Tie down hooks and cargo net hooks in Prius Prime

I’d think the metal car bodies are the same as non-Prime, to keep production simple.

 

Does anyone happen to know the specs of the bolt for the tie down rings? The threads on mine are getting chewed off. I know it is a 10mm hex head but the width and tread info would be super helpful. Thanks

 

FYI, the mounts for the rear D-rings ARE of course present on the Prime. I just carved 2 holes in the charging cable storage cubby to mount a set of D-rings from one of my old 2G Prius (same as the ones pictured from 3G Prius). If you hook a bungee cord to them it snakes out under the cover for that cubby BUT if you pull it hard enough to the front, it lifts the cover. I took a few pics here and there, I'll try to get around to posting them soon.

I'm probably going to sew up some nylon strapping of some type in the near future so it will allow the cover to stay in place while still allowing me to use carabiners to strap a full-size spare down.

 

Saw a few photos in another post (while back, link not handy) where people made new floors for the Prime. Back seats go down and the made a floor level across (to more closely match Gen3 w/seats folded.) One person welded the frame and included D rings.

Would you have photos of your tie downs installed? We may be looking to include. The lack of space in the back might mean we drive w/the hatch open to move some things and tie downs would be great to have. @talonts

 

I have more than a dozen pics of the install, do you want the batch or specific ones?

I'd put it on vfaq.net, but during COVID my CC expired without me noticing and the host shut it down. I'd have to find a good free FTP program for this computer to log into vfaq.com to upload a full VFAQ if you want step-by-step instructions. That might take me a while.

In the meantime, here's a couple of pics.

The front D-rings go in the same spot as non-Primes (as do the rear, they're just buried inside the charger cubby). The rubber mats to the right of the pic are from my dead 2022 AWD-E, so the ones on the flaps are shorter than needed, but do well enough when the seats are up. The trunk mat is the Prime one, I haven't compared the non-Prime to it yet to see how different it is.



The rear ones require a lot of measuring to find a good spot to start drilling/cutting the cubby back wall, and if you're a perfectionist, forget it. You want a D-shaped hole large enough to reach in and flip the D-ring up with your finger, then you hook a bungee or strap to it. I finished doing this in the dark with a flashlight in my mouth, so I was in no mood to pretty up the hole, and I never see it so still haven't taken a Dremel then a flame to the edge to clean it up.


Depending on where you are stringing the bungee, it might pull the charger cubby lid out of place. I instead ran 1.5" nylon straps through the rear D-rings, long enough to stick out several inches, then put small metal grommets in the ends to run small carabiners through, I hook bungees (and my rear cargo nets) to them. I don't have pics of them yet as I did them about a week later. If you wanted to run bungees straight through some straps, you could either sew up straps with loops in the end, or put larger tarp-sized grommets through some nylon strapping that is at least doubled up for strength. As for where to get the strapping, Amazon, I guess. I just used an old laptop shoulder strap that had come apart. You could also get ratchet buckle straps and trim off what you need (something I did when strapping a fullsize spare and floor jack down to the D-rings for a trip).

If you want pics of the straps I made for the D-rings and the straps for the tire and jack, let me know, I will try to take them while I'm putting them back in the car.

 

@talonts Wow! Thank you! I am working on working on the dashcam atm (when I have time) followed by needing two key/fobs - THEN I see the D-Rings. The entire back is exposed (panels removed etc.) while running that wire - looks like a good time to add lighting and researching that now if it can be a quick add given everything is open. Would HD or Lowes have adequate D-Rings, or maybe pull them from a salvage yard when temperature gets warmer?

I also love the idea of the mats for the back seat when down...we have a tarp atm which only adds to everything sliding around everywhere in the car...if it weren't for the seatbelts we'd be sliding too...cell phones, anything on the console, groceries - everything slides. I have a Weathertech set from Gen3 that was going to be sold and will see how those fit first.

Love the placement of the front rings, as they are out of sight when seats are up. Presume you drill from the inside, no need for nuts or anything on the other side? Thrown off a bit by the second image (one w/the hole cut) - presumed that was a photo from the inside of the car but the fabric in the background at the top makes it look as though the photo is from the outside of the car?

What happened to the 2022 AWD? Too new to be dead.

 

Better to get D-rings from a boneyard. ANY from 2-4th gen should fit, the ones I added to my Prime were from one of my old 2006s. They will have the locating tab to keep them from spinning when tightening down, and it will be spaced properly for the threaded inserts already in the car.

You don't have to drill the metal of the car at all to install these on a Prime, the mounts are already there. They PROBABLY are also there on the earlier Plug-in, if so, look for a threaded bung with a small square hole under it. This pic is from my 21 Prime, taken from the battery pack (bottom of pic) facing the rear (outside of car at top of pic), the bung is dead center on the pic. This is after fighting the cubby out. Not too hard, just have to remove more trim than you think to get it out. . These bungs/holes exist on all 4th gen even if the D-rings aren't there (YMMV on your 3rd gen Plug-in, you should ask if anyone has checked on them in that forum). The ones right behind the seats have plastic plugs in them you pop out, then you can either use an Exacto knife to pop a slot in the carpet under the threaded hole or just bolt the D-ring down and let the tab on it pop through the carpet if it needs to. The ones at the rear are hidden under the charger cubby, so it obviously needs to be trimmed to access them if you want D-rings than can be flipped down out of the way if needed (I SUPPOSE you could get some heavy nylon strapping, put strong grommets in them, bolt them to the holes, and only slot the cubby enough to fit the straps through, but I didn't want to do that).

On Primes, there is a small cubby at the back of the battery pack to store the charger and the retractable cargo shade, that pic from earlier was also taken from the inside of the car, facing out.

We had our 22 ADW-e for 8 months last year, then someone used it to brake at a light, hitting us at 45+ with no braking, driving us into another car. While the car was drivable (with an obvious dash error for destroyed bumper sensors), it was totaled out for cost of repairs. If I had had the room and covered storage, I would have asked to buy it back for a later project, but I did not.

 

I am surprised that did not trigger the crash sensor disabling the hybrid system. I could have driven or pushed my 2017 Prius off the road except for that. Primarily the passenger door was damaged when t-boned.

 

Don't have to drill?! Ok, I'm definitely adding d-rings and will hit a boneyard once the weather warms up.

Is there a second photo? Closest I'm seeing to dead center would be the rectangular opening?


Or is this the bung or locking tab? Locks from the front (no need to brace from behind the metal?)

 

That's the one. Threaded bung you bolt the D-ring down to is right above the rectangular hole where the tab on that D-ring sits in, it keeps the D-ring from rotating when only held down by a single bolt.

 

My wife drove it into a nearby parking lot to wait for a tow truck, and I later drove it onto another tow truck to be taken for insurance processing. It drove fine, just looked ugly. None of the airbags went off, neither seatbelt locked up, since the biggest impact was at the rear.

 

In my t-bone, both side curtain and front seat side airbags deployed. The car was stuck facing the wrong way in the traffic lane. After using a secret trick from the tow driver, we were able to push it to the side of the road and, later pull it on to the wrecker.

 

Been ages since the last visit to a boneyard - we used to have what were called "U-Pull-It" yards - but alas those are gone and now replaced by "Visit our eBay store" for any parts. Haven't yet located those d-ring bolts.

 

Locally we have a boneyard where you can either pick or order, I think. The second link may let you order.
Used Auto Parts - U Pull It and Save at Pick - N - Save
Late Model New and Used Auto Parts - Cunningham Brother's Auto Parts

 

Search Ebay - Prius Cargo D-Rings for sale | eBay

NOTE - the first match is NOT what you are looking for. I don't know where this person got these - 2004-2017 TOYOTA PRIUS REAR TRUNK CARGO NET AREA HOLDER CLIP HOOK OEM D RINGS | eBay but they ARE NOT from a Prius. There are no locating tabs, and the bolts aren't chromed. They may be from a pre-2004 Toyota. They'll work, but will be able to pivot since they have no tab. That could actually be an advantage in some cases, but you'd have to thread-lock the bolt down so it wouldn't loosen as they move.

THESE are what you are looking for - 03-08 Toyota Matrix trunk cargo Tie Down Steel D Rings Loops Clips OEM set of 4 | eBay - note the tabs on them that slot into the holes below the threaded bungs in the car. So you can also at least get them from a Matrix or Corolla, and probably other Toyotas from at least 2004 on, though the Matrix ones like a little more square than a "D". The Matrix rings are cheaper AND will probably work better for straps.