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Filthy door gutter

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by ukulelegeek, Nov 3, 2022.

  1. ukulelegeek

    ukulelegeek Active Member

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    We have to park our Gen 3 Prius under a very trashy oak tree. The rear door hatch gutter keeps getting full of leaves and sticks. I have a mess to clean up once a month, and if that drips down on the carpet, well...
    Does anyone have a solution, short of chopping down our neighbor's tree?
     
    #1 ukulelegeek, Nov 3, 2022
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  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    You can chop down the part that is over your property.
    The property line goes up also. (y):whistle:

     
    #2 ASRDogman, Nov 3, 2022
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  3. mikey_t

    mikey_t Active Member

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    I park under some trees in my spot behind my apartment and have the same issue. I also get a lot of debris in the upper right of the engine bay, it's just an empty space practically designed to be a nest, and the gutters next to the rear lights. Currently they're both literally full of leaves and tree stuff. Really annoying.
     
    #3 mikey_t, Nov 3, 2022
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  4. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    In my experience, rainwater will pool in the compartment around the 12-volt battery when that drainage path clogs with "tree stuff" where it runs between the taillight and the body. The solution is to take the taillight off to remove the debris.
     
    #4 CR94, Nov 3, 2022
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  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Lol, I live in the PNW where you can grow a hundred foot tall tree in only 50 years... So if you think tree debris is a challenge in the SE, you oughta see what our trees do year round, especially during pollen season!

    Point being a mature tree can provide enough oxygen for two humans to survive for an entire year. If you can't value that and you don't wash your car more often than once a month, that's on you, not on the tree!
     
    #5 PriusCamper, Nov 4, 2022
  6. mikey_t

    mikey_t Active Member

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    I was gonna take care of it next week. Is it difficult to remove the tail light?
     
    #6 mikey_t, Nov 4, 2022
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  7. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Buy a cheap car cover.
     
    #7 ASRDogman, Nov 4, 2022
  8. ukulelegeek

    ukulelegeek Active Member

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    I've owned a car cover. It wasn't the answer. There aren't many things more inconvenient than removing a wet car cover full of soaking wet leaves. One day, I walked out the door to find that the car cover had blown off overnight, and was lying in someone else's yard, nicely wrapped around a birdbath. We don't have the funds right now for a carport. This side of the tree will be trimmed soon. We use a Certified Arborist.
     
    #8 ukulelegeek, Nov 20, 2022
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  9. ukulelegeek

    ukulelegeek Active Member

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    I've never removed a taillight.
    Gen 2
    Gen 3
     
    #9 ukulelegeek, Nov 20, 2022
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a magnetic strip over the gutter?
     
    #10 bisco, Nov 20, 2022
  11. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    You shouldn't need to do it unless the drainage path behind the taillight is clogged to the extent of causing water to run inside the car. On the right side, that water shows up as a puddle around the 12-volt battery. I'm not sure how corresponding leakage would show up on the left side, because water drains mostly to the right where I normally park.
     
    #11 CR94, Nov 20, 2022
  12. mikey_t

    mikey_t Active Member

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    Lol, the bumper needs to be removed? I'll just try my best with a pipe cleaner to get as much out as I can. Thanks for posting the video link though, much appreciated.
     
    #12 mikey_t, Nov 20, 2022
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  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Hey, at least he didn't need to remove the dash.
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Nov 21, 2022
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