Speed Holes Do Not Make It Go Faster

hasarad said:

I had my first near-death experience in my Insight yesterday. I truck hauling heavy construction equipment going the other way dislodged a large rock which hit my Insight squarely in the front license plate. Firstly, I'm glad I live in a state requiring a front plate. Secondly, the plate took the full impact. It punched a 1/2" hole through the plate. Had it hit anywhere else, it would have caused significant damage. Had it hit the windshield, it may have gone through (90mph closing speed between vehicles). I was able to remove the plate and hammer it back to being hardly noticeable, and there's no damage behind the plate. I have a dash cam in both the front and rear. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a plate number because of the "oversized load" banner on the front of the truck, and rain on the rear window which obscured things.

Counting my blessings. Hug your Insights tight tonight.

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andrew28 said:

Must of been alarming to hear that sound... Make sure you keep that license plate, it is now a good luck charm. :wink:

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hasarad said:

andrew28 said:

So I was brushing snow off my car, not sure why, but I decided to look through the bottom front grill. Noticed a stone chip on the bottom metal border of the AC Condenser. On the top grille area, I do see some minor cosmetic indications of a stone making impact with the AC Condenser fins near the top. A couple of small pebbles are sitting on the metal tray underneath the AC Condenser. I don't think anything is wrong with my AC Condenser but I won't have the chance to try the AC until it is warmer. I have also read that stone damage to the AC Condenser is not cover by warranty... Anyways I was wondering if any of you guys are aware of any damage from stone/rock/pebble contact with your AC Condenser.

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I have a 2006 Odyssey that had a stone blow through the condenser. I still havent fixed it. It turns out Honda 'fessed up to a design flaw and covered it under warranty and also made available a kit to better protect the condenser. Unfortunately, I was out of warranty by that point. A new condenser is about $84 plus installation, and I'll get around to it someday (it's been four years).

With my Insight, I had a rock go THROUGH my front license plate. Fortunately, there was no other damage. I wonder if there is a way to better protect the condenser. I'm open to suggestions.

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Honda2019 said:

Don't think these would be a good fit given the Honda emblem is right above the license plate on the Insight, but these might provide those of you with targets on your license plates some protection (these are actually designed to help prevent damage from someone backing into the front of your car):

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insightfully said:

From what I saw in Verdier's video, the offending pickup truck had a towing hook of some sort protruding from two sides of his bumper. Would've almost needed full frontal protection to prevent damage. It was almost lucky that the hook impact happened to align with Verdier's license plate...

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