Hit a curb sideways. Damage?

2009 Legacy Sedan.

My first accident in 10 years of driving.
Forward speed of about 15-25mph. Sideways speed of about 5-8mph. Sliding in the snow. Hit the curb with my rear passenger wheel.
As soon as I made contact my traction control light lit "off". Sure enough, the car was much harder to steer going up a snowy hill. There's minor external body damage. The bumper clamp may have come off (hard to tell with the snow).
The wheel looks a bit off (bent). What kind of damage in terms of $ am I looking at? What do I look for before I feel that it's safe to drive home?

Thank you.

Welcome to the forum.

I've had a similar accident before, albeit FAR more violent than a 5-8 MPH slide. I whipped my 2006 M3 convertible around & into a curb with sufficient force to set off the deployable roll bars (I'm told the lateral acceleration threshold to set off the bars is 3 Gs).

The result was damage to the wheel and bent suspension components... control arms, etc. Essentially, the rear wheel that first made contact had positive camber at around 20 degrees. You may want to take a look under the car to see if you can recognize anything that's bent.

Ouch, what a first post.

First thing that I would make sure of is that your wheels are still 'centered' in your wheel arches. If they look too far forward or too far back, that's bad news. If they look relatively centered, and you have a flashlight or phone light or something, take a peek behind the wheels to make sure that everything is still connected. Check your axles for signs of bending, check your control arms, make sure your shocks and struts are good. If possible, take a peek at the tie rods up front, make sure those are alright, if it's possible you hit the front wheel as well.

If the wheel is bent as in the outer rim is bent, and the tire holds air, limp it home. If the wheel is bent like bent inwards, ie it will wobble side to side, i'd slap the spare on there after making sure the hub is good.

The damage could be anything from scuffed up wheels to totally fucked, it's hard to put a dollar estimate without seeing the car.

I hope you get it sorted out, and welcome to the forum.

To spin off what was just mentioned.. Yes bends clearly are a good indication you have a problem... I'd also maybe look at the bushing points to see if everything is seated where it's supposed to be, not pushed up/down-side/side from it's typical mount position

Otherwise if you get LUCKY you may have just blown the alignment out of spec a bit.....

P.S. I feel you all to well right now on this topic... Thank GOD it was in my fiance's crappy hyundai accent hatchback and not my LGT... But I FREAKING BLACKED OUT AT THE WHEEL a couple nights ago and skimmed into the wall on the highway!!!! Got light headed and BAM.. Out! (Pretty freaking scary) Luckily I don't think any MAJOR damage outside of COMPLETELY mangling the driver front rim and tire ..... OHH!!! AND THANK GOD I'M STILL HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT!

It's been a shitty couple weeks... None the less... Hope the suspension is in good shape

I took the car for a ride in the parking lot, the wheel tilt stays at the same angle, so it's definitely not just the rim that's bent. Not sure if it's good news or not, but my traction control appeared to be back on. I was able to turn it off and on. I couldn't really test it, I'm too afraid to go fast on an icy surface. There's too much snow on the ground to really get under my car and see anything. It doesn't help that it's a pretty low riding car. I have also been recommended to put on my donut tire. I don't think it's necessary since the tilt stays the same.

If it's holding air and seems to be straight, no you wouldn't need the donut. I'd tentatively give it a shot, and see if it rolls straight, or if you notice any vibration as your speed increases.

good luck.

I'm taking it to Subaru for a diagnostics test. I took the tire/rim off everything inside feels solid. Nothing seems to abnormal. The rim is definitely bent, I'll have to pay to get it straightened. The alignment is definitely screwed up. The permanent tilt also shows that other part(s) will have to be replaced. It's difficult to point out any differences between the left side and right side after looking at the car from underneath. What can it be?

Edit: Also, driving experience is a bit different. On perfectly smooth road surface going in the straight line, the car feels like it's just a bit out of alignment. It's not making any particular noise from that wheel. While turning, especially left, it feels like I'm losing a bit of control. It sort of feels like the damaged wheel is barely participating in the turning.

Find a good alignment shop, may call a few body shops and see you they would recommend to do a good alignment.

I did basically the same thing sliding down a hill in the snow this past Xmas eve. I hit the curb on the drivers side, both front and back, at about 20 miles an hour. Bent both wheels and threw the alignmnet out. I had my Subie tech check it out and nothing major appeared wrong other than the wheels. I replaced them both and had it realigned. The camber is off in the back about 2 degrees but steering is ok. I then had it inspected last month and was told the drivers side ball joint was shot. I still hear and feel a slight vibration when over 30 mph coming from right under my feet, inside the front tire. Maybe hub? maybe? . It doesn't seem to be affecting the steering or performance but causes some concern for the long haul. Any ideas?

excellent necro-bump.

Originally Posted by steveb3

I did basically the same thing sliding down a hill in the snow this past Xmas eve. I hit the curb on the drivers side, both front and back, at about 20 miles an hour. Bent both wheels and threw the alignmnet out. I had my Subie tech check it out and nothing major appeared wrong other than the wheels. I replaced them both and had it realigned. The camber is off in the back about 2 degrees but steering is ok. I then had it inspected last month and was told the drivers side ball joint was shot. I still hear and feel a slight vibration when over 30 mph coming from right under my feet, inside the front tire. Maybe hub? maybe? . It doesn't seem to be affecting the steering or performance but causes some concern for the long haul. Any ideas?

Could be the hub/bearing. My left front was the first to go, just from age.

Find a good alignment shop/repair shop, not some place sells tires, but a real repair shop with a rack, you'll get the best customer service there and they won't try and sell you tires.

Ask around, like co-works to see who others use.

i hit a curb last summer and basically jumped it, bent the control arm, blew front drivers shock and mushroomed the strut perch. thank god it was only stock wheels. I would have a collision place check it out for piece of mind.

Say bye bye to wheel bearing in <10k miles