2011 Prius: Uhaul hitch - Under body panel removed without warning

I made an appointment at the local U-haul shop to purchase and install a receiver hitch on my newly-bought 2011 Prius III.

Before committing, I asked whether they'd need to permanently modify anything. I asked on two occasions, once on the phone, and again in person. For example, would the aerodynamic underbody panel be affected? The representative said, "no, nothing for you to worry about, no modification is necessary."

So, I went ahead and let them do the installation. It took about 30 minutes, and the total cost was roughly US $185. When I was called back to pick up my Prius, he asked if I wanted him to throw away some left over stuff eek: WHAT ?!). He shrugged, and held up the entire aerodynamic under panel, and told me that he had to remove it.

I am very disappointed, and I feel as though I was mislead. I expressed concern that the absence of this relatively large aerodynamic panel (with its two aerodynamic fins) would likely affect the fuel efficiency. However, I didn't want to let him do more damage, as it seemed clear that he didn't comprehend the potential effect of such details. At least nothing seemed broken so far (e.g., panel, and plastic attachment fasteners). At worst, I figure I can reverse his work on my own, if necessary.

So, I have three questions for those of you who may have some experience:

1) Are the consequences of removing the large rear aerodynamic under body panel (~36" x 24") known and understood?

2) Have any of you found a hitch brand/design that accommodates the panel, either with, or without cutting/trimming, etc.?

3) Would I be justified in returning and asking them to reverse their work (i.e., uninstall hitch, reinstall panel, and refund)? Particularly, considering that I clearly asked twice whether any modification would be required to accommodate their hitch, and they assured me that no modification was necessary.

Thanks for the feedback you can provide. :redface: I'm new to the forum, but I did spend some time searching the hitch-related threads prior to choosing the U-haul service.

 

Howdy- This is an awesome number of replies in such a short time- thanks! This is an active forum, and I'm glad to have found it.

I'll review the links you've all posted before going back to U-haul. But, I am skeptical about asking them to reinstall the panel. The little fasteners appear to be somewhat more sophisticated than a conventional threaded fastener. At this point they are losing time and money, and I'd speculate that the same mindless approach will be used in reverse: I.e., 'Hmm...it doesn't quite lock in place...but it might stay on anyway, should be fine...just get it out of the shop...'

One lesson I relearned is that one tolerates vague statements at one's own peril. For example, when he said "...no need to modify anything, you'll be fine...", I should have sought further clarification. It would have been prudent for me to list all of the actions which I'd consider to mean modification: Cutting, trimming, grinding, omitting certain fasteners due to inaccessibility, removing, bending, forcing, etc.

And, yes, I wholly agree that the aerodynamic underbody panel is there for a reason, and I'd be surprised if it didn't affect efficiency, stability, or other, at some speed or driving condition; the Prius doesn't come across as a gimmicky vehicle.

It seems like most signs point to Curt.

 

Teakwood- Yes, I realize that it is not advised by Toyota. However, my use of a hitch receiver would be limited to a light bike rack designed to carry two sub-30 lbs bikes. I would be hesitant to do this, if it weren't for the specific application/modification- I'm a structures designer ad analyst, so I feel as though it's within my realm of familiarity. If we were talking battery modifications...I'd be content with 'stock'. :usa2:

On the subject of verboten...I had quite a time trying to get a straight answer from dealerships regarding whether their service department would be willing to install a hitch, and whether it would void any of the warranties. The best responses were:

1) "110%, no problem, we've done it many times." Details: It was late on a Sunday, so I said I'd like to receive confirmation, from his store's service writer, the next morning, before buying the car. The salesman sheepishly called me, himself, the next day and admitted that they'd never done it before, and that they wouldn't do it.

2) "Oh yeah, that's so common, I'll give you the number for the tech who does it." Details: It turns out the 'tech' is an independent, not a member of the staff at the dealership. Of course, the whole point of asking the dealer to do it is peace of mind that it didn't blatantly compromise a warranty. It blows me away how people omit the critical detail, and hope you don't catch on. It's like when your kid breaks a neighbor's window..."Dad, our neighbor wants us to pay for his window that broke." Did you break it? "Yes." Then, SAY our neighbor wants us to pay for his window, which I broke. Jeez.

 

Well, I returned to the U-haul shop, and the fellow wore that 'I knew I'd be seeing you again' look on his face.

He agreed to remove the hitch without any hassle, only stating that he had not done any modification, as promised. I pointed out that the mere act of installing the hitch modified the vehicle. I told him that I was glad that he'd removed, rather than damaged or cut, the panel. However, I informed him that I considered the removal of an aerodynamic panel to be a clear modification of the vehicle. He conceded.

I gave him the opportunity to attempt to see whether the hitch might actually accommodate the panel. But, he said it would not, and that his instruction sheet states that the panel should not be retained. He issued a full refund.

Finally, I decided to avoid the risk of him damaging the little fasteners when reinstalling the panel. I figured I'd give it a try, myself.

To his credit, he asked if I'd send him an email with information about the Curt hitch that is designed for the G3 Prius.

On to the next place: A local Curt distributor/installer. They made an appointment for me, and I came in. After getting the car in the bay, and completing all sorts of paperwork (including popping the hood to take down engine information ), he determined that his stock numbers had been shuffled, and that he did not have the G3 Prius version of the Curt hitch in stock.

At this point, I'm likely just going to order the Curt hitch, and do a self-install. It's what I should have done in the first place, being an engineer and being mechanically inclined. Originally, it was a matter of not yet owning a torque wrench, and the promise of saving some time during a busy work week.

Lesson learned.

One additional thought: The presence of the hitch's tube and receiver will likely disrupt the underbody airstream, despite the presence/absence of the aerodynamic underbody panel. In the end, I wouldn't know what is better: Hitch+panel, or hitch w/o panel. But, they're both likely worse than just the stock panel.

Parting data: Achieved 61.3 mpg average on a 50 mile trip that was 5 miles city, and 45 miles freeway (405 in Los Angeles, weekend) driving between 60-65 mph. Pretty darn nice, considering the car isn't more than 5 days worth of being broken in, and that I lack the underbody panel, and that I haven't taken any hypermiling actions like increasing tire pressure. Life with Prius is looking pretty bright.