The ground clearance of the Prius is way too low. After numerous hits, one of the plastic panels on the underside have come off. It's approximately between the front seats. Can I get a replacement form somewhere? Will it cause rainwater to seep into the High Voltage Wires and Cause problems? Thanks a lot in Advance
Do you actually have a Gen 3 Prius aka ZVW30? Or, do you have a 2nd gen Prius (aka NHW20)? In the US, model year 04-09 Priuses were Gen 2. Gen 3 is 2010+. You should find either sequence of characters on the driver's side door sticker.
Then you may have the infamous, "Oil door flap busted hinges" trick. The door flap hinges aren't, well, hinges; they're just a thinner bit of plastic that allows the flap to bend down. It has been discovered that wayward mechanics, oil change job shops, dealers, and the occasional do-it-yourselfer cracks that hinge; the flap pops down, hits the pavement, and makes all sorts of nasty grinding noises. This happened to me shortly after an oil change at this one snarky dealership; about two weeks later I saw another Prius driving along with the flap down, gave them a hand wave, and told them the bad news. Naturally, the door isn't a separate part, but is part of the whole under-engine plastic molding, so a new one is a couple hundred bucks or more, retail. I got mine by fast talking another dealership into considering it a warranty issue which, considering I was just short of 30K miles when it happened, it kinda was. You're probably out of luck. People have had moderate success in attaching real hinges to both the under-engine molding and the door, and/or using wire ties to secure the thing. Assuming, of course, that dragging the plastic door along the highway at high speed hasn't reduced said door to fragments. Some people just rip the door off and forget about it. Good luck! Kbeck.
