2010-2012 Prius major design flaw !

Well now that some of you have had your jollies...

The big issue here is that the door hinges and surfaces that are difficult to clean are exposed to the elements. Up here in the winter with dirt/salt/chemical ice clearing agents can do a number on the hinges. Our previous 97 camry w/ 126k miles on it, had the hinges in bum condition. They creaked and were lose(sloppy) despite attentive maintenance. I realize many of you live in dry conditions where this is not an issue, but some do not... so try to respect that.

I don't really consider it a major flaw but it is annoying. If they could move the gasket/seal out closer to the edge of the door that would seem to help the situation.

 

Perhaps. I have never had a problem with hinges etc. I use spray on grease (white) once a year on the hinges and door mechanism (latches etc). I also use Silicone spray on the rubber door seals to prevent them from icing shut.
I -do- live in a "winter environment" location. But perhaps not as much salt is used as where you are.

 

You touched on what I was wondering as well - some sort of spray protection.

For the record, I personally was not trying to be a smart @$$. That is why I asked up front if I was understanding the concern correctly. I did not realize there was a mechanical issue at play. I would still be curious to what degree this is an issue. "Bum" door hinges doesn't really say a lot. Like - do they just squeak a lot (the hinges on my Camry squeak too and living in PHX AZ won't chalk it up to salt and/or moisture)? Are the doors falling off or excessively rattling when driving?

 

I had a leaky trunk in my 68 firebird even new gasket didn't stop it. Old mechanic told me to apply vasoline on the seal. I had a dry trunk aver that. I don't know if this will help depends on if water is a problem before or after the seal and I have no idea if vasoline is compatible with the gasket material
Good luck
Jen

 

my Altima did this also.I hardly call this a design flaw.Wipe it out each time you wash your car (once a week for me) and you will be fine.

 

I used to work in the detailing department of a Lexus dealership. Some of this higher end Lexus gotten around to this "issue". I wouldn't call it an issue or design flaw. A salesman was showing me how the RX SUV's has the whole door cover the side sills and this protected it from the elements so that when you step into the car, your dress / pants wont wipe the dirty sills.



Our prius doors don't cover the whole area and leaves the side sills exposed. No big deal. If the OP is very concerned about it getting dirty. Do a touchless wash of the area, dry thoroughly and then apply a wax to make the area shed water. That should keep it cleaner

 

Maybe it is a Toyota thing, but yes, I noticed it yesterday on our 2014 Pri so it is occurring clear through to the band new ones, and no, it is not normal to me, either. Coming from long term Honda ownership, their sills do not get dirty like the pri do. Neither did our 2013 Dodge Dart, as other posters have said, they have double door seals to keep road water from blasting up in there. Right now in Cali, its bone dry, yet, my wife must have gone through a puddle somewhere, as its all muddy on our drivers sill. I am sure I will hear it, when the wife has her dress doink and drag into the muddy water on the sill, and get all over her dress. I would love to know if applying some weather strip on the door would work some how to prevent this? Anyone try it?

 

When it rains, water runs down the windows and down into the doors, then it drains out the bottom of the doors through drain holes. If you apply weather strips to seal the gap between the rocker panels and the door, where will the water drain?

SCH-I535

 

I was thinking you could leave a gap at a couple places, for drainage, but seal out the majority of up splash form outside.

 

How do you know the dirty water is coming from outside? It is more likely that the water is coming from inside the door and draining onto the door sills.

SCH-I535

 

It is so dry here. Lakes are at such low levels that some have warnings that you may not be able to ride your "toys" on them. It doesn't rain much so most likely it splashes up from a gutter/drain from someone's leaky sprinkler system.

It's so bad we are happy when it rains. There's no singing "rain rain go away...."

SCH-R530M ?

 

My cmax does this to some extent as does my wifes Vue but the area outside of the door seal is a lot more vertical than the horizontal on the prius.

if the area as more steeply sloped the water woudl run off much easier carrying any dirt with it...

 

I have noticed that the bottom of my front door sills get very dirty in bad weather. When I get in and out of my car the back of my pant legs clean off some of the dirt.
I then realized that my wife's "12 Camry did not have that problem! Upon further inspection I found that the Camry has a rubber sealing strip the length of the lower of the front door!
Has any body tried to retro fit a Camry lower weatherstrip on the Prius front door?

#1magnumrtawd, A moment ago