Dodge Durango

My wife turned my Durango into a "total loss" in late February 2017. Hit a pothole on an 80km/hr stretch of road ... took out right front wheel, tire, and rack and pinion ... uncontrolled result including a trip down an embankment also took out a power pole.

Both front airbags were Takata and we were still waiting for their replacement under the recall, but fortunately the airbags didn't fire. She was very lucky that the muddy ground turned the vehicle sufficiently that the impact with the pole was just a glancing blow and not head on. She was OK other than a bit of rope burn from the seat belt and bruised knuckles from them hitting the dash.

Edited September 21, 20178 yr by JamesB

Holy sh!t... I'm glad she's okay! 

I've always wondered about some of those nasty pot holes out there.. Always wondered if they ever immediately took out wheels/tires/suspension components.. that would be a yes. I know I've seen and heard of them taking out low profile tires and denting wheels but I hadn't see this kind of damage due to a pot hole.

I wonder if you could go after the state looking for them to cover repair costs for neglecting roads or having poorly maintained roads with too high of a speed limit for the conditions of the road? 

The tires were P265/65R17 and the rim was chipped in two places. The cast alloy rack and pinion housing was split right open.

We are pursuing the government department responsible for the road maintenance. The pothole had been reported a number of times to the local councilor by the house owner of the front yard through which my wife on her way to the power pole (and beyond). The house owner contacted the councilor immediately after the crash, and the pothole was repaired with "indecent haste".

She was doing the legal speed limit (80 km/hr on this section of back country highway) and had pulled over a bit to allow a vehicle heading the other way a bit more room.

Seven months later, we are still trying to get a copy of the accident report out of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (they have the jurisdiction for the area). Two officers in two cars attended, and they took lots of photos of the pothole. Normally the paperwork would have been held at the local area station, but for this incident, the paperwork was sent to their headquarters in Ottawa, and we are having to go through a "Freedom of Information" process to get a copy of it. Six months after we sent in the request, all we have heard back is that they have received our request.

WOW JamesB, I am glad your wife is ok just bruised and sore I am sure. Sorry about the loss of your Durango, an awesome auto for sure.

Bummer that the local cops are clearly dragging their feet as the gov is at fault here and of course are going to try and minimize having to pay, but stick it to them and make sure your wife is OK and you get a fair equal replacement for the auto.

Finding the right vehicle to replace the Durango has been a battle.

The critical details were an AWD/4x4 station wagon with high ground clearance (can be a battle here in Winter, and my wife has managed to get the Durango stuck on our driveway), an 8,700 lb towing capability for "project vehicle transport" (a full 1,200 lbs beyond the maximum capability of any vehicle trailer that U-Haul will rent), and a price that was less than or no more than the insurance payout for the Durango.

That challenge was solved 2 weeks ago.