Thoughts From a New Owner

Congratulations Tina on finding your family and Tim on finding your newest obsession!

I am also a fairly recent owner (1 month and 4 days) and just recently did a 1005 mile road trip from California to Tucson and back.

I agree that this is a car that just gets better and better. I actually try to find reasons why I have to go out and drive it...somewhere...anywhere...just because...you understand

Please let us know about the dynamat thing, if it would help to lessen the road noise but still allow me to hear sirens when my windows are rolled up I will be all over it.

Now that you have your new baby, I suggest that if you are looking for goodies to get for her you might take a drive to your nearest (or maybe not your nearest, you have a Prius after all) Target and a PepBoys. Both have lots of wonderful trinkets that will protect and accessorize your car for a pittance.

Target offers a great combo trash bag and tissue box holder for that mounts with velcro to the headrest posts for a whopping $4.99. They also have a couple different sized cargo totes that fold up and even come in either tan or grey to complement our interior. At between $9.99 & $14.99 they are way less expensive than a comparable item available from Toyota.

At good old PepBoys you will find some great door edge guard made by Style Guard for $12.99 for a 25' roll. This comes in silver, gold or black and looks as great as it works. They also sell some body molding (also in 25' rolls, but I am still on the fence about this stuff, I really like my cars clean lines).

Oh, and if you decide you need seat covers check out GTCovers. They make some great seat cover sets for front and back that, when installed look like they are the actual seat not aftermarket covers. Be sure to get them for your side curtain airbags as regular seatcovers won't work for your car. They don't allow the airbags that are installed in your front seats to deploy (that would be a bad thing should you need them).

Most importantly, enjoy your car. This is the first vehicle that has just gotten better and better for me each and every day that I have had it.

And in honor of your joining the PriusChat ranks and the Prius owning family I am doubling your points. (They aren't worth anything but more is always better, right?)

Take care,

Tisza

 

Vote for Pedro.

Five points for the noob Prius owner and another five for the N.D. reference.

You know I'm training to be a cage fighter.

 

priusham you beat me to the "punch" with the vote for pedro tag line.

I lent my baby to my daughter and her boyfriend for a road trip even though I GAVE them, mind you, GAVE them my '92 landcruiser. OWell she begged and begged.

I'm now driving my husbands acura TL - SUCH a big steering wheel and a HEAVY car. I"m having trouble regulating the speed with the gas. My lilttle daughter is getting seasick with the gas/nogas driving style.

It makes me realize how smooth the prius drives - I miss IT - I get it back tomorrow or the next day. can't wait

 

Tim,

Here's the steps to take the door trim off to get at the metal to add Dynamat.

First off, I just did this and a colleague, who teaches home construction, saw me adding the $80 of Dynamat said that it looks just like the stuff he gets at a hardware store to add around chimneys--at 1/4 of the price! The name of it escapes me right now but I'll ask him again.

The doors come apart very easily: Start with the tweeter. Pull it straight out from the door. Two clips hold it in.

Look at the door release handle. There's a plastic piece that serves as the back of the cubby hole. Tape up a flat screwdriver (to protect the plastic) and pry it out by laying the screwdriver against the door lock knob. 3 claws hold it in place. Remove the screw behind it.

Remove the screw in the door pull handle.

This next step is optional but it's not hard to do: Remove the plastic trim that has the door lock/window/mirror buttons. You eventually need to disconnect the harnesses associated with these controls. So, either pull this off now and disconnect or wait until you have the door trim pulled and finagle it that way. To remove, pull this plastic trim straight up. It's held in place by 6 clips. You can get your fingers around it and pull or pry it up with the taped screwdriver. Concentrate on the two main clips which are at the front and back of the plastic trim (relative to the front/back of the car).

Remove the inside door trim by pulling it straight out, away from the door. Start at the bottom. There's 8 clips holding this in. WARNING: Two of the clips are right where the dark and light door trim panels meet. It's very easy, when you're pulling the door trim off to break these plastic welds. Best to use your taped up screwdriver and get in there and pry those clips up.. You'll be able to look in there and see them if you've got the lower clips pulled free. Protect the screwdriver so as to not scratch the paint.

Remove the door release handle. The claw at the rear is the only one you need to release. It'll pull free once this claw is disengaged.

There's the metal bracket that the pull handle screw attaches to. This needs to be removed. That'll be obvious.

Unclip the several harnesses plugged into the door. Remove the clear plastic that covers over the access holes. The plastic and the black gunk that holds it in place can be reused.

There you go! It may sound like a lot but it's all really straightforward. Just remember the warning mentioned above. BTW, all the doors are identical.

Holler if you have other questions about the door.

Cheers,

-bob

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(timmsumm\";p=\"70748)</div>

2 - Yes, but this isn't limited to the Prius. Many new light, aerodynamic autos have this issue. The responsiveness of the Prius' steering can add to this feeling initially, as you might tend to oversteer until you adjust. Having your alignment checked will probably help and is less expensive than new tires.

3 - Easily enough defeated in a number of ways. Coastal ETech has a fancy new solution, and the FAQs on this board detail a decidedly less high-tech workaround.

4 - Completely agreed. Too late for me, I'm afraid.

Enjoy your new Prius!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(timmsumm\";p=\"70748)</div>

Item 4 can be dealt with, just contact Eddie at:

Eddie Bell
Metro Toyota
Cleveland, Ohio

1.877.885.2900
Want XM Radio?
Body Side Mouldings
Prius 2G Mudguards
Metrotpn
[email protected]

He is selling color matched body side moulding that will help with this concern. He was offering a group buy for $89 but check with him and see if it is still available. There is a thread on this, just do a search and you should find it easily.

Gil

 

Howdy timmsumm... welcome to the "Wonderful World of Prius !"

Regarding the body side mouldings, Eddie Bell (above) is an excellent source whom I can recommend without reservation. His dealer also offers other Prius accessories which may be of interest and shipping is prompt.

I had the additional surprise (GOOD ONE) of having the body shop associated with my dealer install the mouldings free of charge in about 30 minutes.

 

I'm suprised nobody else has noticed this... but recently I've been hauling a lot of stuff in the Prius (just got a house) and I can't believe a cargo net wasn't included as standard!

My Jetta had one as standard, and it was nice but not necessary in that car. In the prius, with the seats down, you want a net to keep things from slamming into the (potentially) brittle plastic on the back of the hatch.

How many pennies did Toyota save by leaving this out? Hmmm.

 

Hi Tim,

Well, thank! Glad I could supply something to help out.

As for the Dynamat stuff available at hardware stores: A brand name is Vycor. Look for it or others under Water and Ice dam sealants.

Have fun,

-bob