My mother just picked up a 2020 Prime Limited, and boy there are just so many bells and whistles it's going to take a while to figure it all out. But right away there seems to be a couple practical issues we need to solve. Firs the cargo. We have a sloped driveway, and stuff tends to slide right out whenever the hatch is opened. I'm thinking maybe some sort of cargo net or someway to add a lip or some other type of barrier to keeps things from just dropping out of the back anytime we open the hatch. Any solutions? And then there's the hatch. She's all of 5 foot tall so when the hatch is opened she has a hard time getting up there to close it. Anyway to add like a hanging loop handle without having to permanently modify it?
My $15 dollar solution to things falling out.... What did you do to your Prime today? | Page 8 | PriusChat What did you do to your Prime today? | Page 8 | PriusChat Rob43 PS, If you have a conveniently located 240v outlet near your Prime, you can charge it up in 2 1/2 hours for less than $50 dollars.
some folks have rigged up bungee's etc to keep the hatch lower or grab handles. only thing is, you gotta make sure everything is tucked in when you shut it.
eddiehaskell posted this DIY 8Feb2014 My DIY $17 Prius cargo liner made from recycled plastic bottles... | PriusChat remember Eddie? Wallys' friend on the show Leave it to Beaver I picked up on this idea on page 2 of the thread and made my version a bit bigger so it folded up in the back by the hatch. My DIY $17 Prius cargo liner made from recycled plastic bottles... | Page 2 | PriusChat I used the extra length as bumper protection, when I opened the hatch I could fold the liner down over the rear bumper. When folded back up it made a kind of storage bin in front of it. I use it in the Prime too when I'm hauling my bicycle in the back.
Thanks for the great ideas! I'm thinking I might do the lip thing. Still have to figure out what I'm going to do about the hatch height.
There's no real easy way to add a hatch pull down, that I know of. I was able to string a length of twine through the hatch frame behind the latch, but I had to remove the hatch molding to get it through. Than you have to figure out how to get the molding back on with the twine / thin rope attached to the hatch frame, without it tending to pull the molding out of its mounting holes. (possibly drilling a guide hole in the molding. But I wouldn't drill a hole unless I first got a replacement molding, either new or used.
Wanted to see if there were any new thoughts about the hatch/height issue. I just picked up a 2021 Prime Limited and being only 4'10" I've discovered that with this model, I have to climb up and kneel on the bumper in order to get the hatch down. I can reach the handholds, but this newer design (I had issues with the 2019 Prius Limited too but at least I could close it), the handholds are smooth and sloped so that when I try to pull down, my hands just slip out. I've tried closing from the side but the lifts are nice and strong that I can't get enough leverage to do that. My 6' husband says he sees the difficulty too, but he just reaches over the top and pulls from the outside of the car. Before drilling holes in the hand hold to try and put in a rope (or do the power lift option) I thought I would see if there were any new ideas. In older models (I've had 2001, 2005, 2009. 2015, 2017, 2019 Prius models) the latch part was on the hatch so I had a handheld hook (like skate key) that I could grab the hatch, but now the latch part is on the bumper side. Hope someone has some innovative ideas for a short person!
I've seen posts from people who have found aftermarket hatch struts with the same size end attachments, so they will fit on the car, but that are shorter, so they stop the hatch from opening as far.
Haven't done this on a Prius but have on a 2020 Subaru Forester for my 94 yr old 5'1" mother. Used a Wrist Strap from an old cane and found an anchor point on hatch. A panel on bottom of hatch had a screw I used to secure strap. Strap does get caught under hatch and some times sticks out an inch or three but mom doesn't care. She can now reach up and close hatch herself. Amazon has scores of Wrist Straps if you can't rob one from someone's cane. Where to attach on a Prius, don't know... Sorry. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
