What are must have accessories?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gqscientist @ Sep 11 2006, 05:42 PM) [snapback]318072[/snapback]</div>

1) Yes. Mine is from Priushoods on EBay. Many on PC seem to like. I Love mine.
2) Yes, but I'd skip the bra. To me, it looks nice, but the dealer installed air dam through it. Difficult to clean behind. I'm going to check out the clear bra (or remove air dam).
3) ??. Ordered, not here to be installed.

Others-floor mats (I have factory cloth and rubber), rear bumper protection, tinted windows (in hot climates, or if you just like tinted windows), sun shades from PC Store, leather center console cover (through Priushoods).

 

3) For handling, every little piece helps. For something that is effective, low-cost, and will arrive to you quicker than 8 weeks, try the BT Stiffening Plate. Best bang for the buck for handling, and it's the easiest piece to install yourself.

 

I've found that the sun hood for the navi screen/mfd has really helped with sun glare.

Other must-have accessories/add-ons on my list were cargo tote (which I've learned that I can't live without!), all-weather floor mats (for wet weather and snowboarding trips), and window tint.

 

I didn't like the console fabric cover - we got the leather console cover from Priushoods and it's much nicer. Thinking about getting the leather covers for the door arm rests as well, but I've heard they can be problematic to install (if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected!). Also got the Priushood screen hood, which helps cut down on the glare.

We're getting Wet Okole seat covers and new tires as well, but I don't know if either of those could be considered an accessory - hard to call something that costs that much 'accessorizing'.

If you're thinking about getting the "strut brace" - I'd say get an alignment first, if you don't like the way your car handles, and see if that makes it better to you. I had mine aligned today - the difference is like night and day!

 

a PriusChat membership

a WeePri

a cool licence plate

a chassis brace and an alignment

 

Nobody's mentioned the side mouldings yet, and they were almost my first purchase!

I'm finally getting my clear bra tomorrow - I had a hard time finding an installer closer to where I live than 70 miles away. I've had my white Prius since April, and I have about four small nicks in the front bumper already.

I've got a cargo net - had one in my previous car and never found it useful, but the cargo net on the Prius is great for those plastic bags from the supermarket - they don't spill the groceries out all over the place.

I also have a couple of cargo totes from Case Logic - they fold up, so they're easy to store when I'm not using them.

And I have the rear bumper protector and a Prius Hood for my MFD.

And I just got TireMinder valves, and decided to spend $20 on a portable air compressor rather than having to spend a couple of dollars on the machine at the gas station when I need air,

And I added leather seats, and am very happy with them. (That included a center console cover and arm rest covers.)

I haven't installed my BT brace yet, but that's probably next week.

Would I say any of them are 'must haves'? Definitely the side mouldings and bumper protector. And, for me, the Tire Max valves and a good tire guage are important, because I wouldn't be likely to check my tire pressure often enough without the 'visual cue'.

The hood is nice to cut down on glare on the MFD, but I don't actually look at my MFD that much (compared to people who are always checking the Energy screen to see what arrows they have). So if I hadn't bought it almost as soon as I got my car, I might not buy it now. (I don't have navigation, and I dial my blue-tooth phone mostly by voice tags.)

And, as I said, if the cargo net hadn't come with my car, I wouldn't have bought one, not realizing how handy it would be. (The one that came with my old car was just a net, where the one for the Prius is a double net open at the top, so it actually holds things.)

And my car came with the 'extra' Toyota carpet mats, and I got all-weather mats for the wet, sloppy weather - I'd consider the all-weather mats a 'must have' here in New Jersey.

AND I added the Weather-tech window visors to keep rain-water from coming in to the car, since I like to drive with my windows at least partially open. (My old car was a convertible, and window visors weren't a possiblity - I hated all that dripping onto my left thigh - so after the first rainstorm with my new Prius, I got the visors. Again, a must-have for me!)

So those are my thoughts on accessories - hope all these answers help you decide what's right for you.

And thanks for the word about an alignment, Claudia - I'll schedule that, too!

 

My must have mods were sound dampening and tinting. The screen visor is definitely a must . They should have made that part of the vehicle.

 

The mesh that is used in tool boxes, kitchens, and RVs to stop rattling works very well in the hatch area. Cut a length about a foot longer than the width, and fold the ends under the carpet. Any slippery items will no longer slide around back there. Easy to remove to clean the carpet.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeannie @ Sep 12 2006, 07:57 PM) [snapback]318653[/snapback]</div>

hi Jeanie
how do you like the window visors ?
did you install them? Any info on them would be great
Do they make the car noisy thanks

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Sep 12 2006, 04:54 PM) [snapback]318649[/snapback]</div>

Love the list hyo...but I might just choose to dicker about the positioning of your first two items! B)

 

For my next Prius (hopefully 2009)

1. BT Brace
2. Mudguards
3. Nav Screen Hood & screen protector
4. Clear Bra (I'm currently using a hood deflector)
5. Door guards
6. Tint
7. Wheelskins (I'll keep my current one and just get some more cording)
8. Exactmats (I'll just keep my current ones)
9. GT covers
10. Vertical and horizontal cargo nets (I'll keep my current ones)
11. Cargo Totes (I'll keep my current ones)
12. Bumper guard
13. Prius decals
14. License plate frames (I'll keep my current ones as well as my personalized license plate)
15. I'll buy a new over the hump trash can to match my new interior.
16. Parking guide (I'll keep my current one from Arizona Charlie)
17. Gas can (I'll keep my current one)
18. Emergency stuff (First aid, roadside etc. I'll keep my current stuff)

Rather than buy new console covers and arm rest covers I'll have the center console and armrests reupholstered in leather. I'll keep my current glove box and driver's side covers from Priushoods and my current dashmat.

Assorted bumper stickers and decals.

And if there still is not outside back up beeper, I'll do the mod for that again.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rufaro @ Sep 13 2006, 12:36 AM) [snapback]318786[/snapback]</div>

Right you are. Sorry, I should have specified 'not necessarily in this order.'

 

Don't think anybody mentioned it, but side air bags!!!! Won't be ab issue next year as they will be standard. When I bought mine off the lot, I asked the dealer if it had them, and he said yes. Unfortunately I took his word for it and didn't discover different till too late. So make sure you have side air bags.

Peace --

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jan @ Sep 12 2006, 10:05 PM) [snapback]318721[/snapback]</div>

I installed the front ones myself, but I got my son to help me with the rear ones, since I'd read in some other posts here and at other sites that they were more difficult to install (and they were!)

My front ones do sometimes 'slip' a little so I have to push them up again (maybe once a month, but simple to do). I got them directly from www.weathertec.com.

Some people prefer a different kind that uses a glue strip to hold them in, and I think you can get those at www.sigmaautomotive.com. I've read posts here in Priuschat where some people prefer one type or the other with some people saying the glue-strip ones don't hold well and other people saying they're no problem. I haven't noticed that my car is any noisier with them in (other than road noise because the window is slightly open). Nor have I noticed any effect on my MPG (nor did anyone report that they took a 'hit' on the MPG from such vents).

Sometimes when I close a front window, it goes into the 'autoclose' mode and usually opens up immediately when it gets all the way closed, so I have to re-close the window a little at a time.

So they're not perfect, but they DO keep the rain out, so they're worth it to me.

My Prius is white, so I chose the darker Weathertech shades because they're a good match for the black trim around the windows. I bought them for all four doors because I thought they might look funny if I only had them on the front windows (I rarely have passengers in the back), but I used only the front ones for a couple of weeks until my son came home for a visit, and they looked fine without the matching pair for the back.

 

The only accessories that we have are the all weather floormats.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ohgreys @ Sep 13 2006, 06:43 AM) [snapback]318846[/snapback]</div>

Did you get these from Toyota? Or is there a better (read cheaper) generic option anyone would recommend?

Edit: after a quick search, I see I can get the Toyota all weather mats online for about $60 bucks...can somone who has they tell me how many there are: is it just for the front seats or back seats as well? It is no clear from the Toyota site or other sites selling them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(4chi @ Sep 13 2006, 08:50 AM) [snapback]318938[/snapback]</div>

The $60 is for 4 floormats...2 for the front, 2 for the rear. I got mine from www.ToyotaPartsPeople.com for $60 and have been very pleased with them (they're nice and thick, and quite heavy!).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rancid13 @ Sep 13 2006, 12:47 PM) [snapback]318981[/snapback]</div>

I think ours were about the same price. My husband bought them from the Toyota dealership and I remember that I was surprised that they weren't charging more for them.