Bumper Blow off!

Glad everything's sorted for you. It's always worse not knowing for sure what went wrong, so you can rest easy now.

 

I have my first Prius, a 2017 4 Blizzard Pearl with Moonroof, but black interior. I love it! I have about 476 miles on it so far. It tells me I am at 57.3 mpg. It keeps climbing. Still using the tank of gas from the dealer. In a few days I'll buy my first tank. I live in Arizona and I love the moonroof, at least now in January I do. Not sure how I will feel about it in June, July, and August! I've had 3 Sienna vans because I did a lot of dog trialing, but I decided that now I needed a car for me and not for the dogs. I can walk them to the park everyday for their playtime! Love the Prius, all the safety features, love the HUD.

 

Enjoy it. Your first tank is often not indicative - the dealer could have cribbed it being full, plus it would have had some transport stages and preparation time, but 57.3 is good.

I'm from the semi-tropics, and almost nobody installs sun/moon-roofs - I've only been in a couple of cars with them, nice in winter.

I've only small dogs - they'll fit across the back seat quite well (I've only 2 (mini-poodles), the middle one is borrowed).

 

First, glad you figured out what happened. Second, there is a Toyota video of the gen4 Prii being mage (a long video) and when they install the rear bumper cover, they just push the thing on with their hands. It very much looks like there isn't much really holding the thing in place except a couple of plastic clips.

 

I have two Border Collies, the female is 30 lbs and the male is 40lbs. I used to travel with them in crates in the Sienna. They have not been in the Prius yet and I cannot put them in crates. I am going to try using seatbelt harnesses when I do need to take them with me. I've never used seatbelt harnesses before so it will be a new experience for the 3 of us. At first I was not going to buy the Prius because I wasn't sure how I would transport the dogs, but I just loved the car so bought it anyway and decided I would figure it out when needed.

 

Just keep an eye on the air-vents under the back seat - the one toward the RH side particularly, that it doesn't either get covered, or get too much Border Collie hair. I have a picnic blanket over my back seat which is just a little too long, and I check that it doesn't hang over the vents (a pair of scissors would be a better long term solution ).

There was some discussion on PriusChat about putting Dog Crates in a PRIUS - try a search in "Search". I found this discussion - haven't time to read it now - maybe check it out:

New Prius incoming... what do I do with the dog? | PriusChat

 

It is always preferable to have dogs in anchored crates when transporting. You can either use the seat belts or the cargo tie downs to anchor them. With the rear seat folded down there is quite a bit of room back there. My son regularly transports several small dogs in his Prius v and I have transported a few in my Gen 4. Always in anchored crates though. Not only is it safer for the animal it is safer for you too.

 

My dogs wear a good fitting harness, and use short belts plugged into the Seat Belt anchor and attached to their harness. You have to envision what would happen to them if you stopped in a real hurry, or worse still, in a crash.

Many crates aren't particularly solid in cars, but in most cases are better than not being restrained at all - like in the olden days.

But, we have to be realistic - most family cars don't have room for crates along with the family when, for instance, it is only occasional trips like taking the dog to the vet - which is why I'm happy with the harness solution - that way my dogs won't be roaming the roadway after a roll-over like happened to my dog when I had a rollover in 1977. Yes, in an upside down car, they'd be suspended by their harnesses, but I think that's preferable.

Video of crash test animals reveals most carriers and harnesses fail to keep pets safe | Daily Mail Online

 

We tend to use wire crates like those used indoors, but tied down in place. They should keep their shape better than the travel crates. We only use them very occasionally.

 

Thank you so much for all this information. I read the link information as well. I don't have a long trip coming up for a while (May). I will be driving from Arizona to NM and my friend in NM was quite upset because she thought I could not come because I had a Prius and would not be able to transport the dogs. The dogs are very experienced travelers and were very quiet in the Sienna. I am going to take a look at how my crates fit and tie down and also will order a seatbelt harness that I can try out as well. I actually did put a regular harness on them and put the seatbelt through it and drove them about a block. They both seemed a little confused since they were not jumping into their Sienna crates, but did not get very anxious. I imagine that a harness designed to work with the seatbelt would be more comfortable. I have time to experiment, and yes, I agree, a dog should not be unrestrained in a vehicle, dangerous for dog and person.

 

This is the type of harness I got for mine (not my photo), I keep it fairly tight so he can't slip out of it.



Then the buckle belt I have is the shortest I can for the size of dog - a Chihuahua might get away with one measured in inches, an Irish Woofhound will measure it in metres. I think Winston's is about 9" long, Kieara is bigger, hers would be more like 10-11". - like this:



There was a warning in the News recently NOT TO USE THIS TYPE, particularly the version which sits them on their tail - a Vet advised that continual use could cause joint and spinal problems - I'm not sure, lots of incorrect advice arrives on the internet, but I can't see my dogs being happy being restrained like this:


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As long as you don't do it this way - eeeek!!

 

I can't wait to get a self driving car and put one of the dogs in the driver's seat like that

 

How about this?

Mysterious ‘driverless’ van spotted in Virginia had a human driver hidden in the car seat - The Verge

 

Saw something like that on a Youtube video.

 

This happened just after the state permitted automated driving testing but required a driver in the vehicle.

I sat in the seat suit of Ford’s fake self-driving car | Ars Technica

 

That's the one, I seem to remember there being one with a Toyota Yaris too.

 

Nearly what Clarkson used to say......

 

I sometimes wonder morosely what "trade offs" the next gen will bring, if it comes.