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fender bender question (opinions/physics)

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  xjohnkdoex 
#1 ·
so i noticed yesterday that the passenger side fender isn't quite flush with the front door. i have no clue when this might've happened and it's so subtle i probably just missed it. i didn't see any notable dents or scratches indicating a bump. the only other thing besides the 2 panels not lining up (i think the door was slightly more in vs. the fender) was that the wheel lining was sort of creased/folded on the side of the door.

my question is what kind of impact would cause something like this to happen? i'm just trying to visualize at what angle someone has to come at my car to actually have caused this to happen. would someone simply backing into my front end cause a bump strong enough to cause the fender to misalign?

thanks.
 
#4 ·
that's the thing there is no dent! at least none that i can see.

if you just envision the two panes--the passenger door and passenger-side fender--if you ran your hand across the panels where they meet at the gap (under the side mirror), it should be level. instead on my car, i think the fender panel is slightly higher (or out) vs. the door pane which is lower (in). not sure if that helps any. even if i took a pic, you probably wouldn't even be able to tell.

i haven't had any work done on my car recently.
 
#5 ·
It is hard to visualize, but I can make a suggestion, and you can decide if it was likely to have happened.
Curbs and parking blocks are designed to signal drivers when to stop moving forward (or backward) when parking. In my area however, people seem to think this is when the front tires contact them, allowing the bumper to rest on top of these obstacles, which vary significantly in height. This is where I constantly see slightly misaligned front bumpers, or hear the wonderful scraaaaaaape as they back out.
If you have ever taken the bumper off, you will know it is supported by a bracket under the headlight. If you have ever contacted something high enough to push up even once, you can get a permanent misalignment. There may be no dent except possibly a small scrape underneath the bumper!
This is most likely you're scenario of misalignment with no visible marks (the one contact, forgotten).
 
#6 ·
^I think the OP is talking about the fender/door panel gap. I've seen what you are talking about, often if I scrap the front bumper either from parking or coming off a curb, I will see my bumper being "squeezed" out slightly and I have to just push them back in.

But to OP, I can understand the situation where the picture would not really apply since it's a very subtle thing. Would it be worthwhile to compare your panel to your other side or even pull up to another TSX and compare? I would say getting hit by someone is unlikely since like aznguy said it would just leave a huge dent. Unless you might have something caught in between the door/panel and when closing it cause it to push in the panel (or push out the door panel)(??).
 
#7 ·
Yea I know exactly what the OP is talking about as my passenger fender is like that as well. The passenger door looks a bit sunken in compared to the fender. Not very noticeable unless you're up close. The driver side does not have this problem.

In my case, it was most likely caused by an accident since my carfax report indicates there was an accident involving the front passenger area. I'm thinking the car was hit from the front pushing the bumper and fender back towards the back.
 
#8 ·
yes, that is exactly what i'm talking about! if that is the case, then i suppose it is from someone just bumping the bumper hard enough. i really wish i had a dedicated parking spot or a garage.
 
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