When I sold my 2010 Prius the new owner looked in the glove box and asked me what the little clear plastic bag with two black rubber plugs was for. I didn't know. On my new Prius v I noticed the same little bag with the same black rubber plugs so I thought it might be worthwhile to do something a little unusual. I read it. It says in capital red letters: IMPORTANT Then below it says "To pre delivery inspector: Insert these rubber plugs into the holes of the center floor side member extensions. Turning the little plastic bag over shows a diagram where they need to be installed. They are very easy to install. Although Im not certain, my guess is that they prevent dirt, debris and road salt (winter time - up north stuff) from getting into the support frame to prevent them from rusting. You may want to look in your main glove box where the owners manual is located to see if the dealer forgot to install them.
Good piece of advice. I didn't have any plugs myself. I am sure they are to be installed by the dealer at the time of sale. Hope you are enjoying your v!
Hey there Spiderman! We are loving our v! It's quieter than our 2010 and it has a better ride. The back seats recline a bit which is nice for rear passengers on long hauls. Another improvement is the ability of the front seat passenger to adjust the air conditioning vent so they don't get too cold. Hope things are well with you and your family.
Thank for the notification, can you post a picture where those plugs are? I'll be taking delivery sometime next week.
Ok here's a couple of images that will help. Note the hole is about 14.5 inches in front of the rear tire. You can also see what the plastic bag looks like that contained the rubber plugs. The back of the plastic bag also has a diagram that shows you where to install the plugs. The lower image shows the drivers side plug installed
Interesting... I asked my dealer about the plugs who told me they weren't used on the V. America has problems with people who dont belong in their jobs....
Re: "I asked my dealer about the plugs who told me they weren't used on the V." Well... it looks like you can teach them something RJ! LOL
Thanks for this info. I showed the plastic bag with the plugs to my husband when we got our Prius v home after purchased. He thought they weren't important and put them in the glove compartment. Tomorrow I'll have him install the plugs! Note the hole is about 14.5 inches in front of the rear tire. You can also see what the plastic bag looks like that contained the rubber plugs. The back of the plastic bag also has a diagram that shows you where to install the plugs. The lower image shows the drivers side plug installed View attachment 34514 View attachment 34515 [/QUOTE]
Awesome thanks for the heads up, I checked mines and sure enough I too had the black plugs and installed em immediately...
guys & gals, I understand this is a Gen III (specifically a Prius v) thread (so I apologize in advance for hijacking this thread a little), but I just wanted to make a comment here confirming what rjparker said in his reply post #7 about "people who don't belong in their jobs". One time when I was getting service done in Massachusetts on my 2nd Gen 2005 Prius, I got to talking to a gentleman who was taking delivery on his new 2009 Prius there. Upon learning we were both from Connecticut, it was also discovered that he had moved out of my town & had actually sold his house to close friends of me & my wife. We also learned that his salesman & my salesman were one and the same & since I still had some time to kill, I asked if either the salesman or the new owner would mind if I tagged along during the delivery "briefing" [because it had been a little over 4 years since I had my own "briefing" & I figured (correctly) that there might be some things I had forgotten since then]. During the "briefing", the salesman popped open the relay box under the hood in the center of the car just below the windshield wiper transmission arms & it was empty. His face got bright red & he started swearing under his breath about the dummy who had done the pre-delivery inspection/set-up & I understood why. There are supposed to be 4 or 5 relays installed there [one big gray one (for PS HTR) & the rest are smaller light blue ones (for the 2 PTC "electric" heaters, the coolant heat storage CHS water pump, & mine has one more there for my "AM" option pkg fog lights). These relays come in a separate plastic bag like the one the rubber plugs come in & are also to be installed (like the rubber plugs) during the pre-delivery inspection, but apparently the pre-delivery guy never got the proper training for his job or he just didn't care & tossed them aside (not even to be found in the car in this case) thinking they were extra & un-necessary. Hopefully that PDI guy got re-trained or fired. The salesman got the required relays from the parts dept, installed them himself, completed the "briefing" & the happy new owner went on his way. I also told him about this site & PriusOnLine & told him to feel free to call me if he had any questions for a 4-year (at that time) veteran Prius owner. Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
Silly me! The rings were in the glove compartments of both my 2005 and 2012 cars. Purchased from different stores. I concluded that they were meant to be an owner-installed option.
Thanks for the thread Fstr911! We just bought our V tonight and I remember reading your thread. Sure enough, I had to install them myself once it was home.
