tonight coming home from class, i lost control somehow with the vdc ON. i did 2 360s and skidded around sideways hit and went over a curb with the right side of the car and ended up in the grass. i did this all at about 25-30 mph coming out of a turn.
just at the point where i was about to start accelerating out of the turn it just got completely out of control. i know how to handle myself when the car begins to slide and loose traction. however this time i had 0 indication that the car was even beggining to lose traction ... it was very sudden.

i did everything i could to keep it out of the wall and luckily nobody was around me when it happened.

after examining the damage, it looks like the rear axle is broken. both control arms in the rear also look bent. the back right rear tire was deflated. im not sure about the front suspension pieces. both wheels on the right side are very scraped up and will need replacing the rear wheel also looked craked. it was dark so i couldnt see really well.

had it towed to a storage lot because the dealer was closed off, theyre going to deliver it in the morning. i plan to go take a look at it during lunch. the body of the car is in perfect shape and i walked away ok. so that's something to be thankful about.

is there any chance this can be warrantied ... or will i just have to claim it on the insurance?
any advice how i should handle it?

 

Oh Wow...so sorry to hear about your accident. What a drag! Great that you weren't hurt though! Who is your dealer in Houston? Maybe they'll be able to call some of the repair warranty work...just to help out? Can't hurt to ask.

Good luck - sorry again to hear about your misfortune.

Ken

 

Sorry to hear about your accident! Was it wet out? What was the temperature? Why do you think your lost control?

People, DUMP the CRAP tires that came with your Z and get yourself a decent set of tires! Nissan should be ashamed for putting such garbage rubber on the Z, especially in colder climates.

See:
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ighlight=tires

 

Get a new car with the damage you just explained you will need to replace the chasis and if they try to fix it there is a very high chance they will not weld it correctly and you will have a slight pull. Specially with a tight suspension it will be even more pronounced.

 

What do you think caused it? VDC malfunction, drive by wire malfunction, slick road surface or driver error?

 

That s*cks!
Hang in there...unfortunately you have to practice those slide turns cause the vehicle kicks out all the time.
true the tires blow

 

might have been a combination of things. cold weather/bad tires/vdc malfuntion. normally the vdc would stop you from being able to slide around like that.

if it was just a normal slide, i would have been able to control it.
those austin guys saw me taking those turns fast as hell, sliding around turns, and keeping everything in line with the vdc off.

now im hoping that it was a vehicle malfunction and that they will waranty the work. if i even want to keep the same car. like duck said if the chassis was damaged at all ... it may not be repairable.

we'll see.

hopefully ill have some pics today

 

...are the roads wet though??? Sorry 'bout the accident

 

Crap! Damn I'm sorry to hear about that. Man that sucks. Please keep us posted on how it turns out.

 

Sorry to here that! Hope everything works out.

 

VDC can not bypass the laws of physics here people. it can try and try, but it is limited by traction and momentum. I doubt it was any vehicle malfunction, possibly not driver error either. a car can be taken beyond its limits at that time. perhaps there was a pebble in the road that just set the car off. after that its a chain of reactions that cant be stopped.

good to hear you walked away, and I too would push for a new car. sports cars are rarely the same after an accident involving drivetrain. bumps and bruises are ok, get a new panel, but axles and suspension are the heart and soul of the car. they dont fix so easily.

 

the roads were dry as far as i could tell, there had been no rain. perhaps i hit a slick or something on the road like ares said.

at that low of a speed i would in no way expect to lose control like i did. that's why i expect some kind of malfunction. i would expect the vdc to keep the car in line, especially at that low of a speed. shrug.

thx for all the advice everybody

 

I have an enthusiast so excuse my ignorance when it comes to VDC. Could VDC give more power to a wheel or just reduce power going to a wheel? Can VDC apply the brakes independently to each wheel? I'm just wonder if it was a VDC malfunction the extent of how bad it could possibly malfunction.


I've had my car for a while now and I fly around turns even in the rain.

Are you sure you just didn't give it a bit to much gas in the beginning of your turn and didn't correct it?

I'm just curious because when I have a driving error I'm usually pretty certian what the cause of the error was, 99% of the time it was me.

 

i was just driving slow around the turn because my radar had been going off.

ive never had a problem driving around that corner at high speeds with the vdc off.

of course it could have been my error, i just cant see where i made it

 

I see you're in Houston, but how cold was it when this happened? We northerners are really familiar with things like black ice, etc. I know there's been a horrible cold snap even down south. If it wasn't the cold, then I'm pretty baffled.

I'm glad you're ok and I'm really sorry to hear about the accident. I wish you well in your efforts towards an insurance resolution.

-Jon

 

it was about 40-45F outside ...

 

I didn't catch it if you said. But were you down shifting like and thus putting a ton of extra HP or was it the same gear and maybe a little more gas? I'd be surprised if a little extra gas could do that in the dry.

Sorry to hear about it, good luck.

 

Real sorry that this happened to you, but I'm glad you didn't get hurt. We'll all be interested in finding out what might have caused this, so provide any updates that you can. This may be one of those Bermuda Triangle accidents that no one can completely figure out........

Anyway, hope you get your car fixed to your satisfaction, or perhaps even better, get another one.

Take care.
WayneTN

 

i was in 2nd gear. i didnt down shift in/coming out of the turn. i downshifted from 4th before to 2nd before the turn.

i was just about to start accelerating out of the turn when it broke loose.

thanks for all the support/comments ...

just waiting on the insurance to give me a call.

 

My sympathy. I know you drive well, I was behind you at lime creek last Saturday. At that low of speeds, with VDC on, the vehicle shouldn't swap ends like that. Very weird.