:angry: I can't believe it, but some knucklehead unscrewed the antenna off my pride and joy. I feel so violated. I drive the only Prius in my area of Brooklyn, so I wonder if the antenna fits something like a Toyota Matrix or something, and someone went shopping for replacement parts on my blue 2005 baby. I am so ticked!!!!!!!!!!!! I last saw my antenna intact on Saturday, during a manual washing. I didn't drive it Sunday. Monday, I noticed that the radio stations were all fuzzy sounding, but didn't check until I arrived at my destination. I got out and looked on the roof and ......nada. Just an empty screw hole. If only I could've been walking to my car as the jerk was taking it off. He would be receiving good FM broadcasts in his rear end. Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!! Chuck
That's too bad. I had a mirror stolen when I had my 1967 Mercedes, so I know what that's like. Well, as benighted says, the antenna is used on other Toyotas. That means you can either get a replacement or, in an attempt to make lemonade out of lemons, get a stubby antenna. That might be a bad idea, though. It may not be as good at receiving as an OEM, or it may get stolen.
Good to hear that it isn't unique to the Prius, so it makes it easily replaceable, but now I'm getting paranoid. I'm thinking...if I replace it, how long will it be before it's removed again?? No doubt that the coward will probably be lurking around to see if I replace it. This really sucks!!! I'm going to have to sleep in the hatch with a set of wire cutters, only I don't intend to snip electrical wire. Chuck
Hmmm, Brooklyn. Isn't it like an open exchange community for car parts there? You take my antenna, I take your hood ornament, this guy takes that guy's wheels, and so on. :lol: Seriously though, that sucks big time--getting ripped off always does. :angry:
I thought about taking it off nightly, once I eventually replace it, but I would probably forget to do it one night, then you know what comes next. Also, if it's removed nightly, rain, dead bugs, dust, bird droppings, Jimmy Hoffa's tooth filling, etc will probably wind up being found inside the antenna cavity. Yeah, I believe Brooklyn, or 'Crooklyn' as some call it, is a "pay it forward" kind of place when it comes to swiped car parts, bumper dents, scratches, door dings etc. I see why NY car insurance is among the most expensive in the nation. Chuck
You could try some Locktite if you won't need to take it off again any time soon. There are various grades of Locktite, some of which will make it VERY difficult, if not impossible, to remove the antenna without destroying it.
I didn't even notice that the Prius has an antenna! I am surprised at that because most new cars, including my car I drive now, have the antenna in the glass behind the rearview mirror. It's like built in and has little dots or something on the glass. Isn't it kinda old fashioned to have an antenna that sticks up and can be removed by twisting it?
I would be worried that the moronic thieves would break the antenna and more before giving up. :mellow: I once had some morons try to steal the wheels off of my Honda Accord. The came into my garage and jacked up the car by putting the jack under the gas tank, in the middle rear of the car (I guess they were in a hurry and wanted to get two wheels at once). The got a few lug nuts off and then the gas tank crumpled, the car lowered and they couldn't get the wheels off! I was out several lug nuts and two wheel covers. They left their jack. I when out the next day and got an alarm installed, then bought some locking lugnuts. Fortunately and unfortunately, most thieves are morons.
Maybe you could find a threaded plug to replace the antenna when you remove it nightly; or just put some masking tape over the hole like some car washes do. What a pain. For a time, I removed the seat and rear wheel of my bicycle when parking it at work (later they let me store it inside).
Loctite is probably *not* a good idea- it's basically a non-conductive glue, that coats the threads and locks things in place, so if you use it, you'd effectively be insulating the threads.. Although there would still be significant capacitve coupling using Loctite on the antenna would definitely degrade your reception (ie, reception will get worse, but probably not as bad as if you completely removed the antenna).. You *might* get away with using the new Loctite gel (vs the old liquid which tends to wick everywhere and completely coat the threads)- just apply a small drop to one portion of the thread and allow it to dry completely before re-installing the antenna, but a better solution might be to use a small blob of conductive epoxy insead, which if anything, would improve the connection of the antenna and if you used only a small amount, it would discourage casual attempts to unscrew the antenna, but would still be removable with tools..
In case this happens to others on this list, I noticed antenna replacements for the Prius were available on Ebay. They sell for about $8, plus $5 shipping.
Ahh Brooklyn... Born and raised there. Not a good place to park any car overnight. I've had my share of parts removed. My parents still live there and they garage their cars. If you want, I have the OEM antenna that I can give you for free. I live in Massapequa (35 miles or so). I now have the short antenna I bought from Ebay. I love it. Shorter and looks better than OEM. The OEM antenna is so long!!! Anywhoooooo.. let me know!
