Something under my front bumper bar has been scraped off

I believe that you are talking about the front air dam. It's the plastic used to make the underside of the car more flat and aerodynamic.

 

How low is that thing? Is this a common problem?

On my current vehicle, I did the same thing and accidentally destroyed it twice. I learned my lesson, but eventually I had it valet parked and the valet destroyed it for the third time.

I lived without it (or at least most of it) until the dealer accidentally dislodged the remains of the third air dam while working on another repair. (I became aware of this on the way home as it made a hellacious noise dragging along the asphault.) I then got my local mechanic to modify an existing air dam and use some little plastic straps to keep it tied up higher than usual.

Probably ruined whatever aerodynamic effect it was supposed to have, but the design was so stubbornly poor that it wasn't worth trying to use it correctly.

I hope the situation is better with the Prius.

 

I had the same thing happen and posted about it HERE. I still have not reattached them and haven't experienced any problems. I do wonder if my mileage is suffering though. Bottom line is that it's another cheap design flaw. Unfortunate but it doesn't seem vital. I'll bet the other piece that is hanging down is just the other side as there are 2 of these. I would just remove it and save yourself a trip to the garage, although I guess it is covered under warranty so might as well get it fixed.

 

The Prius is set a little lower than many cars for improved aerodynamics (better fuel economy). So the lowest thing on the front is the front air dam. If you knock it off you will also knock off the screws that hold it, and they hold the front edge of the undertray. I don't know if you would notice the slight loss of fuel efficiency without the air dam, but if the undertray is dragging you'd want to get that fixed. Personally, I'd get a new air dam as well, and always, in the future, keep in mind it will drag on those concrete blocks, so stop -before- going over it.

 

I'm on airdam #2, due to hitting a tire tread on the freeway. I do scrape the new one on parking curbs if I have more than just myself in the car. It always drags on my driveway entrance at home though. Luckily, I had the body shop save the first damaged one for me which had a minimal tear on the right end. I'm keeping it as a spare. I also put larger outside diameter metal flat washers under the scews that attach it. When you hit something the plastic tray sometimes pulls out over the screw heads thru the elongated mounting holes, which can tear, or become REALLY elongated. So far, after several contacts, everything is "hanging" in there. Approach all front obstacles with caution.

 

I realize the shape has to do with aerodynamics and changing the shape changes the one thing these things are designed to do...however, it does seem unreasonable that they (at least the one on my car, anyway) are designed like barbed fishhooks. It's almost like they were designed specifically (and at the perfect height) to catch on parking space bumpers.

You'd think someone would have figured out a solution at this point, maybe just adding a little extra upward curve to the tab at the end. Or just have them go far enough back that catching them would be impossible.

If they can design a vehicle that does what the Prius does, they ought to be able to work out this problem.

 

Does anybody know what the Toyota description is for this part. I need to replace both sides but I've been having trouble finding it in the Prius CD. If someone has the actual part numbers that would be wonderful.

Thanks,

Syclone

 

Is it worth replacing them with something that will likely be destroyed again? Maybe one of the wizards here who custom builds Prius-specific parts can come up with something less likely to self-destruct.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kentricho @ Oct 15 2007, 08:19 PM) [snapback]526163[/snapback]</div>

The screws that hold the air dam on are cheap plastic things. We noticed that about 2 days into owning the car and replaced the plastic things with metal washers and screws.

 

I don't park so far forward in the space than the front bumper goes over the stopper bars. The Prius isn't that long and it has a good parking brake.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 16 2007, 10:31 AM) [snapback]526321[/snapback]</div>

Make sure any valet who parks your car also knows that it's booby-trapped.

 

Just brought my new Prius home today (and already a rock was kicked up on the highway that chipped the paint :angry, and I have to say that the situation under the front of the car isn't nearly as bad as it was with my old car. I can see how it can get caught and you need to be careful, but it doesn't look like it was designed specifically to act as a barb that results in tearing off a huge piece of plastic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tiki Robot @ Oct 25 2007, 02:31 PM) [snapback]530362[/snapback]</div>

I agree. The low plastic air dam on the Prius is hardly unique. It seems to me that most cars since the 1990s have a fairly low plastic air dam in the front.

Glad to hear that your dealer fixed it like new for free.

 

I hate going up ramps with steep inclines because I get that scraping sound that usually results when the plastic hits the ground...

 

That part wasn't actually fitted on 2004-2005 Priuses anyway, so I'm sure it's not the end of the world if it gets knocked off a 2006 one.