I've had the Prius for about a month and so far I really like it. Fuel economy is outstanding. Handling, acceleration and ride better than expected. In black, it looks good. But every time I walk up to my car, the little chrome strip reminds me of a "smile." Frankly, this is the only car i've owned that I felt like slapping. Has anyone tried to paint the chrome or tried to replace the front grill? Please let me know. Thanks.
As Godiva suggests, 04 and 05 model years had a painted "smile." Maybe you can find one in decent shape at a salvage yard and replace yours.
I wonder if they'll ever go "retro" in future years and forget the chrome smile. Less chrome = more eco-friendly in my book.
I guess, I'm not so eco friendly. I just want it to be aesthetically pleasing - like black/ black & tan german shepherds.
Sigma sells a black cover for the chrome strip in the grille. Modellista Blackened Grille $185. Sigma Automotive – Toyota Hybrid Prius 2004 - 2006 OEM & JDM auto accessories
It's nice to know that if I ever trade my '05 in, I can cover up the chrome smile. But $200 is really pricey to mitigate something I never wanted in the first place and my car currently doesn't have. I'm still hoping the chrome will go away. Aesthetically, I think the one little strip looks stupid.
I thought you didn't have the chrome strip??? I don't really like the chrome strip on my 07, but I don't care enough to spend $185 on getting rid of it. I can't see it while I'm driving.
I don't. My '05 doesn't have the chrome strip and that's one of the things I like about it and why I haven't considered trading it in. Eventually I will. When I do I'd like my Prius NOT to have a chrome smiley face. So i can hope they eventually do away with it by the time I'm ready to trade. Or I have to spend $200 to cover up something I don't want and my current car doesn't have. The chrome smiley is just another incentive for me to keep my current Prius. They made some other changes too....like switching the display around for speed and the transmission. I haven't read a decent reason for why they did that either.
