no cell service for me here ) with the adjuster that determined the Prius had to be totaled, I worked with his supervisor to get that erroneous decison reversed and repairs were authorized the same day my replacement axle happened to arrive at the shop. A very frustrating week plus of arguing with the insurance company, but perhaps it now is going to turn out all right. In the end, I did save myself 2 weeks delay and a lot of money, I really was going to have to go in the hole to purchase and register a new Prius.

Two lessons learned .. use a TMPS … and when dealing with an insurance company, educate yourself on your specific state insurance rules, learn about how the "total" value the company uses is calculated, investigate "salvage values", in this case, the salvage value of the Prius in reality was all but zero because of the cost to the insurance company of getting the Prius shipped or towed out of Dawson City to an entity that would actually pay the insurance company to salvage the vehicle. In the end the adjuster's supervisor realized that it was better to repair than to total. Hope to be back on the road early next week!

Glad to hear it's working out for you.