I was pulling into the parking lot at work and driveway has a dip in it. Usually I take it very slow but wasn't paying attention because of oncoming traffic and heard a loud crunch as I was driving over it. I looked underneath the car and the paint on the bottom of bumper is scraped off and a small plastic piece underneath the engine is hanging loose. You can't see the scrape since it is underneath but I really felt like my Prime was injured. Seems like with the low front end it is susceptible to this so beware.
Sorry for your troubles, IMO the 2014 Prius was worse in that regard. There's only a few places I hit now, but I'm always careful. Shoot my old car would hit some parking blocks. Those hurt me more than the car!
These cars are normally very quite. So when the plastic scrapes on pavement the sound seems very loud. I have done that many times.
Watch out for high sidewalk curbs. They're out to get the bottoms of your doors when you parallel park. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
yea, i have similar situation at work and i know i already have probably plenty scratches, feels like curbs and parking spots are all designed for trucks and SUVs
My Tundra just bounces over these things, I don't even slow down much. I have to remember the PRIME isn't a truck! Having said that, I think the angle of approach on the Prime is better than the previous generation. I know the Prime is supposed to be lower, but it doesn't seem to bang as much if you take it slow, if you brake too hard the compression of the shocks makes it worse. The doors are another matter, I'm always warning the passenger to not open the door too quick to check if they are gonna hit the curb!
Can't back into my driveway because of this. It's a drag for charging. Presumably (?) the car is annoyingly low to improve fuel economy.
My "Un-Primed" Prius has scraped many times. So it's not just you guys. I can't go any slower! Maybe some 21" wheels would help. Now I avoid all parallel parking (to prevent the passenger door open curb strike). And I try and park in an area where there are no parking blocks/curbs, or I will back in to those spots. And always take dips and speed-bumps very slow. With this Prius, it's time to put down the mocha latte' and keep my head in the game!
Glad the damage was not worse ,,, I read how members do this and that to lower a Prius Me ? I'd like to raise mine 3 inches ,,, curbs , snow , play heck ,,,,
I also bottomed out the front of my Prime about 2 weeks after picking it up from the dealer. In my case, it ran up against a parking bumper/curb and put two deep scratches at the bottom of my front spoiler (painted section, but not visible thankfully). Definitely pissed me off, but it made me aware of how low this car is. Now when I pull up to parking slots, I make sure to stay well back from any curbs/bumpers. Causes the Prime to stick out a little more but not a huge deal when you have these extended bed pickup trucks and SUVs sticking their huge *sses way out into the driving lanes.
What you could do is hang a little Bell an a string under the front bumper. If you go slow enough, you'll probably hear it bump Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
There's those old-school feelers/whiskers, think you can still buy them. Downside: they will occasionally snag stuff, start dragging it.
It also has the benefit of calling the cows in the pastures to your vehicle if you're driving in rural areas. Kidding.
