Curb incident, replacement piece

If it were me, I would look for a repair method. If it's plastic, it probably can be welded. Fiberglass might work, too.

 

Yea, I was thinking maybe even a repair on the inside bottom (once it's off & back on) would never see it unless really looking for it.

XT1058 ?

The dealer body shop said it's a polyurethane, but there are adhesives that will work... so, since it's in for the 40k service, they're gonna look at it & get me a couple estimates.. leaning towards a repair option first.. we can live with the crack in the paint if we can secure it up

XT1058 ?

 

I've used this on a torn front bumper. Sets pretty fast, and very strong. Comes with everything you need: paddles, Fiberglas mesh, solvent cleaner, instructions.

 

Hi Mendel, yes that would probably work.. they told me the rockers are of the same material as the front/rear bumpers... I see it's a product of Canada..

 

You do mean for the car and not for the wife, right?

 

lol... I'm not sure I can comment on that one.. but I appreciate the chuckle.

 

Okay, I got the dealer body shop quote..
$733.81 for new rocker installed.. He forgot to include the spat which is also damaged.
$347.97 to repair this one.. (also not including the spat)

He feels that as close as it is to the end, that the repair might be difficult and may not hold up. The repair includes new paint, as he said it would not be possible to repair it without painting it. Our deductible is $500 for both Comp and Collision (I believe, I'll need to double check that) If I'm gonna make a claim, I told him that he needs to include the new spat and any other parts and hardware.

His price on the rocker was list price at like $425, plus paint and labor to install it. I've seen new available online for $297.. but by the time I have them paint it for me, I'll be at $500 anyway..

I did put a new replacement OEM rivet back in the spat and it seems to be holding it back together for now so that it don't get worse. Of which, the dealer only had 1 in stock.. (a little surprising)

I'm curious as to how hard it is to remove and replace the rocker? Mendel mentioned that you take them off to clean behind them??
I'm also curious as to how much room might be above the rocker.. as I'm thinking about a repair on the bottom of the rocker only..
I was thinking of putting a 'strap' piece across the crack on the bottom. (see pic) but not sure yet how I would attach it. I was thinking, since it's underside, that no one would see it unless the car was up on the lift. I had thoughts of using a plastic piece with the same rivet's used for the spat..

I've thought of using a piece of aluminum plate, but don't think it will hold up well in the environment. A piece of clear lexan also comes to mind.. I also have a piece of white Panduit duct cover.. that is pretty durable.. I just wonder if there is enough clearance on the top (inside) to insert 2 push pins. (those same rivets) Kinda like a snap on piece.. just to secure it back together..

I've attached a picture from the bottom side where you can clearly see the crack.. envision a strap that spans across the crack with a plastic rivet on each side to hold it in place.. (too redneck??) I could probably even epoxy or silicone it on prior to attaching it.. I don't think it would be too noticeable from the side..

 

I questioned how this part arrives to the dealer.. and the body shop manager said that it should arrive and fit pristine, just like the factory. He did say that the paint process does include time in the paint shop oven.. so, maybe if the one you got was slightly warped or malformed, maybe they heated it in the paint oven just a little too much??

 

I've taken off the spat, but not the rocker panel. It is a strange design: if you look at the underside there is a real plethora of fastener types, and a lot of them. I tried taking it off once, but hung up somewhere, forget exactly where, but decided to just leave the dang thing alone.

On ours, even though it's never been hit, some of the fasteners are breaking and/or missing. All the thing has to do is hold itself on, it's purely cosmetic.

In your shoes, I think I'd go for the $347 repair option, and avoid an insurance claim, for several reasons:

1. Avoids an at-fault claim, and possible premium raise.
2. The rocker panel is very finicky, fastener intensive item. The body shop may screw it up, or up their price. The less invasive the repair, the better.

Personally, I'd give it a try. The crack is very close to the end; I think with the car raised a little, the wheel off, the spat removed and maybe a few of the rocker panel fasteners taken off, you can get in from behind.

I wouldn't try to close the crack, just span it with the bumper repair kit, mesh and all. Then fill the gap with bondo and sand the gap. Then sand and paint, the less the better, it being so low.

 

The shop said it may fall under a comp claim, as opposed to a collision claim so that it didn't count against us... we have the same deductible for both and my guess is that it still counts as a claim.. (they seem to keep track of them anyway based on previous experience)

I'll see if I can drop it down far enough to try to get behind it...

Thanks for the info... i'll need to see if I can find a repair kit similar to what you showed above..

XT1058 ?

 

Yeah, the shop will do a very seamless job, it'll come out looking like new.

 

A small imperfection is usually only seen by the owner. And they drive fine.

 

Ok, I'll bite: What DID happen to that Prius?
(Needs a lot of Bondo and a Lick of paint!)

 

My personal experience with Bondo is that the finish looks decent but the strength is quite weak. I prefer either 2-part expoxy fiberglass or the resin plus catalytic hardener type of fiberglass, which I've never had break. But I have trouble laying up the layers smoothly on vertical surfaces, and they both show the mesh pattern which some folks find ugly. I just hate paying 100s of dollars for a piece of plastic , given that my first few entire automobiles were purchased for $70-$90.

 

This is what happens when you park in the owner's slot at a shooting range.

 

The rockers are simple to remove, but you might break some fasteners in the process so it's good to have extras on hand before you start. Or not--I've had mine off twice now and still on the original fasteners. There are eight plugs total on the bottom side (4 of each type), two small Phillips head screws (one behind each door), and a 10mm hex bolt at the front and back. This how-to has a pretty good walk-through with pictures on rocker removal.

If I were you, that tear is small enough that I either wouldn't do anything with it at all, or fix it as cheap as I can. It wouldn't be worth $347 to me, and certainly not $700.

 

In the infamous words of John Candy, "Most of that will just buff out." I don't know what happened to it. I suspect it was running at only 10 over in the left lane on the I-705 "Straight out of Compton."

 

Was in a movie??

Here's a pdf of the rocker panel removal portion, of @Vman455 's link:

 

Hey Vman,
Thank you for the info and the link.. I will check it out.. I was browsing ebay looking at used ones.. all pretty much beat up pretty good for the most part.. makes me think I could replace this one w/new and sell the old part in it's current state to recoop some of my loss.. Also, I can buy the part for less and just let the shop paint it for me and I install it myself if I opt to pursue it.. A few of the used ebay items show the part from the back side and it's much easier to see how the part clips to the fasteners.. so, that would help assist knowing that prior to attempting to disassemble.

Also, it looks like the part is pretty hallow.. meaning I could easily attach a bandaid.. (pun intended) from the bottom side.. and run the fasteners up thru the bottom I think.. I think if I can tie it back together, that I can live with the small hairline crack.

It appears the rocker has to slide forward to get it to come off the top clips.. (ebay photo attached)

 

Hey Vman, thanks for that link.. I had seen the Ground Effects kits on various sites.. but didn't understand the exact difference between the 2010/2011 and the 2012+.... this is cool info to know..

Can I assume that the 2011 kit would replace the side rocker panels with new?? As opposed to going over top of the current ones..
I may find the answer to my own question upon further reading.. I think cool that they come pre-painted to match... I had considered the ground kit rockers.. if they'll replace current.. & interesting they offer a breakout of the parts separately..