My wife had a minor fender-bender that slightly damaged her 2005. The hood still works but is very slightly compressed so that the left side has a gap of about 1/2 inch gradually expanding out to 1 inch between the left edge of the hood and quarter panel and about an inch of distortion in the front next to the headlight where the leading edge is slightly pushed in. My concern is that water will enter one of these gaps, but we're wondering if we should bother going through the expense to replace it on a 212K Prius Gen 2. Is a small (extra) gap on the side and front an issue if the hood can be opened and closed normally? The job to replace it doesn't look to difficult, mainly removing the heat shield and washer hose and four bolts without dropping the hood. But the cheapest I've seen the hood for is $200 and it's unlikely the paint will match at this point.
If you let us know what region you live in someone might have a good price on a hood near you. For example I'm in Western Washington and have a hood I'd sell you for $50. Alternatively wreckers like Pick n' Pull have hoods on wrecked Prius for around $100ish, but periodically they go on sale for $70-ish. As for you description, I'm confused. The quarter panels are essentially the rear fender area of the car. Are you sure youre talking about the front hood over the engine? Or are you talking about the rear hatch that got damaged? As for rain damage, you could probably use duct tape or something similar to keep the water out, but I don't think it will cause too much damage without covering it. Of course without a photo I'm not quite clear on the problem? If I could see a photo, maybe I might also be able to recommend a method to bend the hood back to its original shape so it doesn't need to be replaced?
Not sure why I didn't think of the idea of photos except it's embarrassing how filthy this car is. I'm in the Chicago area. I suppose any hood from 2004 to 2009 would work?
Yes... all hoods are the same 2004-2009... I'd encourage you to call Eric Powers in Madison. He's been a leader in hybrid cars since Gen1 Prius and knows your region well: EV Powers | Hybrid Battery Service & Repair. Prius Insight Civic. 56 Corry St, Madison, WI As for the photos, I'm having a hard time understanding how the collision caused it and can't really see the dents in the front very well. But on first look it seems the passenger-side hood hinge is bent and if you unbolt it you can probably bend it back into place. Then once you got that done, loosen all four bolts to get the alignment of hood lined up with headlights and fenders as good as possible and that might be all you need, other than washing your car.
A patient person would wait until there's better light tomorrow and take a better picture, but...if I am understanding correctly, the hood hinge shown here has a bit of an inward hook on its left side. and that left edge should be perfectly straight. I wasn't present when the accident occurred, but from the pattern of damage it looks like the passenger side of the bumper took the main impact, cracking the passenger side of the grille and causing the front 1/3 or so of the passenger side of the hood to curl slightly.
You have more problems than just a hood. Looks like the headlight is folded in a bit and the front quarter is crunched
