The Prius's biggest defect: crappy plastic flaps underneath

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by metamatic, Aug 20, 2006.

  1. metamatic

    metamatic Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2004
    114
    16
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    Limited
    I have a problem with the design of the Prius.

    On the front underside are two large plastic moldings. Each has a dip molded into it, the two together run across the width of the car. These recesses are about 20-30cm in from the front of the car.

    Now, the recesses start out covered by two pieces of thin, flexible plastic. I will henceforth refer to these as the crapflaps--not because they protect the car from crap, but because their construction is crappy in the extreme.

    As far as I can tell, the crapflaps serve no real purpose other than to ensure that the underside is as flat and aerodynamic as possible. And as far as I can tell, they're designed so that they rip off at the slightest opportunity, and are impossible to repair.

    Here's the problem: around here, there are lots of parking lots with major dips between them and the road. As you go down into the dip and up the other side, the front underside of the car scrapes the street. If a crapflap gets scraped, one or more of the plastic studs holding it in place will pull out of the plastic holes it's attached to.

    The studs are designed to be impossible to reuse. Not only that, you can't buy a crapflap from Toyota; the only way to replace one is to replace that entire underside piece, which costs hundreds of dollars.

    I did that once. By the time my next service came around, I'd lost one, and the other was hanging on by 2 plastic studs.

    So... does anyone have any suggestions? Since these things seem so useless, right now I'm inclined to rip off the dangling one and be done with it. It also strikes me that there's a business opportunity here; if you could actually buy a pair of crapflaps and some push-in plastic studs, it would be trivial to replace them without even needing to jack up the car. If only I owned a plastic molding factory...
     
    #1 metamatic, Aug 20, 2006
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2003
    19,891
    1,194
    9
    Location:
    Nixa, MO
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hmmm, must be some nasty terrain 'round 'bout your neck of the woods.
    (side note: please complete your car and location information in your profile so we know a little more about you).

    almost 3 years now and I've experienced no such trouble and routinely drive on bad rural roads, gravel roads, terrible parking lots, etc.

    As you've discerned, the flat bottom is for aerodynamics. If they're causing that much trouble I would just rip them off and be done with them.

    Or, replace and send the bill to one of the parking lots that's so bad!
     
    #2 efusco, Aug 20, 2006
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    468
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    are you talking about the skidplates? i've knocked one of those off before on a bad parking lot-to-street transition.

    you can buy the plastic clips provided the plate is reusable.
     
    #3 galaxee, Aug 20, 2006
  4. metamatic

    metamatic Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2004
    114
    16
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    Limited
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Aug 20 2006, 11:14 AM) [snapback]306253[/snapback]</div>
    What, the user icon isn't enough of a giveaway? :)
     
    #4 metamatic, Sep 7, 2006
  5. clodius

    clodius New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2012
    1
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have the same problem. I have lost two pieces from underneath, but am not replacing anything.
     
    #5 clodius, Jul 18, 2012
  6. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2011
    3,159
    990
    0
    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Well, as I alway say, there is a way around everything. Here are my suggestions

    Can you drill a hole thru the "crapflaps" and the plastic molding and use a good plastic screw to reattach it?

    Can you buy some threaded metal clips from Lowes or Home Depot that would help (I know they sell them, I just don't know if they would work).

    A picture of what you're talking about could help me come up with more ideas but just remember, ingenuity can solve any problem (see pics).

    2012-06-18_21-59-55_87.jpg 2012-06-18_22-00-41_268.jpg
     
    #6 usnavystgc, Jul 18, 2012
    roflwaffle likes this.
  7. maestro8

    maestro8 Nouveau Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2012
    471
    109
    0
    Location:
    nor cal
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Keep in mind the fact that these pans also protect the engine and transaxle from being splashed with mud and/or water. Sure, these components are likely water-tight, but it'd be an expensive mistake to find out otherwise. Especially if an electrical contact got mucked up... electrical problems can be amongst the hardest to diagnose.
     
    #7 maestro8, Jul 19, 2012
  8. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2011
    3,318
    1,105
    0
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Ran into the same problem a while back going down the freeway here in Houston. Car in front threw up a piece of rubber that was on the road, of course I could not avoid it as I was following a little close in heavy traffic (my bad). Anyway, the rubber broke one of the covers and it was hanging down from the car. Showed it to the stealer while I was there for a oil change. They simply tied it up with some wire ties, like what you use inside of computers. Solved the problem without having to remove or replace the crappy cover. And yes, they are expensive. I can't recall the price, but it was not cheap. Then again, are Toyota parts cheap to begin with ;)

    Ron (dorunron)
     
    #8 dorunron, Jul 19, 2012
  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,827
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Running without the crapflap underside plate will turn out to be very expensive. The plate protects the ac condenser (the one in front of the rad) from road damage and is easily damaged by debris and very expensive to replace.
     
    #9 edthefox5, Jul 19, 2012
  10. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2011
    3,318
    1,105
    0
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I second that as I am in the process of replacing the A/C condensor and it was earlier this year that I damaged our crapflap... The area where the condensor is leaking is in the same location where the crap flap was damaged. It would not surprise me if a piece of that rubber slapped the condensor when I ran over it.

    The cost of that condensor to be replaced from the stealer? $800.00

    Ron (dorunron)
     
    #10 dorunron, Jul 19, 2012
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)