Not sure if I am the first but hurts just the same. Managed to hit a big metal piece of road debris that fell of a truck while on the A3 bypassing Zagreb.
As we came around a corner at 130km, I saw the thing right in the middle of our lane with nowhere to go to avoid it. I thought I could straddle it but with three people in the car and a boot full of luggage, we were just a bit too low to clear it. Had we been empty, I am sure it would have cleared.
The "good news" is that this monster piece of metal road debris managed to catch the rear cross-member that protects the rear differential. In the process, it ripped it clean off and bent the hell out of it. Fortunately, it did not damage anything else.
In any case, we slowly made our way to the local Volvo dealer in Zagreb who were super in helping us. They were able to determine that only the cross-member had been damaged and checked everything underneath. They said the car was safe to drive without the support, at least until we could back home to Budapest.
I must say that I am very impressed at the build quality of the XC40 as it took one hell of an impact. The noise that was made on impact was extremely scary. The car is absolutely built like a tank given that nothing else was damaged, at least as far as we can tell at the moment. Our dealer in Budapest will order the new part and do a full alignment check just to be on the safe side.
First to break their new XC40
As bad as this could have been, after taking the car to my local Volvo service here in Budapest, they discovered that ONLY the support bracket was damaged. No damage or misalignment of the rear suspension or anything else. Extremely lucky as it could have been far worse.
The really great news was the cost to fix it. Replacement part: 9 EUR Labor Cost: 15 EUR Total Cost: 24 EUR
Can't remember the last time I walked away from a dealer service for 24 EUR ever, in any country. I was really shocked at how cheap the part was. We can only hope that all of the XC40 parts are as cheap. Somehow I think that is wishful thinking.
In any case, if you ever encounter some monster piece of road debris, do your best to straddle it. Worst case, you too may be looking at only a 24 EUR repair.
Good luck and safe driving this summer!
The really great news was the cost to fix it. Replacement part: 9 EUR Labor Cost: 15 EUR Total Cost: 24 EUR
Can't remember the last time I walked away from a dealer service for 24 EUR ever, in any country. I was really shocked at how cheap the part was. We can only hope that all of the XC40 parts are as cheap. Somehow I think that is wishful thinking.
In any case, if you ever encounter some monster piece of road debris, do your best to straddle it. Worst case, you too may be looking at only a 24 EUR repair.
Good luck and safe driving this summer!
XC-40 Momentum | T5 | Amazon Blue with White Roof | 19" White Alloys