I finally got around to pulling off the crappy plastic wheel covers on my V this weekend, but was unpleasantly surprised by the lack of a center cap on the wheel. Does anyone know of a good source for the center caps? I hate the look of the wheel covers and would like to get them off permanently.
Look for caps that are 2.5 inches in diameter. I bought a set off of ebay that was posted here in priuschat in another thread that cost me $75 but then after I got them I saw that there were plenty of other sellers that had them for much less, there is one that is selling them for $29.99 shipped. Btw, I was one of those that didn't want to take off the hubcaps because I thought they looked fine and thought the alloy wheels underneath didn't look all that great in the pictures, but I hit the curb going into my driveway and one of them flew off and actually saw that the wheels look much better without the hubcaps.
They do look much better in person. The covers stick out too far and strike the curb often. With them pulled I've been able to snug curbs with no issue. And having owned a car with lower profile 17" wheels I can say I'm happy to not have to pay that premium for "sport" tires.
I know this is an old thread, and I have an amateurish question related to above. One of my wheel covers popped off and got lost. Is it safe for the wheel to be without a wheel cover (risk of rust, other damage?). I, too, think they look better without the wheel cover but didn't know if it was protective or only cosmetic. A Toyota dealership quoted me $87 to replace one wheel cover - seemed expensive. BUT, standard wheel covers (Futura) don't fit. Any tips would be appreciated!
REW, Order some Toyota center caps and then get rid of the hub caps. PPPrrrius above has the part number and website. Where do you live? I have a set of 4 hub caps that I'm probably not going to ever use again. I probably should sell them rather that let them sit in my garage.
Absolutely - get rid of them! Apparently some salesmen claim the covers help with mileage, but this makes NO sense. They're almost exactly the same shape as the alloy rims underneath, so aerodynamics shouldn't change much at all either way. And the wheel covers weigh almost a pound each, so they theoretically make your mileage worse. (Some people pay extra for lighter weight rims - even a pound or so of rotational weight can apparently make a difference in performance and/or mileage). No risk of rust - wheel is non-steel alloy. Also, covers wouldn't protect against rust anyway. If anything, they would trap more salt/dust/moisture against the wheel, potentially increasing the risk for rust even if the wheel was steel. So yes, I firmly believe wheel covers are purely cosmetic - lose 'em! Andy
I went the cheap route. Went to Lowes, purchased 2" diameter electrical box covers and they fit like a glove. No Toyota logo but when the wheel's spinning it doesn't really matter. Cost me under $10.
If it happened to you once, it'll happen again. I was not interested in taking my hub caps off, but when one of mine popped off as well, I got P.O.'d and took all of them off right then and drove around for a week with a big hole in the center of the wheels till the center caps I ordered came in.
Got mine for a 2013 Prius V Three on ebay for 29.99 free shipping from seller in NYC. Arrived in 3 days, and just popped them on, perfect fit. Listing title was "TOYOTA SET OF 4 CENTER WHEEL CAP SET OF , 2 1/2" 63 mm, USA SELLER!!!" and listing number was "170969445607". They look great on.
How are they installed? Removed? Had similar on a Porsche and they pressed on but had a special wire tool that fit through two holes on the cap. The tool had a hook on the end to remove the cap without scratching the cap or wheel.
I've got the Lowes caps,but I think those Toyota ones look better,thanks for the link,FatBob. I'm sure they just push on,and if they cant be grabbed or pried from the front,just push em out from the back. steve
You're right mtbiker, they pop on. No tools needed. Not sure how I would remove them though. There is no hole to insert a tool and no space between the cap and rim to insert a screw driver, so like you said they would have to be popped out from the back.
Thanks Fatbob. Somehow pushed out from the back doesn't sound like something you'd want to do on a snowy road at night or is it that the caps don't cover the bolts and thus the wheel can be removed with the caps still on? Pictures anyone or link to the caps installed up close. I'm really surprised at the amount of brake dust after 2800 miles.
Does anyone have a pic of their Prius V with the caps installed? I'm really leaning in this direction, though I might wait until my wife has scarred up the covers .
Thanks all for the info. The only downside I can see is that the hub contains the wheel bearing and putting a cap on it as opposed to a hubcap on the wheel traps the heat generated by the rotation on the bearing. I ordered them.
Wow - I've never heard of this as a potential problem! There are a lot of cars that come with center caps direct from the factory - including just about everything with alloy wheels, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Enjoy your hubcap-less wheels! Andy
