Ran over something, what to check underneath?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by pasadena_commut, Jun 16, 2023.

  1. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    2007 Prius
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    Ran over something on the highway today. Not sure what it was, but it looked like plastic, was about 2 ft. long and had a triangular cross section. It was immobile on the pavement when it appeared out from beneath the car in front of us. So it wasn't high enough for most cars to hit. Unfortunately the Prius is low, and while I couldn't avoid it due to cars on both sides, I was able to position it to pass right down the center of the car. As it went under it made two fast "chunk chunk" noises. Pulled over in a parking lot a few minutes later to inspect and did not see any damage. The front plastic was all intact (the lower spoiler was removed long ago, had it not been, I'm sure this would have taken it off.) The gas tank wasn't leaking and I didn't see any dings in it, but the angle and light weren't great. Looking from the front of the car the two lowest points were the cat shield and a pipe somewhere between the shielded cat and whatever comes next (muffler?). Drove the car for another half hour or so and nothing else untoward happened (no CEL, no puddles, no odd noises.)

    Tomorrow when the underside of the car is cold I'm going to jack it up for a better look. Going to give the gas tank a better look and shake the exhaust system a bit to verify none of the connectors broke. Anything else that I should look for?

    Thanks.
     
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    If you managed to center the object down the car, then you should be golden. The O2 sensor threads into the pipe section between the upstream and downstream cat, but if you have a shield, it's wiring should be fully protected. The resonator is downstream of the cats then the exhaust pipe turns toward the passenger side and then over the rear suspension to the muffler, which is just to the rear of the rear wheels. All that stuff is pretty tough.
    All the gen 2 brake lines, fuel lines and HV cables are tucked up and pretty well protected from anything going down the center of the car.