I only have 6k miles on my car and have noticed some wear on the carpet in two places on the drivers side. One is around the left foot rest. On previous cars this foot rest has been a plastic or rubber block that can't wear out. On the Prius, it is a rubber patch that is too small and the surrounding carpet is showing significant wear. The other spot is under the pedal. Has anyone come up with a way to protect the carpet in these areas?
I thinking of some sort of carpet patch with double sided tape but don't want anything that looks tacky. It would be nice if they sold a rubber cover to this area, held on with double sided tape, in the Priuschat store (hint, hint).
I've seen rolls of clear plastic sheet that you apply to the carpet in high traffic areas in new construction homes. Maybe apply a strip of it to the exposed area.
Wear slippers. That's a trick I use now that I picked up while in Japan. Especially if you wear dress shoes, putting slippers on for a long commute saves wear and tear on the carpet and your feet.
WeatherTech mats cover this area. I've had mine for about a month and they work great. This is a picture from another post by another member (drmalone) of priuschat. http://priuschat.com/forums/attachm...or-mats-now-available-2010-prius-dsc00183.jpg
For the gas pedal, I have installed an Exact clear mat on top of the carpet mat. (This top mat fits in to the floor clip, also)
Were you being contraversial about the sticking accelerator pedal having mats getting jammed under it if you layered mats? :mod: I would recommend you don't layer 2 or 3 floor mats.
Incidentally, the Weathertech mat I've had for the last 70K is now torn and ripped in several places on the drivers side (not under the footrest or pedal, however). Is this normal wear and tear? And, is it possible to purchase just one mat, or do I have to get a whole new set?
The WeatherTech mats are ok but the boarder around the mat is to low in the front of the mat. The water leakes on to the floor. I wish more people would take pics and post them in these forums. I would like to see the wear marks people are running into.
Just re-read that the Weathertech mats have a 3-year warranty. Mine's due to expire in a week. Problem is, I can't find the receipt!
Now I can't remember if I ordered it directly or through Priuschat. It was the very first accessory I bought for the car too. If you order something through Priuschat, would there still be a record of it somewhere? Hmmm....
What kind of carpet do you have? I have no rubber inlay on the OEM Prius carpet I received with my 2008 Prius. Here are pix of the underlay carpet, which has rubber inlay reinforcement, and the Prius OEM carpet that sits on top, trapped under the footrest pedal and held in place by the rear retaining hooks. I have almost 16,000 miles on the car.
The carpet looks to be about the same as your '08 but my biggest issue is with the "footrest pedal". On yours it is a solid rubber block. On ours it is carpet with a SMALL rubber inlay. I currently have the Toyota All-Weather mats and am seriously considering getting the Weathertech just for the extra coverage. It's really too bad because I really like everything else about the Toyota All Weather mats. I guess I'll be putting them up for sale when I get the Weathertech mats.
I am going to second this. We have always done this in our cars. I have a pair of Crocs in the car for driving. Wouldn`t really wear them out anywhere, but they`re great for driving, very easy on the feet, comfortable, etc. If for some reason I do have to leap out of the car, they`re closer to real shoes than regular slippers. Before I get out of the car, I put a plastic tray (picked up somewhere for about $1) in the footwell. When I get into the car I just pop my feet into it and take my shoes off. Then put the tray on the passenger or back floor (depends on passengers) and slip the car shoes on. Once at the destination, I take the car ones off and sit them to the side then put the tray back in the footwell and put my shoes back on. That is in nasty weather. If it`s not actually raining, snowing, etc - I`ll just open the door, sit down on the edge of the seat, and take my shoes off while my feet are still outside the car. Kept the inside of our previous car in great shape. Normal OEM mats were still in close to perfect condition after 7 years - no serious wear (just a tiny bit less fluffy where I rest my heel while driving) and no stains. Less dirt in general in the car seems to keep everything cleaner.
