Has anyone experience with a 2010 Prius V and a Le Bra nose cover? Mine had one on when I bought it this weekend and as I live in a pretty rural (dusty and gravely) area I a concerned grit will work under the bra and do more harm than good. I also think it has the 3M protective film installed ... Ideas? The bra seems like overkill at best and like a very bad idea at worst.
Ditch the bra. You're right about FOD getting under it and causing more harm than good. Aesthetically? Your call....but I'm thinking I'd rather have the rock dings. The 3M film if properly applied is much better, IMHO.
I had one on my old 1985 MR2. It scratches the hell out of the paint when dirt gets under it. Keep the car waxed and you should be fine (for most things).
Danny, Looks like we both made the decision to buy a 2010 Prius on the same weekend! Congratulations. I got my black 2010 on Jan. 7th. I agree with the others to not use the bra. However, that said, if you want to sell it let me know as I need one for 2 weeks + or - twice a year to keep the love bugs off my front end. Love bugs will eat right through the paint in a matter of days and short of washing the car EVERY night after work during the semi-annual infestations here on the Gulf Coast of Florida I think the temporary use of a bra will work for me, so if your getting rid of it drop me a note. Holly
You "think" it has 3M film installed? It's made to be unobtrusive and as invisible as possible, but if you have a 3M clear bra installed, it should be pretty easy to tell. If it's just a clear bra, front end installation, upon close observation with the nose cover removed it should be fairly obvious. In this forum and in others...I've read many more negative reviews about using Cloth/Vinyl bra's. Any protection they might offer seems to be offset by the potential for damage. I have a 3M clear bra...and for a year and 1/2, I'd say it still looks good and has offered protection. Find out if you have clearbra installed. And remove nose cover would be my advice. To me? Purely a personal opinion. But tangible cloth, or vinyl front covers just look way too 80's to me. Even if they did work, and work safely, I wouldn't want one on my vehicle.
And if you aren't sure because the car is dirty or you are looking at it in low light, if you run your hand down the hood from the windshield to the nose, you'll feel the film's edge about halfway down the hood. But really, 3 feet away from the side and the clear film is really obvious.
I would consider using a fabric bra for a long trip, but would not leave it on the car all the time. I had one on my Chevy S-10 all the time and all it did was destroy the paint and also kept it from fading and caused a difference in paint color as the rest of the paint faded with time, but the area under the bra did not. I do not know the answer, but I hope the clear bra I have now on the Pri will allow natural fading of the paint to avoid mismatch in color from the rest of the car.
IMO a fabric (or dark vinyl) bra is like buying new furniture and getting clear plastic covers for it. Why bother?
