Styles of Side Body Molding

Option 1: No moldings. This is the best option for the cleanest look. Contrary to popular belief, moldings provide poor protection against door dings as there are vehicles of varying heights and you can still get dings above and below the moldings. I have absolutely no dings in the nearly three years I've had my car as I practice defensive parking, so those of you with moldings don't fool yourselves into thinking they're doing their job just because you have no dings so far.

Option 2: Tapered moldings. They're the way to go if you must have moldings for whatever reason. They actually look pretty good on the Prius as the tapered design complements the Prius body and flows with its line.

Option 3: Standard basic straight moldings. Worse option. Avoid at all costs as they don't coordinate with the Prius body at all and are actually distracting.

 

I am a fan of them now...well after I bought the car and these fine folks here pointed them out to me on my car Agreed with 32k...

 

I got the OEM side mldgs and the door edge mldgs and they look great.
You can get them in the color of your Prius and they are nicely styled part that fit's the lines of the Prius. I like the style of the tapered mldg.
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I assume you can order them from Toyota. Easiest is to get them on the car you buy / order in advance, but I assume you already have your car or have ordered it? Only afterrmarket conversation I have seen is the lower rocker moldings...not the side moldings.

 

lol, I am also a "defensive parker"! Figures u would be, as well! :tea:
Mine is always the white car WAY out at the end of the lot, far away from the others. If I had a dollar for every time I've witnessed someone fling their door open into the car beside them.....I'd have enough dough to do yet ANOTHER mod!

 

You can get them from Sparks Toyota or ebay.

 

There are also lower chrome side moldings sold at the Priuschat store, don't have them myself, but I think they look good.

 

And this is true whether or not you have moldings, as you can still get dings above or below them due to varying heights of vehicles. I plan to use paintless ding removal if I ever get them.

 

I agree with the last two posts ^^ but, to me it looks cooler with side molding because it breaks up the flat look on the sides. Just my two cents. No need to flame! Also, to answer any possible questions that it will effect your mileage, it has not effected my mileage at all, I'm still averaging around 53.6 mpg.

 

I bought and installed the tapered moldings also because it breaks up the flat surfaces of the doors. I have no expectations that the moldings might prevent a ding and also practice defensive parking to the extreme.

 

I have the same question a year ago when I got my Odyssey. I bought it after some hesitation. When I got my PIP, I checked my molding on Odyssey and found a big dent on the molding. No dent on the van. So It did same me a dent. so I got the molding for my PIP.

There is OEM molding. Part number 00016-47050-01 for silver

Body Side Moulding - Classic Silver Metallic 1F7 at Sparks Toyota Scion - Toyota Racing Development Parts

 

I still prefer my inverted RAV4 moulding... suggested on here last summer. Note the trailer hitch as my attempt to keep people off my sweet bippy

 

I like the looks of your mounting on your BSM!! Did you angle just a bit or is it a perspective trick? It looks to be in between the rocker panel and upper body crease lines.
I remember seeing your post about "previous" RAV 4 BSM's. You said, I believe it was a TRD Sparks PTA-42060-20


Here is a pic listed as 2012 and previous RAV4 BSM (PT29A-42060-XX) on Ebay: (not turned upside down as we prefer).
Toyota RAV4 Painted Body Side Moldings Genuine OE | eBay


Here is another that does look slightly different listed as 2013 RAV4 BSM (PT938-42130-xx) on Ebay. It does look different in spite of opposite orientation:
New Genuine 2013 Toyota Rav 4 Body Side Molding Magnetic Gray Metallic 01G3 | eBay

 

Yes, I tried to split (bisect?) the angle between the high and low door creases...

I'll post better pictures when it stops snowing... uh, IF it stops snowing

2013 RAV4 BSM wasn't available at the time... the previous version may better complement the Prius "lines."

From TRDSparks, April, 2012:

1 - 120.00 - PT29A-42060-20 - Body Side Molding - Blizzard Pearl 070​

 

Looks very good. The rake is perfect.
I like the 2013 RAV4 molding except that it looks to extend outward from the body, at the back end too much and I think it may be distracting. It would look OK on a RAV4 because the wheel wells are so flared but not so much on the Prii.
Here is pic of a too exaggerated rake.