I just replaced the carpet in my '07. My dad helped and it took us about four hours. I don't have many pics nor any video, but the following instructions may be useful if you are embarking on a similar journey. I'm offering my old carpet to anyone that wants to pay the shipping on the off chance you're interested. The service manual is great if you can get a hold of it; otherwise: First, remove the two front seats. Slide both all the way forward. Remove the trim pieces on the rear of the front seat tracks. There are two on the driver's side and two on the passenger's side. Remove the two bolts on each seat. Slide the seats all the way back and remove the two front bolts. Gently tip the seat back and disconnect all of the connectors. Remote the seat from the vehicle--removing the headrest makes this slightly easier. Remove the rear seat cushion. Place your hand between the seat cushion and carpet. Slide it towards the middle of the seat (the individual seat, not the entire cushion) and you'll feel a metal bar. Place your hands on either side of the bar and lift straight up. This requires a fair amount of force. Do the same for the opposite side. The entire cushion can be removed from the vehicle now. The seatbelt receivers will slide out the back of the cushion. Remove the four scuff plates at each door. Gently pry each one up with your fingers. Take notice of how the metal clips fit in to the plastic scuff plate and the rubber gasket. Remove the front seatbelt anchors. Gently pry the cover apart at the top while sliding downwards. Then remove the bolt attaching the belt to the vehicle. Next, pull the cover off. Pull straight out. If any of the white clips stay in the body, pull them off the body and snap them back in to the cover. Remove the fuel door lever. One Philips screw. Remove the center console. Flip open both cupholders. Grasp the divider between the cupholders and pull straight up. An L-shaped piece with the cupholders will come off. Two Philips screws will now be exposed near the bottom at the front of the center console. Remove both. Open the top and shove all of your belongings towards the power outlet. Slide the felt forward to reveal two 10mm bolts. Remove both. Gently tip the console towards the rear of the vehicle. Disconnect the cables. Remove all the dash trim pieces. I've done this so many times I don't have instructions on this one; just look for circular claws and pull them out; otherwise the trim pieces just pull straight out. Use caution when pulling out the one with the power outlet. Once removed you can detach the cable at the back of the power outlet. Footrest to the left of the gas pedal. Not sure what the proper procedure is; I just pulled until it came off. The body has a pair of bolts sticking out; the footrest has two removable threaded nuts that stick in to the underside. You're now ready to remove the carpet. First, slide the fuel level through its hole in the carpet (rotate it 90° to get it out). Then the carpet should lift out. There will be additional padding below the carpet that is not tacked down--these are the "silencers". I recommend lightly vacuuming the floor of the vehicle and then you're ready to proceed with installation. Here's a photo with the carpet removed: (the blue and gray cables running down the center are for my two-way radio)
My vehicle was originally used as a corporate campus shuttle and they opted against floor mats for the back seat. A large gash at the passenger's heels developed and I replaced it purely for cosmetic reasons.
Sorry, it was meant to be a humorous, tongue-in-cheek response and the humor didn't translate well. It was meant to be a jab at typical PC posts. OP: My (part X) failed at 120k Typical response: I have 130k on my car and (part X) hasn't failed yet. Does this mean it's going to fail soon?? I kind of assumed your carpet had a cosmetic failure, not a mechanical one
CookieGuru, nice post. What replacement carpet kit did you buy on ebay, can you send me the link, or describe it to me. Also any tips on installation procedure with regards to the padding, etc?
It was a single listing for used carpet. I hadn't seen any sellers with new (OEM or aftermarket) carpet. So you're depdendent on someone having a junker and listing it on eBay. That said, you should check local junkyards for any Prii on the lot. The padding is benign; they just "lay" inside the frame much in the same way the floor mats lay on the carpet; nothing special. The only thing to watch out for is the colors--IIRC 04-09 only came in two colors, beige and gray, although they may have differed slightly from year to year it would probably be negligible once installed.
No picture of the completed job? Lots of work there. If I was going to go through all that trouble I would have added some sound deadener to all the metal surfaces under the carpet. it really helps. They sell some cheap peel and stick stuff on ebay that works great. Here's my trunk with it added:
Like I said, it was a listing for a single item. It was several years ago, so even if I could find the link it will be expired and unavailable on eBay. I just did a quick search and saw four listings for used carpet; didn't check the color or generation. Good luck.
