I want to thank everyone here for a great forum. I just put the side moldings on my 06 Prius (ordered from this site). It was an easy install. This site is loaded with great information. I do have one question. I pull my car into my garage and when I open the hatcback it always seems to contact the garage door (I know be more careful). Wondering how others have handled this problem. I already have a tiny nick in my 06 paint job from hitting the garage door (touch up paint is where ?). Thanks again for a superb forum.
I've successfully avoided the problem by not having a garage. While there's absolutely no protection from the elements in my apartment complex's parking lot, the hatchback door clears every time. Seriously, though, I don't have any experience with the problem, and I haven't come up with any realistic or easy suggestions in the time I've been writing this. Hopefully others can be more helpful! Toyota sells touch-up paint pens, and you can also buy paint pens at the site below: http://www.paintscratch.com/ I haven't used either, but if you do a search on the forums for "touch up paint" you'll find some people who have used these products.
hmm... I reverse park so I don't hit the door. Actually, I'm not sure if it clears or hits since I never parked facing in before.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(compchat57 @ May 14 2006, 02:25 AM) [snapback]255078[/snapback]</div> I stapled some bubble wrap on the back of the garage door where the hatch hits. Crude but it works. You could staple on all manner of stuff instead.
Have you tried cleaning out your garage? :blink: I have a garage and was able to put my Durango in, close the garage door, and open the liftback and not hit the garage door. I'm pretty sure the Prius is a lot shorter than the Durango.
I back in to my garage. I'm not sure the hatch would hit the garage door opener if I pulled in frontways. Never done it. I'd go with the stapling of bubble wrap, foam or padding on the door.
Darelldd ran into a similar problem when he put a cargo box on his yakima roof racks, and found a creative (and cheep) way around it. http://darelldd.com/ev/prius_racks.htm scroll down a little past halfway, and you'll see where he took some spectra cord with S-hooks to prevent the rear hatch from opening all the way.
I have an "abrasion" where my hatch hits the garage door. Right now, I have a microfiber cloth that I put between the hatch and the garage door, and I have the garage door marked for a suitable piece of carpet when I find one. I didn't think of bubble wrap, but that's a good one.
How about putting a few strips of self adhesive foam weatherstipping tape on the garage door where the hatch would hit it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ May 14 2006, 08:43 AM) [snapback]255129[/snapback]</div> No problems here either. Never even thought about it until now, actually. But, as other said, you may want to consider learning to back in, and it probably won't be an issue.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(khoult @ May 15 2006, 09:55 AM) [snapback]255652[/snapback]</div> I've done this with good results. However, my new favorite way of handling this was to find the thickest, cushiest mouse pad I could find. I cut it to size and double-stick taped it to the offending door stud. It looks nice and it large enough to allow for some fudge-factor.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(compchat57 @ May 14 2006, 02:25 AM) [snapback]255078[/snapback]</div> I encountered the EXACT same problem and concern when I received my car a few weeks ago. Granted, my garage ceiling is lower than most, due to the location of my townhouse. I now have a small nick in the edge of the "spoiler" from my unattentitiveness one time, before I got around to fixing the problem. :angry: My simple solution was to go to the hardware store, buy about a dozen square feet of that yellow half-inch foam underpadding for carpeting, cut & doubled it, and screwed it to the inside of the door using nice wide washers. Works great, and only cost about $10 for everything. It would also be a good idea to get one of those wheel stop things to make sure you are always stopped at the same spot in the garage. Now the hatch rests against the soft foamy surface of the door. Just make sure you don't forget the hatch open and hit the button to close your garage door, or it may get ugly... - Kevin
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jack Straw @ May 14 2006, 01:27 PM) [snapback]255336[/snapback]</div> My door is 89 inches from floor when open and I don't have a problem opening the hatch. Unfortunately, CarMyne is out at the moment so I'm not sure how much clearance there is with the hatch open. However, the last panel slopes to about 80 inches at the opening so I can't back out with the hatch open. Also, my door operator bracket is only 83 inches to the floor so I don't open or close the garage with the hatch open. So far I've avoided these problems but other have reported damage as a result of moving either the car or the garage door when the hatch is open.
I have the same problem also so I've learned that if I need to open the hatch after I park I just close the garage door using the homelink and the hatch opens fine with the garage door down.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(compchat57 @ May 13 2006, 11:25 PM) [snapback]255078[/snapback]</div> I had the same problem. Here is how I fixed it: When I got my car, I got mats from Costco to protect the floor. These mats had a portion that could be trimmed off with a scissors to fit. I took the trimmed-off portion of the mat and fastened it to the offending two by four at the appropriate area. Now, that rubber is still somewhat abrasive (but not nearly as bad as wood), and I am looking for something more permanent than bubble-wrap...but hey, if it works, it works!
