Questions and Answers
Tree Fell On My Car
Q. In July 1999 a neighbor's 50 foot tree fell on the hood of my 1997 Buick Park Avenue. I had the car hauled to a Buick dealer in Vestal, NY, (about 40 miles) where they did all the body work. I also asked them to check to see if there was any other damage. The only thing they did was turn all four rotors, which seemed to be unrelated to damage by the tree.
However, since then the brakes have frequently started to vibrate/shake/rumble when applied. Each time the problem was diagnosed as the rotors. The following work has been done:
Total cost $686.00.
- July 22, 1999 - All four turned by Buick dealer (as noted above)
- Dec. 2, 1999 - Front rotors turned by Repair Shop #2
- Dec. 4, 1999 - Rear rotors turned by Repair Shop #2
- Jan 14, 1999 - Rear rotors turned by Repair Shop #3
- Feb. 2, 2000 - New Front rotors installed by Repair Shop #3
- Mar 17, 2001 - New Rear rotors installed by Repair Shop #4
About three weeks ago I started getting that same vibration again and now it's really bad. I know that I'll be told the rotors need turning again. I doubt that rotors should fail this frequently. I have a 1995 Nissan 200SX that has never had a problem like this. Is there some other part that causes the rotor damage that should be replaced? Is something bent (as a result of the tree incident) that is the source of the problem? Any suggestions?
1997 Buick Park Avenue, V-6 3.8 liter engine, automatic, fuel injection, 4 wheel ABS, P/S, A/C, Cruise, 64,000 miles.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
CarlA. It seems to me they are treating the symptom and not looking for the problem. A tree is quite heavy and a falling tree has a lot of force and a car doesn't stand a chance. With uni-body construction, it doesn't take a whole lot to bend a car. I would take the car to a body shop that has a frame alignment machine and have the frame thoroughly checked. I'm willing to bet the frame is bent and that's what is causing the problems with the brakes.
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