Well, here it goes.. first damage to the new prius. After being distracted by my son. We forgot to close the back door he came in and proceeded to back out of the garage and well yep did the deed. I bent the door back and now wondering what I should do. The door will close but is obviously out of wack. Not sure if I can go through a body shop or can my husband order a new door and replace it ourselves.. I believe there are crash bags in there so wondering if this is going to propose a problem.. It isn't horrible damage but clearly the door is bent. hinges and unibody appear to be ok. any suggestions would be helpful. I'd like to not use our insurance policy if we are able to do it ourselves but in anycase maybe live with it for a bit.. Thanks in advance!!
You don't have to use your insurance policy if you decide to have a body shop replace the door. Unless your husband can paint the replacement door to match the existing finish, you will probably not be happy with the outcome. None of the doors contain airbags. The front seats contain airbags in the back cushion and the roof headliner contains the curtain airbags. And of course the steering wheel hub and the instrument panel on the passenger side also has airbags.
thanks, does anyone know where I can find a door?? where to look ect.. can a person order a factory color???
You most likely do not need a door. The hinge is what is most likely screwed up from being forced farther open. Any body shop can fix this and it shouldn't run a fortune.
No. The door will probably be painted flat black, in anticipation that the body shop will apply color coats and a clear metallic coat to match the vehicle's finish. I buy my Toyota parts from toyotaworld.com I agree that you should find a decent local body shop to get a repair quote, you may find that the repair cost is less than you may be thinking, and when they are done the car will be restored to as-new condition.
When I worked for Lexus, body parts could be ordered in the factory colors. Unfortunately this is not available for Toyota body parts.
As long as the hinges and body structure where the hinges mount are OK, look for a wrecking yard door in the right color. Cheaper than a new door and doesn't require painting. Many wrecking yards are connected and can put out a call for your part if they don't have one in stock.
My bet is that the hinge in the doorjamb is bent. I did this same thing to a vehicle once. I could force the door closed but when I pulled the door handle it would jump open. The problem wasn't the door but but the hinge had been "sprung". They are only meant to bend so far. If this is the case replacing the door won't help at all. The body shop fixed it by removing the door, heating up the hinge and bending it back the other way, then replacing the door. You can closely examine both the right and left door jambs to see if you can determine where the damage is. See if either is shaped differently.
thanks to everyone for the info.. I know the door is tweaked for sure.. you can see the crinkle where it bent.. and also like (southern dad said) I wouldn't be surprised that the hinges are also out of line to. the door does close but doesn't line up by the roof a little and it jumps out when you go to open it.. also the front of the door now rubs on the back of the front door. It doesn't look horrible but it is bent.. I can live with it for awhile but sooner or later we will have to fix it.
