Corner bumper guards

I personally like 2" bumper protector strips which will protect your bumpers from most parallel parking scrapes (chipped paint on rear bumper from a car's front license plate bolts; corner scrapes to front bumpers from your turning into a parallel park; and corner scrapes to rear bumpers from another car turning out of a parallel park), but will not protect your bumpers from a heavier collision.

bumperdefender.com has nice color matched strips for a good price (about $80 for front and rear). You can get 4 free samples from them to try to match your car's color. I like their bumper protector strips because the color is impregnated - it goes all the way through. Compare, for example, the popular side moldings sold on this site where the color is painted on and can scratch and chip off to expose the white or other color undercoating.

I have a Magnetic Grey Prius, and found a pretty close match with bumperdefender.com's Dark Grey. It looks fine. And if I cared enough for an absolute color match, I could have spray painted the bumper strips with Toyota Magnetic Grey paint, which if it chipped, would expose the pretty close match of the bumper strip with its impregnated color. NOTE: I understand from another Magnetic Grey owner that bumperdefender.com now has another color called "Flint Mica Grey" that is a perfect match to Magnetic Grey.

Also, nobump.com has these small (about 1") round bumpers that get screwed into the top screw holes of your front license plate. These give you some protection, but probably protect the rear bumper of the car in front of you more from getting dinged by your front license plate screws when you parallel park.

To answer your question directly, the company also sells color matched corner bumper guards.

If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post pictures later of both the bumper strips and license plate screw hole round bumpers. PHOTOS ARE NOW ATTACHED:

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SUPPLEMENT RE FRONT BUMPER STRIP:

When I installed the front bumper strip I elected to locate it on a line that ends up covering up the bottom 1/3 of the tow access hole - see picture below:

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I figured (perhaps mistakenly) that this wouldn't be a problem in the event I ever have to get towed. I figured that either the tow driver can still go through the exposed top 2/3 of the tow access hole, or we could pry back or cut/punch through the bumper strip as necessary.

Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boo @ Jul 18 2007, 12:52 AM) [snapback]480728[/snapback]</div>

NOTE: One member replied that if I ever have to get towed by a flat bed truck, a tow hook that is supplied with our Prius needs to get screwed into that hole which is threaded.

 

I hate those things. I don't like door guards either.

You might as well add curb feelers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rest @ Jul 18 2007, 05:22 PM) [snapback]481216[/snapback]</div>

I know. I wish car makers would return to real 5 mph bumpers and anything other than the painted plastic covered 1 mph bumpers we're all stuck with now.

Living and parking in NYC, where drivers frequently have to search a half hour or more for a parking space that's only 12 inches longer than their car and where "tapping" bumpers is therefore necessary when parallel parking, I don't think I had much choice but to get some sort of bumper protection. My prior car's bumpers (especially the rear bumper) were hopelessy and endlessly scraped, scratched, chipped, dinged and gouged. And after spending $200 to repaint them, they became easier to scrape, scratch, chip, ding and gouge.

BTW, I just received the PriusChat Accessory Shop body side moldings and will be installing them soon. I'll send/post pics when I'm done. You'll love 'em!

--- Boo (current bumper-guarded and side-molded Prius owner, and former pocket protector user)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boo @ Jul 18 2007, 03:21 PM) [snapback]481111[/snapback]</div>

FOLLOW UP:

I went back to the owner's manual. It suggests that you only need that hole and hook in the odd emergency situation where you have to get towed with a rope/chain through the hook (e.g., if you're stuck in a deep ditch or underwater).

I also went back to my car and tried prying back the bumperstrip to remove the plug and access the hole, and found that it was easy to do --- notwithstanding the 3M super-duper glue, I was able to pry back the bumperstrip with my fingers.

So all in all, I'm not worried any longer. The bumperstrip stays where it is. Although if I could have a do-over ....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rest @ Jul 18 2007, 05:22 PM) [snapback]481216[/snapback]</div>

Rest and All:

I also just finished installing the PriusChat Shop body side moldings. Thought you might be interested :lol: in seeing how my Prius looks with both the BumperDefender.com 2" wide, full width, color matched, front and rear bumper guard strips, and the PriusChat Shop body side moldings:

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I still don't like the look. If you have to worry about getting that many bumps and dings in your area, I think it is time to move.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boo @ Jul 11 2007, 05:11 PM) [snapback]476687[/snapback]</div>

I'm planning to order this stuff for my car. Are the pieces pre-cut for specific models of cars, or do you trim the pieces yourself? I received a sample color selection from BumperDefender and the stuff looks pretty subtantial, and thick! I'd like the ends to be cut at a 45 degree angle so that there isn't a squared off, blunt end. In your photos, it looks like the strips are cut to match the wheel well opening. I plan to have my body shop guys do it because I have an excellent eye for irregularities and I don't trust myself to install it without having it be wavy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boo @ Jul 18 2007, 07:19 PM) [snapback]481351[/snapback]</div>

I believe the hole and hook are also used by the car carrier style tow trucks to pull the car onto the flat bed. Having said that, I can't think of the last time I needed one of my cars towed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Angel Flight Pilot @ Aug 6 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]491379[/snapback]</div>

Hi Bob,

1. No, the strips are not pre-cut for specific models of cars. You order the strips in the lengths you need. You first decide where you want to put the strips and then measure and order the length of each strip that you need. Here is where I located the strips:

REAR: Right on top of and touching the crease that runs the length of the rear bumper.

FRONT: The front does not have a crease that runs the length of the front bumper. The front bumper crease is interrupted by the air dam/grille/skirt/spoiler (or whatever you call it) which has a top edge that is slightly higher than the crease, and also by the front license plate holder which has a bottom edge that's even higher than that. So basically I installed the front strips slightly above the top edge of that air dam/grille/skirt/spoiler, and to the bottom corner of the license plate holder (note the license plate holder corners are slightly rounded; so I installed the strips to the top of the curved corner).

Remember that you also want to avoid covering the round tow hole plug as much as possible. I ended up covering approximately the bottom 1/3 of the round tow hole plug. But others have managed to cover less --- the bottom 1/6 of the round tow hole plug.

FOR BOTH THE REAR AND FRONT: I installed the strips to the curved crease that surrounds and is approximately 3" from the edge of each wheel well. That wheel well crease is where you trim or make a straight line angle cut of the strip. You have to go with a straight angle cut because the strip is too thick to try to cut a curve that matches the curve of the crease.

If you locate the bumper strips as I did, I believe that you need to order the following lengths (but you should go out and measure yourself to be sure):

REAR: One 8' long strip.

FRONT: Two 3' (OR TO BE SAFE, 3.5') long strips -- one on each side of the license plate holder.

2. If you install the strips yourself, I recommend that you have a second set of eyes standing back 10 feet to make sure that the strip is straight and not wavy as you slowly peel the tape from the adhesive and press down on the strip (I'm sure you must have noticed the two very slight wave points in my rear bumper strip installation). Also, you will need an "anvil" type cutting tool which you can order from BumperDefender.com or get from a hardware store or garden store (the cutter that BumperDefender.com sells is really a common, hand-held, anvil type, garden/pruning shear), or you may already have one in your tool or gardening shed. An "anvil" type cutter has only one cutting edge/jaw on top, which closes onto a flat "anvil" jaw on the bottom (compare to scissors or other cutters which basically have two cutting blades which "bypass" each other).

3. BTW, within hours after I brought my new Prius home, my rear bumper received about 10 visible scratches and dings from the parallel parker behind me. The bumper guard strips will not protect your bumpers from all routine parking or parallel parking scratches, scrapes or dings, but I think they will protect against most. Ever since I installed the bumper guard strips 6 - 7 weeks ago, I have not received one visible ding, scrape or scratch on my bumpers (but there is a slight and not unsightly corner scrape of my rear bumper strip, which shows that the bumper strip did its job --- I'm sure that the scrape would have looked a lot worse if it were a scrape of the bumper itself).

4. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any other help.

--- Boo

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tom F. @ Aug 6 2007, 03:44 PM) [snapback]491435[/snapback]</div>

Hi Tom,

Yes, one other poster thought that flat bed tow trucks needed that hole and hook too. But another poster and the owner's manual seem to suggest otherwise.

My prior car had a lot of electrical problems ever since it was new. So it got towed a lot, and mostly by flat bed tow trucks. It seems as if there are a lot of flat bed tow trucks out there now.

But I'm not worried. I don't expect my Prius to be towed a lot, if ever, during my ownership. And if by some chance my Prius needs a tow, and the tow truck needs that tow hole and hook, it's easy enough to pry back the bumper strip and remove that tow hole plug.

BTW, I love your other cars. Big difference in the way your other cars handle and the way the Prius handles! The Prius is easily the worst handling car I've ever had, and I think it must be one of the worst handling compacts or subcompacts out there. Wonder why or how Toyota managed to do that. Even Toyota's base Corolla and Matrix outhandle the base Prius.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boo @ Aug 7 2007, 04:02 AM) [snapback]491451[/snapback]</div>

Thanks, Boo. Your photos and descriptions are excellent. The Steel Blue sample looks like an exact match for the Seaside Pearl, for anyone out there with a Seaside Pearl Prius who might be considering these protectors.
I've always thought the Prius was somewhat unprotected against normal parking lot woes, which is why I try to park on the end of a row so there is no one on my passenger side and my car is (would be) next to the passenger door of anyone pulling in on my left. So far, so good. I see a lot of scratched up bumpers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boo @ Aug 7 2007, 04:02 AM) [snapback]491451[/snapback]</div>

Boo: I had a thought regarding the tow hole plug in the front bumper. I'm thinking of taking the plug off before the body shop guys put the strip on, then use a round file bit on my drill to grind the strip flush with the edges of the hole. That way, the plug can be easily removed. I don't like the "feng shui" of covering up the plug and having to pry off the strip even if I may never need to use the tow ring. The indentation in the strip wouldn't be very deep if the strip were mounted flush with the top of the grill opening.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Angel Flight Pilot @ Aug 13 2007, 12:44 PM) [snapback]494750[/snapback]</div>

I hear you. Though having a slight indentation in the strip may look a little funny too --- not unlike that "wavy" installation I'm guilty of and that we've chatted about! But whatever way you go, I'm sure it'll look fine. To paraphrase Justin Timberlake, you're bringin' sexy back (to the car equivalent of pocket protectors)!