2016 Prius Hit A Pothole

if you remove it and the wheel isn't damaged, i'd just replace it, or bang it out if you prefer

 

That's not your hubcap rim, that is the rim.

Is the wheel/tire holding air? That's your first clue whether any permanent damage is done. If the rim is not cracked, then any competent wheel repair shop can easily bend it back into shape. It will be up to you whether to repaint/refinish it after the straightening.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I had a feeling that the poster would be from the "Upper East Coast Area" area (as I define it: NJ and upwards).

Other than the cosmetic damage, the hubcap is fine.

As mentioned, you need to remove the hubcap, to see how badly damaged the rim is.
The rim might be fine for that tire. But, if it's dented, then you do not want to use that rim on a new tire.

A bent, rough, non smooth bead on a rim, will damage the tire bead-area.
Will that damage cause a leak? Will it trash the tire?
Who knows?

Imho, for the ~$125 cost of a rim (ebay), local salvage yard, etc, it's not worth the risk, and the imbalanced wheel that could happen,

Yes, if you had the bare rim, you could carefully bang the bead/rim edge. Then smooth, sand, and paint.
Imho, that's not a realistic option for the vast percentage of people.

Good Luck!

 

Yeah the black portion is the rim:

 

If you carry a compact spare; just take-off the hub cap and straighten the rim the best you can. Just wack it with a hammer. The metal is pretty soft. You'll need to make sure the tire is still in balance, and perhaps stop by a tire shop to give the suspension a once over.

If you don't carry a spare; I'd replace it and possibly the tire. There's a good chance there's some internal tearing of the sidewall fibers that hold the tire together. A bulge will form in that area - don't forget to check the inside wall of the the tire too for bulges. At that point; it would get progressively dangerous to drive that car; with the tire in that condition.

Hope this helps

 

Google "rim straightening near me"?

 

Sounds like a case of "no harm, no foul" to me. I once got a nail stuck in the thickest part of the tire tread (not on the Prius) and I watched for slow leak, but never happened, so I just let the head of the nail wear off and never did a thing. It must have been a very short nail that never penetrated the inner wall.

 

I would have pulled it. The only reason to leave it in is if it's "plugging" the leak, which it wouldn't do that effectively. Leaving it in, it could be it wasn't right through to begin with, but might be eventually.

If it did leak immediately when pulled, I'd do an external-only plug repair.

 

I always pull the nails/screws out of the tire, while rotating them. Mendel is correct, If the screw/nail didn't penetrate the tire - leaving it there may drive it further into the tire, and you'll get a leak.
I pulled a nail out of my tire once and found that the plugs I had was old and dried-out. Had to shove the nail back in to get the store for some fresh plugs. LoL..........

 

So you never got the rim straightened/repaired?

The one picture that you provided looked like minor bending on the outside lip of the rim, but what does the inside lip on the opposite/inside of the rim look like? Additionally, your wheel could also be bent out of round slightly. The impacted area is, unfortunately, in the weaker area of the rim, between the spokes of the wheel where they are stronger.

Did your steering wheel shake or vibrate, especially when going at higher speeds?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

There are some cities, possibly many, that you can make a claim for wheel and tire damage by pothole, if in a city you might check that out, I would think you contact street department to find out.

 

Here in Honolulu, HI they supposedly do compensate for tire and wheel damage due to potholes. But there are many hoops to jump through and extensive documentation needs to be provided. Also, I've heard that they have rejected claims due to "low profile" tires on the vehicle, which in their reasoning, is more susceptible to damage. I have no idea what they deem a "low profile" tire though.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.