my 2017 Prius Four Touring is just over 3 months old. I noticed that the plastic at the flap to the rear passenger wheel is broken. I assume this is due to typical road debris. This is disappointing. This area should be made of material that can handle road debris. I assume this is not covered under the regular warranty or extended platinum warranty. I have only driven on roads and have not hit anything. Thanks Michael
Your insurance should cover it under comprehensive coverage. Hopefully your deductible isn't that bad. You could always epoxy it. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
If there are no impact marks on or around the crack area, then it's a manufacturing defect, covered under the warranty.
I brought it to the dealer. The service person said that I hit something or ran over something that pushed the flap back and caused it to break the side of the car. I called Toyota Care and sent the above pictures to them as well. When I called, they said to take it to the dealer to evaluate. They have not seen the email and photos I sent yet. It can take up to a day to post... The service person stated that I should call Toyota Care and see if they can do something. (I seem to be in an infinite loop.) Did I run over anything I felt? No. Did I run over something or some road hazard cause it? Probably. Is this the quality of the cars we now have to accept? My 10.5 year old Prius with 215,000 miles never had this kind of problem. You would think something that hangs down would have some play and not cause the side of the car to break. I love my Prius. And I will live with a crack for the next 10 years or so. It would just be nice to have cars that are not made of plastics, like toys. I was hoping others would have similar problems that we can keep track of and see if this becomes an issue. Thanks Michael
Yes. There are lot of minor changes they could make to mitigate what happens with little "love taps". They're likely right, that low hanging spat likely snagged something, and leveraged at it's connection. See if you can get the spat off, and wheel well liner, loosen things up to get at the backside, put in some fiberglass mesh and a two-part bumper repair bond. This is something I've used, but maybe just a Canadian product, not sure: Fiberglass mesh and any two-part epoxy, JB Weld or whatever, would work I think.
