Door got dinged! How to fix it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ranmandx @ Sep 24 2007, 08:11 PM) [snapback]517230[/snapback]</div>

Car dealers use paintless dent repair companies to repair the kind of small ding you are describing. Basically a tool is inserted between the glass and the door panel and the dent is pushed out from the inside. Check your telephone directory for paintless dent repair. If that doesn't give you a list to work from, check with the used car sales manager at the dealer you bought your Prius from.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ranmandx @ Sep 24 2007, 07:11 PM) [snapback]517230[/snapback]</div>

If you are comfortable removing the door panel and the ding is opposite an openning in the door frame, you
could try to pound it out. Keep in mind that when the metal is bent in like it is in the ding, it stretches a little, so it may not resume its perfect shape when you are done.

If you do this, hold a piece of wood or hard rubber against the outside while you pound to try and prevent the pounding from pushing the metal out too far.

You may succeed in making it look less bad. Afterwards, some color matched touch up paint might help.

If you want your almost new car to look like it did before, you should consult a body shop.

 

We had 3 small dings in the driver door from road debris being flipped up by a passing car, and one in the right fender from a parking lot. I went to the dealer and asked the salesman who did their dent removal. He told me who and on what days. So I went back, asked the dent removal guy for an estimate and then scheduled it for his next trip there. It cost $125 to have the 4 dents removed and you can't tell where they were. The ones on the door were below the crease. He went in through the drain holes in the bottom of the door, no removal of door panel or any drilling. That made me happy cause he had mentioned maybe drilling through the door frame and then plugging the hole. Took him less than an hour.

I haven't had a back door panel off, but on the front door there is a round tube for side crash protection close to where the crease is. It would have been near impossible to remove the dents from above.