I researched the entire internet and chatgbt about instructions to remove the passenger side skirt of a Prius gen5 and nothing. I think I am the first one for the gen5 Prius that needs the side skirt removed. What had happened was I hit a plastic cone on the freeway and it took out a good chunk of paint or even some plastic from the side skirt and I like to get it removed and have a body shop sand and repaint it. Right now its hard to drive around with this mistake of mine. Any help with this is greatly appreciated as next time Ill drive with more awareness even if I'm dead tire coming back from work.
Problem with your search is that it's known as a "rocker panel" not a "side skirt." I just googled 2023 Toyota Prius rocker panel and got a Genuine OEM part in the $300 range. Rocker Panel Guard Part Number: 7586047901 Supersession(s): 75860-47901 Molding. Rocker. Rocker Panel Guard. Panel Guard. plate. Cover. Finish. MOULDING Assembly, RockE. Splash Guard. Weatherstrip. Fits PRIUS (2023 - 2024) I'm not certain of specifics of Gen 5 Prius, but in general these are not a nuts and bolts part, but something that a body shop welds into place, though some vehicles have rocker panel covers/trim. If I were you I'd watch some you tube videos on DIY bondo jobs and fix this yourself on the cheap rather than paying someone who will massively overcharge you because it's such a new car.
PS: This graphic seems to indicate that this is a nuts and bolts replacements, which is surprising to me: https://parts.conicellitoyotaofconshohocken.com/oem-parts/toyota-2023-2024-toyota-rocker-molding-7585047915?origin=pla&srsltid=AfmBOoqpKsZYlXFMH3F4it56yu6cjJ9stwm7Jc68BfdG-y7lm4oH6NZU85I
I think the PITA will be that the front and rear quarter panels might need to be moved to get the rocker panel off. Then lining everything up correctly after reinstalling.
Yep... Bondo might seem tragic for such a new car, but one thing that's nice about working on white cars is it's super easy to have matching paint from a $6 spray paint can. If it were my car an hour of labor not counting drying time and it will look as good as new. Way cheaper than replacing the rocker panel, which probably is not sold with paint, only primer.
On the Gen4, there are small bolts on each end in the wheel wells, two screws in the door thresholds (very important), and several plastic pop out type rivets underneath that are out of sight and very hard to pop out even with a trim tool. Remove the 2 door screws last and it falls down/off. hope this helps
Wow, there's a lot of bad info on this thread already, so be careful. First, side skirt is a perfectly acceptable term to use for the part. It's more British/European, but it's also used in some regions of the US. Rocker panel is also used(more common in the US). Toyota calls it a body molding, but also uses the word rocker in the description for the US market. So it's officially a Molding Assembly, Body Rocker Panel in Toyota-speak. Second, don't use the part number given above. You specifically said it's your passenger(right) side molding that's been damaged. The part number given above is for the drivers(left) side molding. What you actually need is part number 75850-47915. The MSRP on the part is $450.75(which is about what a dealership or body shop would charge you for it). You could buy it today for $311.64 from online Toyota dealerships that offer 31% off and include free shipping(I use Lewis Toyota out of Kansas or Premier Autoplex Toyota out of Nebraska, but there are many others that offer the same discount). If you're able to live with damage for a couple months and have a warm place to do the work in mid/late-December, you can take advantage of Toyota's Black Friday sale and get an extra 25% off - that would bring the price down to $233.73. Next, you do NOT have an easy color to paint match. Tri-coat pearl whites are probably the hardest colors to get right. Doubly so if you have painted panels up against each other like you do with the side molding and doors. You have a few advantages with your car still being new(body color shouldn't have changed too much yet in only 24-28 months) and the panel in question being slightly in shadow and usually at least a little dirty. But using a rattle can to try and match a pearl white tri-coat is a terrible idea unless you want your car to look like a POS. So what should you do? Especially if you can wait until Black Friday, I would buy a new molding and have it professionally painted. At $235, it's barely more expensive than paying the labor to have a body shop fix the original. In fact, there's a good chance they would just want to order a new one anyway(and charge you the $450 MSRP for it). Also, it sounds like you'd rather do the removal/reinstall yourself. If you buy and new one and have it painted, you can look at the new one and see where all the fasteners are when you're removing the damaged one. Plus, it gives you a little extra freedom to be rough with the old one when removing it. As for where to have it done, I'd get a few quotes from local independent body shops and the dealership body shop. If they're reasonably close, I'd probably go with the dealership shop if it's got a good reputation. It's a little more likely the dealership shop has worked with this color before and might be better at applying it. Even if the dealership is more expensive, it shouldn't come out to a huge difference because it should only be a two hour job. One hour prep and one hour paint(it will take them less than that to do the job, but most shops bill a minimum of one hour for each step). There will probably be a small surcharge because it's a tri-coat, but it should be the equivalent of about 1/4 hour labor. Give the part a week or two for the paint to fully cure and harden before installing(just because of its location on the car). I had my mirror caps painted to match my body(red - also a tri-coat) at a dealership shop and it cost me something like $160-$175. I don't think you're going to need to fully remove the black wheel trim moldings, but you'll have to partially loosen them because they overlap the side skirts just a bit. I've fully removed mine a few times and I've hated it every time. They go on super easy, but they are very tough to get off without damaging them. The upper segments from about 10 to 2 o'clock are the worst, so if you can just remove the clips and screws near the side skirt, then pop the bottom two clips out of the car and gently bend the trim enough to get the side skirt free, you'll be much better off than trying to remove the entire wheel trim. It looks like there are 10 clips on the bottom of the panel. A spray bottle of interior detailer or diluted soap is going to be your friend here. Squirt some in and let it set for a bit. Then come back with it again or just a spray bottle with water and really get in there and spray out the clips well. Turn the spray bottle nozzle to stream and really irrigate into all the gaps in the clips with as much pressure as your spray bottle can do. Plastic clips become really difficult to work with when they've got dirt/sand/grit embedded in them. A really good cleaning will make the job hugely easier. Work out all the clips with a metal trim removal tool, or flat-tipped screwdriver, or whatever else is needed for those particular clips. Then remove the two screws under the doors. Finally, work your fingers or a nylon trim removal tool under the edge of the panel and pull it directly away from the car with short, sharp tugs to pop out all the clips holding it to the car horizontally. Looks like there are 8-10 of those. Then transfer all the clips over to the new side skirt, as well as the front door aligner pocket, and reinstall in the reverse order. I'd expect something between one and two hours of work for someone that hasn't done it before and is being careful; an experienced tech(with a lift to make it easier) could probably do it all in 15-30 min. Hope this helps. This place has free shipping and will have an additional 25% off during Black Friday week: Moulding Assembly, Rocker Panel, Right Hand L/Paint
Thanks for everybody's input, this is a wealth of information that I couldn't find out myself using Google or ChatGBT. I read everything and need to make a decision. I like to remove this still and get a body shop to tricolor match it to see what the cost could be, to just prep and paint. If it cost too much, then I can spray paint it the best i can while pearl and drive as so until Black Friday to buy a new part. Does this new part come colored pearl white tri coloring? Also how the heck do i remove the rocker panel molding clip 90467-22015 ? This i googled, youtubed, and ChatGBT it. Only ChatGBT has some words instructions but not sure if that is accurate. I have the tools mentioned like screw driver and hard plastic fork like removal tool. Thanks for the correction, 75850A(RH)
The part comes unpainted from Toyota. So either repair and repaint the old one or buy and paint a new one, but don't have the old one fixed and then buy a new one; that would just be a waste of a couple hundred dollars. As for the retainer, from the design I think you insert something into the holes(maybe a needle nose pliers or something) and then rotate it 90 degrees or a 1/4 turn. Then work a trim clip removal tool underneath the lip and pry it out. I'm looking for a video to confirm, but that seems to be the way it's built. I'll come back and edit this post once I find out if I'm right or wrong. edit: Found a video of a Camry which uses the same retainers and you do just turn it a quarter turn with a needle nose and pull.
