rear bumper protector?

Sold!

Just let me know how much it is with shipping and how you would like me to pay for it.

Thanks,
Connie

 

I installed the part I ordered from Toyota, the black plastic step protector with the overhanging lip to protect the top corner of the bumper, too. It came to about $35 with shipping; you may be able to order it directly from your local dealer and save shipping. Oddly, it's been alleged to be for three different cars, which may make it tough to identify to your dealer:
1) Matrix
2) Prius
3) Corolla

It fits the curvature of the rear bumper perfectly, so it appears the Corolla (wagon, presumably) and the Prius have the same contour to their rear bumpers.

The part itself has the title "COROLLA STEP PAD" cast in the underside (sorry I cropped it too tight):
[Broken External Image]:http://desperado.scvnet.com/~philh/images/rearbumpname.jpg

The label on the bag it came packed in called it a "04 Prius bumper protector":
[Broken External Image]:http://desperado.scvnet.com/~philh/images/rearbumplabel.jpg

I chose to remove a small section of the adhesive tape to allow trapped water to drain our from under it. In the rear center, on the lip that overhangs the corner of the bumper, is the low spot. Since water will enter underneath the pad from both sides in rain or when washing the car, and since the tape, as it arrives from Toyota, ran the entire width of the lip, it will trap water. While the bumper won't rust, it can stain and collect gunk. This should help:
[Broken External Image]:http://desperado.scvnet.com/~philh/images/rearbumptag.jpg

Here's the look installed (photo from the dealer's website, and it's on a Prius):
[Broken External Image]:http://www.setbuyatoyota.com/images/accessory/26169.jpg

 

Bumper Protectors are free at Costco! :mrgreen:
I parked next to another Prius at Costco.
When I came out my Protector had ben pulled off along with some paint. :cussing:
Tom M.

 

Hello,

Why those rat bast@#$'s I am so sorry to hear about this. They couldn't have been REAL Prius owners as none would do such a heinous thing so I can only conclude that they must have been Hummer drivers (or GM executives) in disguise!

If you go onto ebay and look up deland_toyota (the seller) you will be able to find a replacement bumper guard like the one pictured above for $26.99 (the Buy-It-Now price) + $8.50 shipping. They are apparently located in Deland, Florida.

Good luck I will be sending you some good thoughts and hope that the rotten theives burned their fingers on that hot bumper guard.

Take care,

Tisza

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bobc\";p=\"70963)</div>

Ugh, I've gotta play stupidER on this one:

What are the things good for?
I mean, it’s not a step and I don’t place items there. What use is it?

Why would I want one on my car? . . . besides succumbing to the unbearable peer pressure of being out of the know and therefor apparently not being one of the cool crowd. :|

 

Anyone know if in future it would be possible to nicely detach the bumper protector without messing up the paint? Maybe at a body shop with some kind of heat gun?

If not, maybe we should get the protector and only put it on if we decide the bumper has reached the point of being scratched beyond the point of being aesthetically acceptable?

Opinions?

 

Well, they say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As for me, I have attached my bumper protector in advance of need just in case.

As for safe, none paint damaging removal. There are two products on the market that I know of, which would probably be able to handle the job. "Goo Gone" and "De-Solv-It". Both are non-toxic, biodegradable, non-acidic, non-corrosive and work pretty darn well on removing adhesives.

Also, if you are having any problems with ants in your home, especially if you also happen to have kids or animals, the De-Solv-It is also a very effective ant killer & inhibitor. It is a citrus based (and fragranced) product with an oily consistency that will not only kill the little bugger's it will keep them from coming back as the oil in the product destroys their scent trail.

Being non-toxic it is very safe around people, pets and foods so you can use it in alot of places that harsher products would not be able to be used in. It also leaves behind a lovely orange fragrance that no one would know was the residual effect of your war on "Them".

BTW, just so no one is confused, the above suggested use is not one that the makers have listed on the bottle, instead it is a family discovery that I am sharing (for what it is worth) to those who might need it.

Take care,

Tisza

 

Would that also take off latex paint that somehow (??) got all over the key fob??
(Hubby went to Home Depot and they did not fasten lid on paint can- when he opened the hatch of the van -thank you not the Prius- the entire paint can fell onto the concrete and brick driveway. His keys were in his hand as he tried to stop it from falling).

His key fob is now cream colored...still works...
Yes we got almost all of it up after 2 hours of scrubbing- water and wire brushes. It was not a pretty sight.

2nd Prius owned- 5 day old 05 Driftwood BC/6.

Also working up a new event at Orange County Prius Club.
Visit us at OCPrius.com

 

Inventor,

Ugh! I have had similar situations with paint.... I bet your arms are sore today from all that scrubbing....

As for the fob, since it's latex paint, it'll come off easily with water. Take the battery out and wet a toothbrush and scrub. I'm this is a given, but don't get the fob too wet.

 

You can also try Mechanics Hand Cleaner. The kind that does not have the abrasives (looks and feels kind of like jello. This will remove not only paint (usually) but also will remove grass stains, blood, oil & grease and even ink from most cloth.

I have not tried it as a solvent on plastics but it should work without damaging the plastics. Alternatively, you might try a bit of hairspray on a rag or a bit of lighterfluid on a rag. Both are solvents that usually do not harm plastics but will desolve paints and inks.

Course, Turpintine or Turpinoid might work as well. Oh, and the last product you might wish to try is called "Old Master's", it is sold as a soap bar that you use to clean your hands after painting with either oils or acrylics or any other messy art stuff or you can purchse the Brush cleaner which comes in a tub.

I think I would try the Mechanic's hand cleaner first, it should work well and be least damaging to both the plastic and your hands.

And just as an aside, you can also use Oxyclean if you ever need to get dye or ink stains off of your skin. Take the dry powder and put about a teaspoon in your hands. Add a little bit of warm water to desolve the Oxyclean and make a paste and wash your hands like normal with the paste. It will do a pretty good job of getting the dye off your skin while not taking the skin with it. Works especially well if the dye or ink is an organic base (like food color).

It will also help to get the color from under fingernails or around cuticles. I do some cake decorating and never fail to tint my hands whenever I make colored frostings so that is how I discovered this "handy" tip.

Take care all,

Tisza

 

I got the black bumper protector yesterday from the PriusChat store (gotta support the home team!) and as much as the above method makes sense, I was wondering if it'd be better to put a bead of silicon around the bottom edge to keep water and dirt from getting under it in the first place. Is there any harm a silicon window and door calk could do to the finish on the bumper?

 

I doubt it, but don't know for sure. Anyway, if it harms the bumper finish I don't know what difference that would make because I think it's a safe bet that you'll never remove the black bumper protector anyway.

One alternative to silcon is to get a roll of the same doublesided 3M automotive tape that's on the protector now. I bought a roll from my local auto parts store.

BTW, I've noticed on mine that the ends of the bumper protector "puckered" a little bit a week after installation. So if you're worried about water and dirt getting in, you may want to use silicon or 3M automotive tape on the ends.

 

Hey, Boo!
Thanks for the input. I think I'll silicon it all the way around. I just finished washing the car in preparation and now I'm wondering if I should wax it before installing, as I'll never get a chance to do it again under the bumper protector. Or would the wax just lead to it falling off at some point?
This is my first new car and I'm still obsessing, I'm afraid.:loco:

 

I wouldn't bother waxing it again. But then again, I personally am not worried about water and dirt getting in under the protector anyway, as I'm 100% positive that my car will always have the protector on.

My main concern is aesthetics of the bumper protector itself -- I don't like it that the middle of the ends of the protector started puckering so that there's a visible curved gap in the middle of each end.

However, be sure to wipe the bumper surface with a rubbing alcohol wipe before you stick on the bumper protector. This preps the surface so that the 3M tape will adhere better.

BTW, I'm having a little hard time picturing how you're going to silicon the edges without the silicon oozing onto the 3M tape and causing it not to adhere properly, and without the silicon oozing out of the protector making for something a little unsightly.

Anyway, good luck.

 

Good call on the rubbing alcohol. I may try the 3M strips all the way around to avoid the gap.

Thanks again!

 

For anyone considering mounting their bumper protector, I thought I'd follow up with my experience. As mentioned above, I added some 3M automotive tape on the two ends to keep water out and help keep it flush. I used a razor knife to trim the tape to the contours of the protector and to mate it with the existing tape. One unforseen cosequence of this was that it gave me much less maneuvering room as I placed it on the bumper. I tried to attach the lip and swing the frontmost side down, but the side tape caught a little and I had to do some quick shoving as my swing was coming down to correct for a slight misalignment. I got one try basically, and I'm 95% happy. The slight misalignment manifested in a small gap at one side of the lip (see pic). Not too bad visually, but the tape didn't quite fill all the space so I took a mini tube of clear silicon glue and whittled the tip with the razor knife to a fine point and carefull injected the caulk into the gap.

Looks great, it's not going anywhere, and my Prius is a little safer from me.