Hello, I'm looking for advice on how to remove the front grill section on my Prius Prime. I removed a number of fasteners, but it seems there are more that I cannot get to without removing the headlights. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I believe you need to remove the entire front bumper cover assembly to access ALL fasteners holding the grill assembly in place. That's how you get to the lower headlamp assembly bolts.
Thanks for the response. Any advice on removing the bumper? I don't see any other fasteners that will do so.
I believe you'll need to remove the belly pan, that'll expose at least 4 - 10mm bolts near/across the lower radiator support. then a bunch of plastic rivets along the sides and front inner fender liner. There a plastic hook snap where the plastic bumper cover meets the fender. I believe you should be able to find a YouTube video on it's removal. Hint: lay down cardboard and a beach towel, so you have someplace to lay that cover down, without scratching it. Hope this helps...
Thanks, that helps. I found videos for removing the front of a 2017 Prius, but not a Prius Prime, which is a bit more complicated. I looked at a parts diagram of the bumper assembly. I'll try to find access to the bolts that hold the metal absorber.
I've had the cover off both a 2019 Prime and a 2017 Prime. I replaced the side front bumper covers on the 2019, twice. There are a couple of plastic fittings inside the front of the wheel wells. Turn the slot 90 degrees, and you can get the center part to come out. I had to pry a little with a small flat-bladed screwdriver. Don't lose the part that clips onto the fender liner. Toyota is pretty proud of that part. Depending on your corrosion/UV exposure, the part with a slot can get damaged, and this is the place where you'll find out how much they've degraded. At least, it's the part that's less expensive. I think there might be a screw towards the top, but maybe I'm remembering doing this on my 2011. Disconnect everything inside the wheel well below the seam on the side of the car. As @Biomed01 said, there are some panels underneath and toward the front that you'll need to pull the 10 mm screws out of, maybe a push clip or two as well (I forget). There are some smaller panels that attach to the front of the fender liner that you won't need to remove, and you won't have to touch the big panel under the engine, but there are some wood screw looking hex bolts that screw through these white plastic square clips in the front bumper cover assembly. I think three per side. You're looking for the whole front bumper cover, grille and all to be loose at the bottom here. You'll also need to remove the plastic cover that goes from the upper radiator support to the front under the hood. (This is the part that exposes the hood latch. Those push pins go all the way in to release it, then you can pull the whole push pin out of the hole. To reset it, pull the center part all the way up, then once you get things in place, go halfway to lock it (where the top of the center part is at the same level as the outer part). Under that cover, there's either more either 10 mm bolts, or push pins that go all the way across the front. You'll see it as the upper center part of the bumper cover is painted to match the rest of your car's exterior. Once again, you're looking for the entire bumper assembly to be lose, at least from headlight to headlight. From there, start at one of the wheel wells, pull the bumper cover out from the body, work your way under the headlight. I forget if there's two places where it snaps in per side or three. Once you get it lose, there are a few electrical connections to the sensor under the Toyota emblem and the proximity sensors, turn signals... Once you get the electrical connectors pulled apart, you can remove the entire front bumper cover assembly as one unit. You'll be able to get your grille out from there, or what other parts you'll need to change out. You won't need to remove any of the bulbs, but if you're looking at removing just the grille part, it will be best to unclip all the leads and take the whole cover to the bench. PS, if your hood doesn't pop up when you pull the hood latch release inside the car - neither of mine did), replace the larger spring in the hood latch mechanism while you're there. It's about 4 dollars and change. Also work in some grease into the parts that move, but it's the large spring that gets overstretched and weakens over time that's the real problem. Whatever you do, don't adjust the bumpers near the headlights. It's trying to use a $400 dollar hood in the place of a $4.00 spring, and being aluminum, it won't spring back after it deforms.
