Replacing the lower window seal on the driver side - called Belt Side Moulding

Hi Mozdzen,
The thread you linked to in your second post (with p/n and how to replace) is for a Gen II prius. Was the p/n the same as for your Gen III? I also have a Gen III (2011) and this seal has been failing since the car was about 3 years old. Trying to find the right p/n for my Gen III if you have it and a good source to procure from...

Thanks in advance.

 

I did this repair myself this past weekend and have a photo history of the part number to the finished look with the window closed. This is my first time on the site, so I hope I can post these images. Once I got started it took me about 5 minutes per side. The Toyota dealer charged me $65 each and wanted $70 each side to replace them.

 

Anybody have better instructions/video on how to remove window belt?

ONEPLUS A5010 ?

 

Insert butter knife about one inch down the window belt (door opening side, not hinge side.) Push in then twist knife, you will get a piece of the window belt to pop up. Grab that piece and gently lift up, it will lift out all the way to the end.

To install, place new part in corner (hinge side of door), press down then work the length of belt into the channel. Everything will snap into place. Literally 2 minute job. Dealer charging $70 should be ashamed!

 

Maybe. Probably their minimum, 1/2 hour charge.

Thanks for the tips though.

 

I bought my 2010 used so I never knew how much road noise it was able to isolate when it was brand new. I would find long road trips at 75 mph painful to sit through because of the harsh, constant roar. It wasn't loud enough to drown out conversation or give the impression of something being seriously wrong, but I had to really crank the audio up just to be able to make the words out. The Prius' reputation here or being loud led me to believe that noise isolation had been sacrificed at the altar of fuel efficiency right at the design phase.

The rubber on all four window belt mouldings had been disintegrating, so I recently replaced all of them (~$19 apiece from Amayama), and it had the unexpected side effect of virtually eliminating road and engine noise. When staying within the ECO range the engine now sounds like a gentle purr. At higher accelerations it still sounds like a purr (just a little higher pitched) instead of the whine I would hear before. I no longer need to blast the audio at 60, about 40 is loud enough for me to hear the muddiest mix clearly.

This was easily the best money I've spent on non-essential maintenance on this vehicle and has made it positively pleasurable to drive.