New Prius Owner: picking up our 2013 Prius v five atp Monday! Questions:

All I can tell you is that on my previous vehicle, a 2010 Honda Fit, I had a clear bra installed on the front. It was a 3M product. I was told at the time that if I ever wanted to remove it, it would be removable without doing any damage to the paint or vehicle.

In my case, the clear bra was nearly invisible, and I do think it helped protect the front hood from getting chips. The "care" for the 3M product was to simply treat it as part of the car, wash and wax as per normal.

The only think I noticed, and adjusted was that if I waxed along the edge of the film I could get a wax line. So I took extra care when waxing along this edge.

Also I once got some "bird defecation" on the clear bra, and was disappointed when it stained the clear bra. Even though I cleaned it off as
quickly as possible, I still ended up having to have a detailer buff the stain out. The argument at the time was that the clear bra protected the paint from damage. But? I was disappointed that it clouded and stained in doing so. It took a professional with a buffer and some "chemicals" to get it clear again.

I decided NOT to have a clear bra installed on the Prius, even though my experience was that I think it did help in protection.

I'm surprised that in removing whatever was on your vehicle it caused damage. Not knowing exactly what product it is, makes it hard to give an opinion. I think there are different grades of quality.

If you don't mind the look? If it's still clear, a clear wrap can add protection. If it's started to discolor or peel? I think I'd ask to have it removed by a professional and then have the area professionally repainted if needed.

 

I don't think you need to do anything special for the hood protector, except don't try to remove it. I'll wager that the bumper won't be an exact color match when they're done with it.
1st thing I'd do is go buy a set of Michelin Energy Saver A/S for it, and pump them up to 40psi. But that's me, I really hate OEM tires.
Take it to the Toyota dealer for an oil change and let them do their usual inspection and diagnostic routine. Don't assume it has had proper oil changes in the past, or that the correct oil was used.
I like the WeatherTech floor and cargo liners. Far superior to any "mat".

 

Tire pressures are a matter of the balance between comfort and mileage, and that is an individual choice, I'm afraid you will just have to experiment.

 

congrats, all the best.

 

I'll bet if you walk into the parts counter and ask what sort of a discount on the Weathertech mats they will give you as a new Toyota owner .... I did.

Tires to 40 front, 38 rear.

Do nothing about buying tires yet and see what sort of MPGs you get. Of course that assumes you have good tread depth left, right and center on all 4 tires and no cupping you can hear or feel.

I like knowing what sort of service a car has received so I know what and when my next service should be. To that end, an oil change and an alignment check with a printout of the resultant values the next time the dealer has a "deal" would be my approach.

 

Alright, I get to help someone with Adv. tech. pkg. (ATP) instead of confusing someone with Display Audio.

I recently updated the Entune firmware on my 2012 prius v (wagon) w ATP by turning the car on, watching the Entune App on my iPad connect to vehicle, touch "Apps" on the main menu screen. Then the vehicle's Entune says "checking for update", and the "Do you want to upgrade, Y or N", I pressed Y and in a few minutes the update is complete and the new Entune starts up.

I used to think that the update was downloaded via the Emergency - SOS cellphone component, but now I think it is through the iPad/Android using my home wifi.

I tried pressing No to the update once and it went back to main menu instead of starting Entune apps on the vehicle. So it's really "Do you want to upgrade or not use Entune"

Once you have Entune up and running on the your vehicle, press the upper left Toyota logo to show the Entune sw/firmware version number (only works with ATP)

Enjoy.

 

regular. current eth levels are fine, not to worry. costco and tide are not a problem.

 

Seabone, what vehicle are you updating nav maps on?

Post #2 here has update instructions; 2013 Prius v Map HDD Navigation/Firmware Update When? | PriusChat

Toyota has gone ultra protective with Nav updates and requires a license key from toyota corporate servers. I have heard of an under the table foreign website that can help with this step. It just seems like a new-ish Garmin with lifetime maps would be a good solution.

 

I'm a bit skeptical when the car, sight unseen, needs a paint job because of a clear wrap that didn't come off. If the wrap was put on to protect the car and it's clear......there's really no reason to remove it. To me this sounds like this car had a fender bender and is getting painted before it's sold. As other's have said, the bumper color probably won't match so they are covered by telling you it's been painted.