She's totaled!

[bigb56]

My 2008 got totaled on Thursday in a dust storm in Arizona. We were hit from behind by a tractor trailer, ripped the gas tank and tore the spare out, both front seats are bent backwards and the pass side headrest came off. Wife was driving and got out with minor injuries, I got a real sore neck and a black and blue chin where the GPS smacked me it's way into the back of the car. We were very lucky as we were spun around backwards into the high speed lane and no one else hit us, plus I credit the HL with holding up very well and protecting us. Only 30,000 miles and four brand new Bridgestone Alenzas!

Now comes the job of finding another, as there is not a car out there we want except for another HL. Has to be white w/gray leather. SE or LTD.
JBL sound system. Ours was AWD but I have found a real beauty (LTD)with the same mileage as ours but only 2WD. I am wondering if I really need the AWD. It never snows here and we never leave the pavement. I only got the AWD because I thought it would handle better and be sure footed in the rain. Do you think we will even know the difference? Also, does the 2WD get better mileage?

Here are a couple of pics, the 3rd one is the guy that hit us. (There were 2 cars and 2 pickups totaled, and 6 18 wheelers involved. Everyone walked away.)








Believe it or not this guy walked away with cuts and bruises and he wasn't wearing a seat belt!

[gtzany]

Damn thats extremely crazy, thank god u guys and everyone is ok, sorry about your HL but it did its job of protecting you.

[sweeneyp]

holy s**t, that looked like a hell of an impact. really glad to hear yall got out relatively ok. That is amazing the guy came out of the truck without major injuries while not wearing a seatbelt.

As for your Q's...
-Mine is fwd and I don't think I needed AWD. Mine (like yours) stays on pavement. This past winter when we got hit with snow real bad here in the south, it handled suprisingly well with stock tires. I was passing plenty of stuck fwd cars. Though that probably has to do with the fact the HL weighs 4200+lbs, but it never worried me not having AWD in that situation. As you may know the OEM tires are crap (I imagine this is why you switched to alenza's), and in the rain at highway speeds, well I wish I had AWD as those tires only getting power up front is scary at times. But if the car was equiped with better tires that would go away. I've had plenty of FWD vehicles do fine in rain, its all tire.
-you probably will notice a slight difference with how it feels driving, the FWD when under acceleration will feel like your being pulled forward vs a push from the rear axle, besides that nothing major.
-remember you had a sport trim, the limiteds are going to be softer/bouncier of a ride due to suspension differences. If you want that sportier ride you had in the sport, you may want to look at another sport, just a little fyi
-Now as for mpg, you will most likely notice a difference, you can compare what you got to mine (a awd sport weighed about as much as a fwd limited). I get about 19-20 in the city normally and about 17-18 if I'm driving with a pretty heavy foot. As for highway, I get right at 24-25 at 75-80mph. If I stick right at 70mph I will get 25-26mpg.

Hope this helps in your decision, and Im really sorry to hear about this and hope yall get well soon
Patrick

[fongster]

That's crazy! Glad to hear you two are OK. It's amazing no one died in that mess. Hope you find a new ride real soon.

On AWD, I have a 2WD HL but have (about to sell it) a 2001 Subaru Outback that's AWD. I guess it feels more "tractiony" on wet than 2WD. It doesn't seem to slip in snow but I did spin the front wheels in loose forest loom/soil on a steep fire road once. So, it's not as grabby as 4WD but maybe a tad better than 2WD. I've heard that MPG is a little lower with AWD. Hope this helps a bit.

[TrailDust]

Wow! Glad to know you're all right and that your HL protected you well! Thanks for sharing the pics too, it's very interesting to see how well it held up and gives me confidence out on the roads.

Given the description of your driving needs, I agree with going for the 2WD version. I don't know how much better mileage you'll get, but certainly a few percent at least. Glad to see you're staying "in the HL family."

[deadrx7conv]

2wd is a little lighter. Should get better MPG and have a little more pep. The Hybrid should also be considered if any are available in your area. I too think that the (pearl)white/gray is one beautiful combination. Mine is blue/gray. Saw a new silver Highlander at the dealer the other day and really tempted to trade in.

I wish you and your wife a speedy recovery. Your Highlander sacrificed itself to keep you two safe. After looking at the damage pictures, of your HIghlander and that pickup truck, its amazing how much force there was, and you still are in one piece.

After 3 car accidents in a previous vehicle, this is one reason why the Highlander is still in the driveway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_...Fcrash_testing

[05Moose]

Hey bigb56, glad you did okay. I also have a question for you. There's been a lot of debate on the safety in a rear end collision like that with having anyone in the 3rd row. You may be like us and keep it stowed, but if it were up would passengers/kids in that 3rd row have been fine or was that space crushed into the 2nd row?

[84Cressida]

My goodness, glad to see you survived with relatively minor injuries.

What kind of pickup is that? Ranger? It's almost unrecognizable.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by 05Moose

Hey bigb56, glad you did okay. I also have a question for you. There's been a lot of debate on the safety in a rear end collision like that with having anyone in the 3rd row. You may be like us and keep it stowed, but if it were up would passengers/kids in that 3rd row have been fine or was that space crushed into the 2nd row?

Moose,

I don't think they would have fared so well. The 3rd seat was folded down and our large Samsonite suitcase was there. The suitcase got crammed into the 2nd row seat so hard it got crushed and it bent the 2nd row seats. Between myself and the tow truck driver we almost couldn't get it out.

It's hard to see it in the pics but the right rear was pushed in past where the 3rd row seat would be. I think even anyone in the 2nd row could have been hurt badly or killed. But this was a tractor trailer doing 45-55 MPH into a stopped vehicle.

The right rear wheel was pinned in and none of the wheels would turn when they winched it onto the wrecker. The front seats were bent back and my headrest broke.

[Zembonez]

WOW. Lucky that you didn't have rear seat passengers for sure! Glad you are OK overall.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by 84Cressida

My goodness, glad to see you survived with relatively minor injuries.

What kind of pickup is that? Ranger? It's almost unrecognizable.

It an older, full size Chevy. I don't know what he hit, the truck was down in the median all by itself. He may have rear ended a tractor trailer, or the embankment. Here's the other two:

This guy actually got hit once, then he bailed out of the passenger door and ran off into the desert afraid he would get hit again, which he did. His car ended up in the median with the airbags deployed but no sign of anyone till he came hiking back.




This guy had tools strewed all over the road. I saw his cordless drill laying by my window through the dust just before we got hit.

[TrailDust]

Given that it was a 45-55 MPH impact by a big rig, I think it did very well overall.

[becks]

First: Thank god you and your family are o'k.
Second: I don't think 3rd row passengers would have survived.
Third: Holy Crap What A Dangerous Situation to find ones self in.
Fourth: After experiencing an accident like that, It is a true testament to your belief in the HL to want another.

[05Moose]

Thanks for the feedback. That's consistent with what our friend experienced in a rear end accident in an Acura MDX (crushed in to the 2nd row). So that's two accidents now that just confirm our belief never to put anyone in that back row (unless just traveling in our subdivision to the pool). I hope to never be in an accident like that. We get fog out here in CA in the valley that has caused many pileups with dozens of vehicles. I'm guessing it was just like the fog here...suddenly you can't see past the hood. Then you worry about who's coming up behind you. Hopefully, you're all still feeling okay this week. It frequently takes 24-48 hours before you feel the pain.

[matt0420]

Holy cow! The pics look bad, but after reading that a Freightliner rear-ended you guys at 55mph, they suddenly don't look so terrible!

Glad to hear you guys were able to walk away from that scary collision.

As for the 2WD vrs 4WD, I'll give in my two cents. My HL's a Canadian one, so the minute I wanted the V6 I was forced into the 4WD. Never had it before, and I can say that I've never truly needed it.

However, in the winter I did intentionally drive through some really deep snow trying to get stuck, and never did, which impressed me.

This summer at a local racetrack, I drove up plently of wet grassy/muddy hills that I would have never attempted to do without 4WD, and the HL took it like a champ. Left a big grin on my face.

When I do move on to another SUV/Pick-up, it will be 4WD for sure.