1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Radiator guard

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by TommySI, Jul 4, 2023.

  1. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2019
    26
    7
    0
    Location:
    Bronx
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Recently had the radiator and compressor replaced. What I think is called a radiator guard below the front bumper is falling apart. I think I can remove it. Do I need to replace it?
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,408
    1,801
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    It's a piece of plastic trim right pull the little tabs out save them if they're good and throw the thing out Yes you can buy it if you want to All of those pieces of plastic under a Prius All of them help to lower the drag coefficient of air flowing through around and under the car The Prius and it's original design when it was first made talking about I think the generation 2 not the little coop was one of the lowest drag coefficient of any production car on the planet at the time I'm not sure if that's the same for the generation 3 and further generations but the two I believe that was the case at the time. So as you remove some of those plastic underpinnings trays under the floorboards etc you regain some of the drag that was mitigated by those plastic panels how much I don't know it would cost thousands of dollars in research to find that out probably wouldn't be worth one's time to be honest. The trays that went under the floorboards in the front on some of these cars will collect with rocks over the years in my generation 3 that had these trays I had 40 lb of rocks in the two trays That's 40 lb of extra weight I'm carrying around all the time I'm sure that mitigated any aerodynamic drag that was coming along on the car. Once the car gets dirty the drag coefficient goes down because of the dirt on the car seriously they make waxes just for this for the aircraft industry slipstream is a big name or was then it had to be done fairly regularly and it was noticeable I guess to aviation people etc.
     
  3. andrewassurance83

    andrewassurance83 New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2023
    11
    2
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two Eco
    You will need it. That plastic does help air flow to the engine compartment.
     
    edthefox5 likes this.
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,408
    1,801
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Yes all the plastics together were made to do all of these things as they start getting removed fender liners little pieces of plastic here and there then a lot of these points about air flow direction and aerodynamics become pretty moot If you don't keep the car shiny and waxed and all that a lot of this drag coefficient is very moot That's why they wax planes to keep them in the slipstream the name of the wax also etc etc but yeah it should if everything else is pretty equal but usually on the roads that's generally not the case I don't think any of our four have any of this pieces are missing etc etc It is not worth spending the money to replace them The gas mileage will see no difference more or less I would be surprised if a 10th of a mile per gallon showed up
     
  5. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2019
    26
    7
    0
    Location:
    Bronx
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    The part in question on our 2007 Prius base is called a valence. The valence had gotten damaged from hitting snow and ice several winters ago. I recently had to get an inspection. I asked the mechanic to remove the remains of the valence. What performance will I lose by driving without it? Does it protect the radiator and condenser?
     
  6. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,408
    1,801
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    It's a piece of trim You can lose it. When the generation 2 Prius was made It had one of the lowest drag coefficient of any production car on the planet and the way they got those low drag numbers was by all this plastic that's fitted under and around the car to smooth out that air flow simple as time goes on these pieces get bashed into parking curbs etc etc they get the hanging down flapping in the breeze making farting noises like bicycle cards clothes pinned in your spokes as a child folks get tired of hearing that nonsense next thing comes to scissors and you start trimming plastic to get the hanging down pieces etc etc More of it breaks and falls apart and the same ensues until it's all gone and in the trash or in your driveway wherever. During this time how much gas mileage have you noticed that you've lost by all the tank gallon counting and math and looking at the display and whatever at the end of the day what have you lost? And my 09 Prius which came from the factory rated to get 47.1 miles to the gallon all the time or you know whatever I used to get that 47.1 up to 8 months ago. The plastics had been missing off the car for many years I was still getting the same rated gas mileage about 9 months ago I don't know what changed all of a sudden everything dropped to 42 to 44 generally speaking this is what I see on the display blah blah blah. Nothing has changed on the car everything looks normal in TIS . Plugs and everything that runs the car are very new or newer say less than 20,000 mi on all that stuff filters everything The car's been kept up by reasonable people all its life It's just old I'm right at 400k getting 42 to 44 miles to the gallon driving approximately a hundred miles a day sometimes a little more sometimes a tad less I can't complain 10,000 mi oil changes do whatever we want with the car whenever we want No problem.
     
  7. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2019
    26
    7
    0
    Location:
    Bronx
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I agree. We’ve been getting 46.1 mpg for awhile. The Prius now, without the valence dragging on the road, seems to sound like a hybrid. Happy mothering.
     
  8. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,818
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Its called a Radiator Support Splash Shield

    And it definitely protects the front of the condenser from road debris damage. Which you will incur alot of if its missing because the front end of the G2 is very low it will pick up everything especially rain and snow without that guard and beat up your new condenser pretty good.

    Buy a new one. Mine was looking ratty I bought an after market off ebay what a piece of useless paper thin junk
    don't waste your time. I bought a new one.

    Here you go:

    https://parts.olathetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-radiator-support-splash-shield-5144747010?c=Zz1ib2R5JnM9YnVtcGVyLWFuZC1jb21wb25lbnRzLWZyb250Jmw9MSZuPUFzc2VtYmxpZXMgUGFnZSZhPXRveW90YSZvPXByaXVzJnk9MjAwNyZ0PWJhc2UmZT0xLTVsLWw0LWVsZWN0cmljLWdhcw%3D%3D

    If the online site asks for your vin make sure you include it and it will then fit perfectly.
     
    #8 edthefox5, Jul 8, 2023
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2023
  9. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2019
    26
    7
    0
    Location:
    Bronx
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Got a new radiator and condenser. No leaks, AC is great. Triangle of death appears! This 2007 Prius has over 157k. It’s been with mechanic test driving trying to remove codes. Could this be the end of the hybrid battery? I found a refurbished one for $995 plus $250 shipping. I hope this isn’t going to be necessary. What will be next rings?
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,206
    50,078
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    he should be retrieving the codes, not removing them
     
  11. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2019
    26
    7
    0
    Location:
    Bronx
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Mechanic told me the problems not in the hybrid battery. It’s in the inverter. I went on line to find out about it and the price of one. I came across a $20mil class action suit against Toyota over Prius owners with bad inverters. Now, the cost of replacing one can be covered by the suit settlement. Next, it’s going to the Toyota dealer where we purchased it to be checked out.
     
  12. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2019
    26
    7
    0
    Location:
    Bronx
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I think that that part is still there. The part that fell apart that I didn’t replace was the valence.
     
  13. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,818
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two