Lack of bumper standards leads to higher repair costs for SUVs, pickups, experts say

Harry Whittelsey shifted into reverse and slowly backed up to a gas pump in Huntington when, feeling a small jolt, he realized his bumper hit a stanchion.

Four estimates later, the superficial-looking ding on his 2023 Kia Sorento amounted to more than $6,500 in repairs, Whittelsey said. While he and his wife, Frances Cerra Whittelsey, were first shocked by the September dent and bill, they were even more frustrated to learn that their Kia was among the growing fleet of SUVs and pickups not subject to federal bumper regulations that minimize damage and repair costs to smaller cars in minor crashes. 

All passenger cars — which include sedans and sports cars, but not larger vehicles — have to comply with federal regulations requiring bumpers to withstand 2.5 mph impacts and be set at heights 16 to 20 inches off the ground. The height requirement ensures bumpers on cars align during crashes. The standard was originally intended to reduce damage, protect auto parts, and provide cost savings for consumers, but SUVs, pickups and vans are exempt from the requirement.

Amid increasing sales of SUVs and pickups, some auto industry experts would like to see the standard extended to all vehicles, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has maintained that SUVs, pickups and vans continue to be exempt because the regulations would compromise their off-road utility.

Frances Cerra Whittelsey, a former consumer affairs reporter, said the lack of oversight is problematic for potential SUV owners unable to determine how sturdy that bumper really is.

“The buyer has no way of knowing whether the SUV is built with any kind of protection or not, which is why government needs to step in,” said Whittelsey, noting the minor fender bender penetrated through the bumper and into the electronic sensors inside. “It’s old-style, buyer beware, no information available.”

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents auto companies, did not directly respond to requests for comments regarding whether the bumper standard should apply to all vehicles. 

Last year, new SUV and pickup sales represented nearly 75% of the market share, according to Edmunds, an auto research firm. More of these bulkier vehicles on the road means more vehicles with higher bumpers, which can cause greater impact to smaller passenger cars, even in fender benders.

“It results in huge amounts of damage because you're bypassing the sacrificial protective piece that's supposed to be the bumper,” said Joe Nolan, senior vice president for vehicle research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group that is supported by auto insurers and insurance associations.

Regulations loosened

When the regulations first passed in the 1970s, passenger cars were required to withstand 5 mph front impacts, but that speed was later lowered to 2.5 mph in 1982 because it was believed it would provide cost savings to the consumer by creating lighter bumpers that consume less gas. 

But it did not result in any fuel cost savings, according to the AAA, which would like to see the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revert to its 5 mph standard.

The AAA would also like the agency to establish uniform bumper height standards for all light-duty trucks, SUVs and vans, the AAA said in a statement.

Not considered a safety feature, bumpers are designed to absorb shock in low-speed crashes and shield the front and rear end of cars from damage, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA declined to comment and referred to its website.

Nolan, from the insurance institute, said the standard not only excludes the majority of vehicles sold, it also provides the bare minimum of protection. 

“It’s a failure at almost every level of regulation,” Nolan said.

Nolan said the regulation falls short for a number of reasons. The 2.5 mph testing limit is too low and the regulation also fails to consider energy absorption at the corners, a place the bumper is not required to extend to but gets hit often.

Implications of lack of standards

Greg Horn, chief innovation officer at Parts Trader, an online marketplace that handles roughly 2 billion collision parts annually, said the lack of federal bumper oversight has real implications for consumers. He has found that SUVs involved in low-speed collisions have an average of nearly three more repair parts than sedans.

“You’re looking at adding $300 to $500 average cost because of those additional pieces,” said Horn, adding that the Chicago-based Parts Trader deals with suppliers, body shops and insurance companies. He said that if the bumper doesn't offer minimal protection, then a low-impact collision will pass beyond the bumper and into other areas of the vehicle.

“Everyone's insurance is going up. The cost of repairs are crazy high now … The whole idea of the government standard was to lower insurance premiums through engineering and now that's really gone by the wayside,” Horn said.

According to Joe Young, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which first petitioned to expand the regulation in 2008, lowering the bumper standard did lead to higher insurance claims for models with weaker bumpers.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., said overall vehicle compatibility and bumper alignments between vehicles is a real problem. In that way, the bumper standard is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't address safety of occupants and pedestrians. 

“It’s important from a consumer pocketbook perspective and it would be great if it were extended, but it has very little to do with the focus we do here, which is occupant protection and protection of pedestrians,” he said. 

At Vittorio Auto Body shop on New York Avenue in Huntington, manager Eddie Torres said there are pricey electronics and sensors inside the bumper that are costly to repair. He also believes that on average, the bumpers on SUVs could offer more protection.

The same impact on a smaller car would cause less damage than on an SUV, he said, because there are not enough brackets and retainers holding plastic bumpers on bigger vehicles.

“So if you’re able to gauge the same impact on both vehicles, it would actually make less damage on the smaller car than the SUV because there’s a lot more give,” Torres said.

Meanwhile, Kia owners Harry Whittelsey and his wife, Frances, are not looking forward to what may be costlier auto insurance at the end of the year.

“I don’t see any incentive for manufacturers to fix this problem,” Frances said.