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Chipped black spoiler

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by kerke, Jan 21, 2013.

  1. kerke

    kerke New Member

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    I noticed today that my 2013 Prius II black spoiler is chipped. It really is a tiny spot but I can see the little white spot in the center of the black spoiler.

    My Prius II is brand new, I picked it up at the dealer on December 30, 2012, and I am not really sure if the chipped spoiler was there at the time of delivery. Regardless, what would be the best way to repair that tiny spot? I don't want to leave it like this as it may rust (I live on the Florida coast).

    Should I try to repair this myself or should I take it to the dealer? If I was to repair it myself, what should I use?

    Thank you in advance,

    Kerke
     
    #1 kerke, Jan 21, 2013
  2. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    Hope yoy get an answer soon as I have about 10 chips and no answers
     
    #2 Munpot42, Jan 21, 2013
  3. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Is The Prius spoiler made of metal?
    If you can see "white" then I don't think rust is a concern.

    Being so "new", I'd probably take it to the dealership, state your concerns that you think it may of been delivered to you with the chip, and see what they may or may not be willing to do for you.

    If you are lucky, perhaps they will fix it for you.

    If they refuse, or determine that it's unprovable "when" it happened, they could at least tell you the cost of repair options.

    Just be honest, not angry or confrontational. This is where "The Dealer is My Friend" is the best approach.

    How small is "small"? If it's small enough, your best answer might just be careful application of touch up paint.
     
    #3 The Electric Me, Jan 21, 2013
  4. Blu-ray

    Blu-ray Blizzard Brigade #215

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    Can you post an image of this? How would the rear spoiler get chipped?
     
    #4 Blu-ray, Jan 21, 2013
  5. kerke

    kerke New Member

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    Blu-ray, this is a photo of the rear black spoiler, taken with my low-res blackberry camera, the chip is actually much smaller than how it looks like on the picture. I stopped by the Toyota dealer and basically they gave me three options: (1) Replace the whole spoiler--more than likely the dealer will not cover the cost because it has been 3 weeks since the car was delivered. (2) Use the Toyota black touch-up paint 202, I wonder if this can make things even worse and more noticeable. Option (3) was to just use a black Sharpie marker. So I ask... What do you guys recommend?

    [​IMG]
     
    #5 kerke, Jan 21, 2013
  6. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    I tried the black Sharpie, don't bother.
     
    #6 Munpot42, Jan 22, 2013
  7. kerke

    kerke New Member

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    What happened, the Sharpie didn't work?
     
    #7 kerke, Jan 22, 2013
  8. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    Worked for bout 2 days and not very well at that.
     
    #8 Munpot42, Jan 22, 2013
  9. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    202 Black is a perfect match. My repair is barely detectable only because I know where to look for it. The part is plastic so rust isn't an issue. Given the choice I'd have it painted to match the body instead of having the shiny black show all the swirlies.
     
    #9 JimN, Jan 22, 2013
  10. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    I use black nail polish due to jacking up rear without closing hatch in garage
     
    #10 tankyuong, Jan 23, 2013
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Most any automotive gloss black will work. I've used Dupli-Color "Universal Black" (after a couple of run-ins with our garage door opener...). I've taken our spoiler off once, just to see how to do it. Also, been toying with trying satin black Plasti-Dip. Would likely take it off for that.
     
    #11 Mendel Leisk, Jan 23, 2013
  12. ucsmfu

    ucsmfu Senior Member

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    hey, what's your MPG during the winter time ?

    I'm getting 6.9-7.1 ><

    my best in the summer was 4.8-5.3
     
    #12 ucsmfu, Jan 23, 2013
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Well, you can see from my Fuelly Icon the accumulated, for a bit over two years calc'd now. And not sure where you are across the country, but we're right on the west coast, winters pretty mild.

    I just checked our record, see the worst on record was a 5.8. There was one other at 6.2, but someone messed up the fillup, I'm sure it's an anomaly. Best summer was 4.5.

    It depends a lot on type of driving, trip duration, ambient temps/weather, and so on.

    Is your's a Canadian Touring?
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Jan 24, 2013
  14. ucsmfu

    ucsmfu Senior Member

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    yeah. Mines a touring. I live in vancouver, bc as well
     
    #14 ucsmfu, Jan 24, 2013
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