Hi I'm a car-clueless chick and I drove over a large rock and it damaged my exhaust pipes and oil pan. The "check engine" and "AT oil temp" lights immediately came on after the rock was hit.

 

The damage is specifically on the Y pipe, the mid pipe, and the pipe leading to the muffler, maybe 50% of the flow is restricted, and each dent is probably 2 inches long. The oil pan also has a big dent in the corner.

 

Is this thing safe to drive for a while or is my car going to explode? The dealership I took it too is trying to charge me an awful lot to repair, and I'm wondering if this is substantial damage to warrant the expense (around $1000 to fix through them). Should I get more estimates? I don't want to damage my car further by driving it around to shops to get estimates.

 

Any tips or info would be appreciated, I know nothing about cars and don't want to get screwed in unnecessary repair costs.

Are the CEL and the AT light still on? If they are I would certainly get that checked out. You could go to a parts store and get them to pull the codes for you, and someone here could probably help you figure out what is wrong.

 

The exhaust, I certainly wouldn't go to the dealership to get this work done. I would get other quotes for sure.

 

Can't really say if the car is safe to drive around or not. Does your car still drive normally?

 

Probably wouldn't postpone this too long the problems might magnify.

 

Sorry couldn't help more.

Check for fluid leaks - if you're losing much oil (or anything else), it will need attention very soon.

 

I second the comment about getting the exhaust done elsewhere. It will save you much moolah.

 

Good luck

 

Are the CEL and the AT light still on? If they are I would certainly get that checked out. You could go to a parts store and get them to pull the codes for you, and someone here could probably help you figure out what is wrong.

 

The exhaust, I certainly wouldn't go to the dealership to get this work done. I would get other quotes for sure.

 

Can't really say if the car is safe to drive around or not. Does your car still drive normally?

 

Probably wouldn't postpone this too long the problems might magnify.

 

Sorry couldn't help more.

where in the northwest are you?

 

if you are in Portland or Vancouver "Richierich" off this board runs a subaru shop in NE portland (off NE 82nd)

 

www.fixmysuby.com is his website address, but its still kind of under construction. There is an e-mail link on the page however. The address on that page is out of date as they just moved the shop to 82nd, but the phone # should still be right.

 

Funny you said you are a clueless car chick... thats my wifes login name

 

 

My guess on diagnosis... either you are losing fluid, OR, your exhaust is restricted confusing the computer OR the rock yanked some plugs, possibly unplugging the AT fluid temp sensor and the O2 sensor (causing the AT light and the CEL)

yeah, the email address on the webpage is wrong, too.

 

 

Superior Import Repair, Inc

4443 NE 82nd Ave

Portland OR 97220

503-288-8634

 

I would say it not safe to drive till the codes are checked and find out what they are. The exaust might be fixible depending on where the damage was done, if you are not in the Portland area, let us know because there are a few other shops around that are decent.

Right now the car is actually in Eugene, OR. So if anyone knows of reputable places around Eugene, that'd be great!

PM Mudrat79, he is a off-road speciality shop in Eugene, he does lift and exhaust work, and your vehicle would fall under exhaust work, not sure it he has a OBDII machine but can probably get one if necessary, if nothing else he can get the parts for you and install them at a cost a lot less than the dealer. Like I said would not drive it much until you find out why the check engine and trans light are coming on. Good Luck.