Lisa.htmn

BG INFO: 06 Honda Civic, little to no knowledge about car mechanics

So, I crashed into a huge snow bank that was pretty icy. The rubber trim underneath the front bumper (valence/air dam/rubber skirt) got torn off. It was holding up a splash guard that covered the radiator so that plastic piece was hanging off and dragging. I got both put back on but my mechanic pointed out that this metal piece infront of the radiator got bent in the crash and is now pushed towards the radiator. We ended up leaving it because he said it was ok to drive.

I would just like a second opinion. Should I eventually get this fixed? He said I'd only have to worry if it starts leaking. I'm worried that my chances of hitting something else or driving over a curb or something that would cause the metal piece to bend even further into my radiator and damage it would be increased. Is this something I can disregard or should I get it fixed immediately?

Also, since the bent metal piece is welded not bolted onto the car, the mechanic said they'd have to remove the radiator and AC and hammer it out from the top- that's why we left it.

ezone

I'd guess that was what we call the lower core support, and it may have been bent upward but not far enough to damage the radiator?

It's really a common thing for people that bash the cars into stuff, I see a lot of cars that have clobbered something and bent it there. Sometimes the radiator and condensor are bent too. Sometimes they keep living that way, sometimes they split open and leak and need replaced. That's when it's easiest to pound the structure back to where it's supposed to be.


Yeah, this.

Depending on the amount of bending, it might take a lot of work to unbend it back to nearly the right place. Removing the bumper cover and radiator and condensor out of the way and all that.
The metal that got bent isn't all that sturdy, it certainly can't support the weight of the car and it doesn't do a lot to protect anything from a large impact.
Is it actually making contact with important parts of the radiator or condensor? If there is danger of popping a hole in either one, then it would be wise to at least get it unbent far enough to not cause more damage.

If you hit something like that again, it would just get bent all over again. Damage may be worse next time depending on what, where, and how hard you hit.


Well, don't do that!
Driving and parking a car isn't supposed to be a contact sport.



HTH