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Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:12 pm

A tragedy has occurred, my beautiful '74 Thing was in it's first accident yesterday. =(

I dropped it off for shipping from Hawaii to the mainland and they rear ended someone on the road. They are blaming it on brake failure, said that the bolt (rod) came disconnected and the pedal went to the floor. Has anyone ever heard of this or think that it is even possible for this to happen while driving? I've had it for a year and a half and have had absolutely no problems with the brakes...

She's going to need bodywork done on the front, if anyone knows of a reputable place in Hawaii please let me know.

Thanks

Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:17 pm

i would talk to a lawyer,..
the shipping co should have something stating what happened or an accident report form the POLICE.
and in their care,. they should be responsible for it.
including damage.
was they supposed to drive it or ship it?

Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:00 pm

Foxx wrote:
was they supposed to drive it or ship it?

I doubt they were supposed to drive it from Hawaii to the "Mainland"... just a guess though :D

I would certainly contact a lawyer, demand a police report, just don't take their word for it. I would also inspect to see if the "rod" did fail.

Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:20 pm

yeah, i call bullshit. I hope you take all the legal steps that hold them responsible. They are insured, and that's what insurance is for.
Do know that the shipper and the insurance company will try to screw you if they can get away with it.

Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:31 pm

I'd believe master cylinder failure before pushrod failure, But that would be harder to fake.

Seems to me they were driving too fast, having too much fun and not watching what they were doing. Otherwise, why didn't they use the emergency brake?

I'm assuming this is a Roll on, Roll off Shipping (RORO). I believe there was some sort of pre-inspection required.

Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:49 pm

I'm calling bullshit as well. Seems that I have read this happening in the forum before. Not necessarily brake failure , but damage with shipping companies. I would get on them, make em pay!!
Good Luck!

Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:10 pm

It's called a bailment. The bailee (shipping co. in this case) will usually incur some liability but it is based on your state law. Read over the contract that you signed for the shipping and see if there is any language about a release of liability or the creation of a bailment.

X2 on seeing an attorney in HI. Here in CA it is likely a small claims action and you don't "need" counsel to file a claim.

Also, take a ton of pictures to document both the damage and the alleged brake failure. :wink:

Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:57 pm

Two possible failures that I can think of, if they are not making it up..

Last person to work on the pedals didn't bend the little metal mudflap that holds the pushrod retaining pin back properly, or didn't replace the mudflap when it needed replacing...

Or, the pedal stop that keeps the pedals from falling toward the driver moved, allow the brake pedal to move aft far enough for the pushrod to come out of the master cylinder, before being re-pressed..

Or, they crashed your car and don't want to pay.

Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:34 am

Thanks guys, I guess I'll look into getting a lawyer tomorrow. I checked the car out today and to me it looks like they've unscrewed/disconnected the rod to make it look like a brake failure. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:58 am

sounds like someone was playing with your car and not being used to the brakes, hit something.
if they do not have a police report, then something is clearly rotten.
good luck

Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:42 am

Did you get a good series of pictures of that area? Did it look or appear it was taken apart?

Give us a follow up after it all "shakes out". Maybe the Tsunami had something to do with it..... It could happen.

Good luck

Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:27 pm

Can you collect any witnesses? Was anyone else there to see it? How about friends/family/neighbors that have seen the car working fine recently. Or any garage/maintainence receipts. Find out who they hit if possib.e I would find out about the companys record also.

I would contact your insurance company, see if they have a fraud division? Well i guess Things are not worth much so I'm sure insurance companies won't bother investigating. You would have to prove your car is worth more than KBB?

Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:28 pm

jennThing wrote: A tragedy has occurred, my beautiful '74 Thing was in it's first accident yesterday. =(

I dropped it off for shipping from Hawaii to the mainland and they rear ended someone on the road. They are blaming it on brake failure, said that the bolt (rod) came disconnected and the pedal went to the floor. Has anyone ever heard of this or think that it is even possible for this to happen while driving? I've had it for a year and a half and have had absolutely no problems with the brakes...

She's going to need bodywork done on the front, if anyone knows of a reputable place in Hawaii please let me know.

Thanks

Is this something that they said (are they qualified to determine type of brake failure?)

Where is the police report? That will answer alot of questions. I would think they would have to call the police.

Where was the accident compaired to where the port is?

How many people in the vehicle?

What is their rating with the BBB?

Have they contacted their insurance company?

Did you get the information of the other party (the driver they ran in to)?

Did you talk to the tow operator that towed it back? It would have been towed if the brakes failed. Where was it towed to? He/She might have some interesting information.

Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:38 pm

It's been an adventure going through this whole process. In the end it was handled as a typical accident through my insurance company. I had her repaired in Hawaii and then shipped through another company to CA. It's great to have my Thing again but the journey has been rough on her and I'll have to spend some time getting her back into good shape (lots of corrosion from all the outdoor exposure.

Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:29 pm

So it counts as your fault? Did it actually have a pushrod failure?

Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:35 pm

This is a decades old VW parts fact. Once installed and adjusted properly at the VW factory when the car was new, additional adjustment of the brake rod is almost never needed. So much so that it is nearly impossible to even get the rod loose. Even if you did it has no way to move (much) I take VW apart and put them back together all the time but have NEVER in over 40 years of VW fun seen a brake rod come loose by itself. Even if it did that would not cause a low-speed accident causing "brake failure" As has been said prior, I call full scale bullshit on this one. Some dummy crash your car through negligence.

Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:50 pm

kubelmann wrote: I take VW apart and put them back together all the time but have NEVER in over 40 years of VW fun seen a brake rod come loose by itself. ..... I call full scale bullshit on this one. Some dummy crash your car through negligence.
I agree.

Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:29 pm

I also agree. I'm guilty myself of getting too used to power 4 wheel disc brakes and am rudely awakened everytime I get in my Thing with the non-power 4 wheel drum brakes.