Last night my husband hit a 2 foot pole going 5-10 mph in his 2003 Hyundai Sonata, cracking the front driver's side bumper and knocking the floodlight loose. All the damage seems external, but now when we turn the engine, all we hear is a squealing/clicking. Everything else "is"(as in appears to be) fine, lights work, brake isn't stuck. We were able to get it in neutral and park it out of the way.

Really what I want to know is How would a fender bender stop a car??? And how do I fix it without an expensive tow truck/auto mechanic visit???

 

Gotta watch out for those slow moving poles. They can just jump right out in front of you.

Huh? The pole is solid, stuck in the ground and almost immovable. That's how it stopped your car.

By buying a new bumper, light and replacing the parts you damaged. Are you skilled enough to do that? If not, you need to go to a repair shop. And buying the parts won't be cheap.

 

Thank you NovaResource, that was super duper helpful.

Now I'm sure you knew my point, but I'll reiterate anyways in case anyone has a serious answer.

How and Why would damage to a bumper keep an engine from running???

Has anyone else been stranded by minor accidents? Would something have gotten knocked loose? Where should I start looking?

 

You were not very clear on your original post. Does the engine crank? My guess is you damaged more than just the buumper and light. I'd suggest go to a mechanic to have it fixed properly.

 

All modern cars have an emergency fuel cutoff valve that triggers when jolted during an impact. I don't know how many G's are need to trigger these, but I would think hitting a power pole might be plenty sufficient. The car will not start if the valve has triggered. There should be instructions in the owners manual explaining the location and how to manually reset this device.

P.S. I just a few minutes searching the manual and the HMA service. I'll be damn if I can find the emergency cutoff valve documented. NovaResource is good at finding buried bodies so maybe he can help. These are mandated by Federal law, so the car has to have one. May require a call to a dealership to locate it.