2012 Prius Lower Door Chrome Trim

On the set that I had, the hybrid logo was seperate and I had to attach it to the molding myself.

 

I have the same problem. I bought some clamps from home depot and will clamp them overnight to see if it fixes it.

 

If everyone is having so many problems getting the middle to stick, then I wonder what dealers and other professional installers end up doing? Maybe they don't use the supplied 3M tape?

 

Yes. It's a sticker that they give u separately & u stick on. Sorry, I didn't know someone beat me to the punch on the answer.

 

I was waiting for him to respond but I'll tell my solution. It was to buy 3M sticker roll(Walmart) & put it on top of the old 3m tape. I did this all around the old 3M but u might be able to just cut a long strip for only the middle parts needed. I just felt like the whole adhesive was compromised once I took it off, so applied the whole thing. It's almost an exact fit(in width). This provided the added cushion & width to close the gap, therefore I didn't have the small popping in the middle. Disclaimer- It worked for me but may not work for u so I do not take responsibility nor do I guarantee it will work .

 

Anybody got a pic without the badge? Love the look but kinda feel there will be too many "hybrid" badges.

 

If I had one uninstalled, I could show u. There is a blank indentation spot in that area that would look like something is missing if the sticker is not placed in there but I suppose u could leave it blank or find a different sticker to place there.

 

Yes I believe so but there are two pinholes in the sheet metal behind it. Unless, that is only on the actual Prius logo. You would definitley want to do something about that or maybe see if you can get the logos that Tommy Kaira makes for the Prius.

 

Having the clamps on overnight really helped the situation. Things are a lot more snug now, especially at the ends. I am no longer thinking about removing them and adding more 3M tape.

When you removed your molding to add more tape, was it hard to get it off? Was there any damage to the molding or to the paint on the car?

 

Glad it (clamps) worked out for you.

It was a little tough getting it off. But with a careful tug & pull here & there it came off easy enough. No damage to any part of the car(paint), thank goodness.

 

There are no pinholes under the hybrid sticker or any metal as he is referring to the lower moldings and not the hybrid badge on the body.

 

Latest update. I took the car out to drop my kid off at a party and then we had thunderstorms pass thru the area with heavy rains. When I got home, I checked the molding and there were several areas where the molding was not sticking to the car anymore. I decided then to just rip it off and I will buy some 3M tape and redo it. The molding came off very easily.

I don't think that I did anything wrong with the installation as I had installed the tapered body molding to the same Prius and I also did it for my wife's CRV and those came out great with great adhesion. The process that I used was to wash the area with a car wash detergent. Rinse the area and dry it. I then used an alcohol pad (the ones that they use prior to taking blood for a blood test) to wipe the area and then when that dries, I apply the molding.

Perhaps the other folks who are having problems got ones from a bad batch. It would be interesting to see if we all got it from the same place. I bought mines off a seller on Ebay (marinecombat).

 

When u clamped it down, how long after did u wait til u did this after installing the moldings? I ask because if u didn't do it right away, it's possible the 3m tape was contaminated enough that it became less effective, thus it came undone. Is it mainly that area where it was loose before that came off?

 

I installed the moldings at approximately 5pm on Wednesday. I did not buy the clamps until Thrusday morning at approximately 9am and used them right away. The only usage of the Prius after installation was the trip to Home Depot to get the clamps (a distance of 3 miles round trip on a sunny day). The areas were mainly the areas that were loose before but it spread much wider than where the original gaps were.

I ordered two rolls (15 feet each roll) of 3M molding tape from Amazon. They should be here Tuesday so I'll give it another shot next week and let you guys know how it works out.

 

Try to install earlier in the day time when it is warm or (even better) hot outside so the 3M will be more effective. If u plan on putting the 3M on top of the old one, make sure u clean off the surface of the old as it is full of contaminants(dirt & debris) & after, warm up the area(I used my blow dryer) to get a good adhesion. Good luck, hope it works out for u this time.

 

Looks good! The car looks better with the chrome pieces.

 

Thanks for the tips. I plan to remove all the old adhesive before putting the new 3M tape down.

 

OK, I received the 3M tape from Amazon on Tuesday. I removed the old adhesive tape from the molding and then applied the new tape to the same locations. I put the molding aside (to give it time to get a better bond and since it was also raining. I did not want to apply the molding to the car until we get a sunny day).

The weather cleared up on Wednesday afternoon so I decided to install the molding on the car. I performed the same procedure as the first time:

1. Wash the lower part of the car (where the molding goes) with car wash detergent and then gave it a good rinse
2. Dryed the car with a clean cloth
3. Left the car out in the sun to make sure it was dry (approximately 15 minutes)
4. rubbed the install location with an alcohol pad (the kind they use before they draw blood at the doctor's office)
5. Installed the molding

This time, I had no issues and the molding stuck very well. I have one or two locations where I see a small gap between the molding and the car but I think that this was more an issue of me not doing too good a job of re-installing the 3M tape back on the molding (maybe I did not get it as close to the edge as I should have). So, I am 99% sure that the issue that I had with the first install can probably be blamed on the original tape on the molding.

I am not 100% certain, but I think that the moldings that I received did not have the 3M logo on the red tape that you need to peel before you stick it on. So, I am not sure if it was not 3M tape on the molding originally.

 

Glad it worked out for u on the 2nd go around. Hope u don't have any more issue. On mine, I do distinctly recall the 3M logo on the original.

 

The trick to installing these trim is to take your time and to use either a heat gun or blow drier and heat up the doors' contact surface. Also use the heat to "mold" the trims into place.

Sean: you probably got the answer already but if you don't apply the "hybrid" badges onto the trim, you have a rectangular indentation of where the badge is suppose to apply. I think I have a pic without the badges on in the 2012 fog light thread.

EDIT: only way to not have the indentation is to get the JDM version.