(New?) Idea for Prime Cell Phone Mount...

I've been trying different ideas for mounting my cell phone in my 2017 Prime. I have a RAM X-Grip large phone/phablet mount from my previous car. I've found that with the addition of a RAM suction mount (it was screwed into my last car), it works quite well in my Prime. The RAM system is modular, so you mix and match components.

Instead of mounting this to the windshield, I've mounted it to the small fixed window at the front of the driver's door. For me, it is an ideal position for viewing and using the phone. I can operate the phone easily with my left hand while my left elbow is rested on the driver door's sill.

Of course, this means the mount moves with the door when you open and close it. But I've open and shut the door many times with my iPhone 7 Plus in the mount, and it has held firm (even with the added weight of an Otterbox Symmetry case). I've also pulled, slapped and tugged on the mount. It is attached quite well. The RAM suction base has a rotating lock on it to help lock the suction cup to the window.

I couldn't find a place on the windshield that worked well. Everywhere I tried, the mount obstructed my view. Mounted to the fixed driver door window, the mount and phone do not obscure my view at all. It takes two hands to put your phone in the X-Grip, but that is very easy to do with it mounted in this position.

I also like this better than mounting to the windshield because I'm about to spend $200 to have my windshield tinted. I don't know if the suction cup might damage the windshield tinting, but I don't want to risk it. If it damages the tint on the small, fixed driver door window, I won't care as much. It would be cheap and easy to replace that small piece of tint.

The setup you see in the photos includes the following RAM components:
(1) RAM Mounts RAM 3.3in. Diameter Suction Cup Twist Lock Base with 1" Ball RAM-B-224-1U ($16.99)
(2) RAM Mount Long Double Socket Arm for 1" Ball Bases ($17.99)
(3) RAM Mount Universal X-Grip IV Large Phone/Phablet Holder with 1" Ball - Black ($28.99)

All of these components are available on Amazon. There are smaller versions of the X-Grip for smaller phones. The one I have opens wide enough for just about any phone made. If you have a phablet, you'll want to check the manufacturer's website for capacity, but even phablets should fit.

 

Hi Sara - I never thought of that, but no, I'm not concerned about that at all. I don't drive with my windows open, and, even if I get in an accident and that somehow happens, damage to my cell phone is going to be among the least of my concerns.

 

Hi priuscat - It's really not at all in the way there. It doesn't block the view through the windshield of the car, and it doesn't block the side-view mirror, either. If you're talking about what would be on the screen while I'm driving, I'm not one to watch videos while I'm driving. My grandfather was an Air Force pilot. He taught me how to drive and his most frequent and emphatic advice was, "Get your head out of the cockpit!" In any event, this position seems much safer than any other mount I've seen. Even if I'm looking directly at my phone in this position, my eyes and head are at an angle at which the road is in my field of vision.

 

Ah, now that is a good point. I'll have to look into if there is one and how it deploys.

 

Hi Piwacet - Okay, that was a good point. But I looked it up, and the airbags don't deploy that far down. Looking at the attached photo and a video of airbag deployment in another Prius model, it seems clear to me now that the airbag in question deploys higher up (along the top of the door) and expands downward to protect the driver's head from slamming into the door's window. If it hit my phone and mount at all, it would just knock it downward. But thanks for bringing that up. I hadn't even thought of that.

 

That looks like it would fall off frequently. How stable is that?

 

So if you take a really sharp turn hard, or if you brake suddenly and hard, that thing will stay put and not move or fall off?

 

That looks very solid. Is this a 2017 Prius Prime Plus?