Went to Costco today, scraped the raised concrete barriers in the parking lot. Heard some plastic scraping noises, stopped the car, and backed up. Observed some damage on the Left Front Fender Liner (53852-47020): Some damage on the backside of the Left Front Fender Liner (53852-47020) as well: Here's a picture on the Right Front Fender Liner (53851-47040) for comparison . I wonder if the Left Front Fender Liner (53852-47020) needs replacing and how difficult it is to replace. There seems to be several screws holding it in place. Thanks for the help!
I would absolutely leave it as-is. That scraping is trivial, likely from more than one contact and you'll just be in a world of hurt trying to replace. Depending on your locale I guess, but if you get significant rain and road salt, the circled bolts will be lumps of rust: And attempting to remove them will likely snap the heads off. They're basically rust-rivets, meaning that small pan needs to be removed together with the entire fender liner. Yeah, I would nothing, and try to make a point of stopping a little further back, with curbs, wheel stops.
Here's a snap, with that pan pulled down, looking at the interior. For orientation, you can see a bit of tire tread showing through the pan drain hole. Note the hopelessly rusted metal strap and rust lumps masquerading as bolts...
Thank you for the advice, the explanations, and the pictures! That fender liner surely looked much easier to replace than it really is. I looked at the bolts again, they look pretty new with black paint on them. No signs of corrosion or rust. Though with all the complexities that exist with this task, wouldn't even try it to replace it now. I really appreciate the help, Mendel!
It's item #9 here: Fender & Components for 2012 Toyota Prius | Toyota Parts And somewhat oddly, it's the whole kit and kaboodle. Maybe that's an acknowledgement, that the 3 bolt connection between pan and fender liner is permanent? I see also it's not currently available. Someone here ordered one and was dismayed to find it was rolled into a coil in the shipping box. It's no big deal though: the fender liner portion in particular is very flimsy/flexible. Still, bottom line, that "spat" that scraped is the tip of a bigger "iceberg", and a little scuffing is par for the course. I've taken that piece almost completely out, but there is one fastener at the rear of wheel well that counfounded me, maybe needed to be destroyed to remove.
What is the part (number or name) that attaches to the rear of the inner fender liner. It is a plastic cover or some sort that a small air dam attaches to.
