?s about Wheel Covers and Center caps for Touring

"Went home and looked online that other parts websites have them for $11 each. "

After a mis-step on eBay, I bought four of the center caps from my dealer. Reason for purchase was that I bought 15" wheels to mount my snow tires on for my Touring. With tax, it was in the neighborhood of $50 from the dealer.

The mis-step on eBay I referred to is that there are two similar Toyota caps. One has a 2.25 inch diameter, and the other a 2.5 inch. Prius takes the smaller one. The four I bought on eBay were the wrong size and, not knowing they came in two sizes, I spent some frustrating time trying to get them on.

"1. Is it safe to drive without these for a couple days while I make up my mind"

I could be wrong, but I think you could get by without them until you decide whether to put the hubcaps back on. One thing which might be a good idea with or without center caps is to take some water-proof grease and a few Q-tips and to lightly coat the front threads from the end of the nut to the end of the threads. That'll help the threads resist corrosion which, on some other vehicles I've seen, can make it harder to remove the nut.

I also put some grease on the back wheels around the "circle" where the wheels fit the hub (or whatever it's best called). Again, it's just a precaution against corrosion there. I have a friend who just had a hard time getting off wheels with that set-up. I went to a parking lot, loosened the lug nuts a small bit and then drove it very slowly around a parking lot ... that broke the wheels loose for her.

Haven't taken off or put on the Touring wheel covers myself, so I can't comment on how to do so.

 

Anti-seize thread lubricant can be found anywhere, and you want to use high temperature copper formula. Comes in a small 10oz bottle... and that small amount has lasted me and my son about 10 years so far.

I seasonally mount Winter wheels on at least 2 cars (plus my son's car) and I still have a bunch left in the container. My small old project car gets anti-seize as well to make tire rotations easier. The bottle cap has an attached brush... and it only takes a tiny and very thin amount spread on the wheel contact points. Just be careful so you don't spread it on anything else.

Not sure if I would recomment puting grease on the back of a wheel. Not sure how it would hold on. Wouldn't want grease to spin off onto brake surfaces or anything else. The high temp copper anti-seize sticks tight and doesn't migrate.

The best thing about it... the wheels come off easily, even after driving 6 months on salted winter roads that tend to fuse the wheels strongly on to the hubs.

 

i bought the center caps and didnt like the look, "boo" here mentioned adding beauty/trim rings and WOW...wish i had pics, but i got them at autoamenity.com part # tr1516pf...$54.50 incl s/h

 

There is no need to worry about driving without the covers or caps on the wheels. The covers and caps ARE NOT weather proof! They are for decoration only, though they -may- provide marginal aerodynamic benefit. I have the 15" wheels and I leave the "trim rings" off because they actually -cause- corrosion. Dirt (sand) builds up under them and holds water with salt on the wheel.

 

no idea what a rear ring is. the original covers do not fit over the center caps nor trim rings. the trim rings are of moderate difficulty to install and are meant to stay on except for tire changes.

 

The trim rings are for the 15" wheels. They pull off just as easily as the covers on the 16" wheels. I can remove them by hand in a few seconds.

15" wheels - trim rings pull off. Center caps usually require wheel removal and striking from behind to remove.

16" wheels - wheel covers pull off. Center caps or wheel covers, not both at the same time. Center caps (a part actually intended for the 15" wheels but fits the 16" when the wheel covers are removed) can be driven on by a rubber mallet, but usually the wheel should be removed and they should be driven off from behind when removing.

 

Hi lefat1,

Here's the post I made about what metagrey had done with her Touring Edition's 16" wheels (she removed the full covers, and added the Standard Prius' chrome center caps and the autoamenity.com 16" chrome trim rings):

 

as i stated b4, the trim rings are of moderate difficulty to install, but they make the world of difference as opposed to the center caps alone. i spoke to the owner of autoamenities b4 purchasing and he was helpful in explaining the installation. they dont wobble or look cheap, but i'll have my gf run on the side of the car later to get her opinion

 

For those who haven't looked at a 16" Touring "hubcap" from behind, the Touring center cap and the hubcap are all one piece on my 2009. You can't take the center caps off and use them separately.

 

cla

Affirmed. The molded-in 16" Touring caps are relatively thin and are integral to the wheel cover. They have no particular need for strength.

The center caps for the 15" wheels are more robust and can be taken off and put back on. I don't have one right here with me, but I believe they're also plastic, but more substantial. And, they have "hooks" protruding from the back which go into the wheel. There is a circular metal piece running inside of the hooks to give them tension for a good grip. They may seem stronger in part because they are seated in the metal wheel vs the Touring caps which are just attached to the rest of the plastic cover.

As noted elsewhere, Toyota has two very similar-looking center caps. First is the one described above which fits the Prius and who knows what other models. It has a 2.25 inch diameter. There's a second center cap which fits who knows what and has a 2.5 inch diameter. At a glance, the outside of these two different center caps may appear the same, but when looked at more closely they have very different patterns.