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
Is that true 04 to 09 hoods are the same but the front fenders are different for 06 to 09 versus 0405? I'm not sure ?
Yep, I thought I was reacting rationally to my first Prius finally getting in an accident after 20 years, but now I realize I was in disbelief and denial. In the light of the day, here is the actual damage. We're going to tell the body shop to just make it functional, assuming it isn't already. Thanks for all the support.
Why if somebody paying the bill? You've been this and straighten this with your bare hands in the driveway. If the front bumper covers damage you use a heat gun it's like a hair dryer for industrial use. You remount all that mess with a few fasteners then. I guess if you're trying to pad a bill for insurance purposes.
A body shop could tell you if the bent metal extends to things that matter, like the suspension. There is a pretty big gap between the hood and the passenger side fender, but it isn't evident in the picture that either of those big pieces of metal have a bend to explain it. That is, the problem could be with the metal underneath, specifically the part that the fender bolts to. So does the suspension. Hence my concern.
You got nothing there put all that mess back together you some urethane to put the bumper cover back into the little cleats w windshield urethane tape let dry . Now get it over to the alignment rack and see how much damage there isn't the alignment guy gonna tell us it's out a 16th or such . Tweak it . And off ya go. Stay away from folks .
Yeah I found an honest body shop and the guy there said it's clear that something is going with the structure the fender attaches to because of the wider than normal gap between fender and hood and a thinner than normal gap between fender and passenger door. But he said it's not that bad and mostly cosmetic except a cracked headlight mount. All the body shops say $2500+ but they can't say for sure that's it until they get the bumper off. And this guy said if we pull the bumper off there's no reattaching it if the undercarriage is damaged, for their protection they'd have to fix it at that point, we can't just say never mind. But the door works OK and the hood opens and closes. The main issue seems to be that the headlight got cracked and displaced on a slight angle. I'm thinking I might try just covering the crack with duct tape or maybe caulk and take my chances. And yeah, give the bumper as much first aid as I can (heat gun treatment and urethane widshield tape?) but otherwise just leave it at that. I have used epoxy on my 2011 Prius 3 to reattach the back fender where the fender mounts broke, but what is windshield urethane tape? So far I can only find urethane windshield adhesive in tubes.
Don't know how that came out tape I'm using 3m urethane in tube for windscreen replacement 30 bux a tube . I. Put a dot of the stuff in each claw make sure headlight is correct working etc . Stretch bumper cover around under light and into claws . Put a piece of zip tape over the joint of bumper cover to claws smooth it with hand let dry overnight. You will play hell ever getting that undone again so make sure you're fixed. Do the other side see how nice it all lines up .
Be aware, the stock hood is aluminum but there are aftermarket hoods out there that are steel (heavier), so if you go used make sure it's aluminum
