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

Prius 2G Body Side Moulding

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by rknight408, Jan 20, 2005.

  1. rknight408

    rknight408 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2005
    2
    0
    0
    I just ordered and had installed some Tideland Pearl body side moulding for all 4 doors and it looks great! I orderd them from metrotpn.com which is Cleveland Toyota Internet parts seller that sells several Prius accessories. I ordered with a group and got my exact color (Tideland Pearl) for $89 + $4 shipping (set of 4 pieces) and had them installed professionally for $40 for a total of $133.00. Very satisfied with the appearance and the price. I've already had one nice door dent pulled out before I bought these and hopefully this will prevent it from happening again.
     
    #1 rknight408, Jan 20, 2005
  2. Charles Suitt

    Charles Suitt Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2004
    1,637
    16
    0
    Location:
    Dallas TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    :) I was one of the many who ordered body side mouldings from Eddie Bell in the "group" purchase. Delivery was prompt and the color match perfect.

    When the Dallas temperatures reached ~75ºF, I went to the body shop affiliated with my dealer. They installed the moulding for a total cost of $0.00 (ZIP !!).

    Eddie discontinued the "group" deals but I feel the mouldings are a good deal at his regular price. I can recommend Eddie without reservation.

    www.metrotoyotapartsnow.com

    P.S. I ALWAYS quickly scroll past posts who use those very irritating animated avatars and icons. I'll just have to miss those poster's wisdoms.
     
    #2 Charles Suitt, Feb 21, 2005
  3. Ken S

    Ken S Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2005
    191
    2
    0
    Location:
    Pittsfield, MA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    This is the same mouldings as the group buy had and I got them on eBay for $95. They installed easily. If folks are interested they may want to contact this guy via email. Delivery was quick and the packaging and color match were fine.

    By the way, there's not a lot of reasons to bring these to a body shop and pay to have them installed. Just follow the instructions and have a tape measure and some masking tape (a 2nd person for about 1 minute would help too) and you're done. Total install for me was under 15 minutes and that included opening the tube :)

    eBay Auction Link
     
    #3 Ken S, Feb 22, 2005
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2003
    19,891
    1,193
    9
    Location:
    Nixa, MO
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Another "Me Too" post.

    After some indecision on whether to install the Seaside Body Side Mouldings I bought from Eddie (kinda had to buy them after I suggested a group buy price that he ultimately agreed to) I found a door ding a couple months ago. Nothing major, probably need to get it fixed at some point when it really starts to bug me, but it's there none-the-less and not currently bothering me much.

    I didn't know exactly how high the moulding would go and decided that maybe it would be the perfect height to cover the ding while simultaneously preventing any more from showing up. Finally today I decided to look for someone in my home town that might be willing to do the install.

    First place I called is a collision repair place about 12:30 this afternoon--completely cold call. They say they can't tell me how much it'll cost for sure without looking at everything, but that if I want to bring it in and it takes less than 15 minutes they'll do it for free. I asked when I could make the appt. and they said "any time".

    I ran right over, a nice guy came out and showed appropriate excitement over seeing his first ever hybrid. After a brief 'how to start it, put it in gear and shut it off' lecture he took it in back. 15 min. later he's back and again talks about how neat the car is and they, indeed, refuse to take my money!

    So, I think I like it. I certainly could live without, but the strips are so thin they don't take over the appearance of the sides, but yet they give some definition to the lines of the side of the car that were previously a bit undefined. The color match looks good, even on my 18 month old car.

    I hadn't opened up the package before today, so I hadn't seen the install instructions. After looking at them I actually think I could have done it myself without a problem. I probably would have cut some 13 3/4" guides just to make sure my lines were straight, but otherwise this is an easy job....even easier when a pro does it for you for free!! :wink: :mrgreen:
     
    #4 efusco, Apr 6, 2005
  5. jeromep

    jeromep Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2004
    827
    2
    0
    Location:
    Eastern Washington State
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Charles,

    I have turned off avitars in my personal profile. You no longer need to pass up their wisdoms.
     
    #5 jeromep, Apr 6, 2005
  6. exhuman

    exhuman Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2005
    151
    1
    0
    Location:
    Pasadena, CA
    I had my Tideland mouldings installed the day after I picked it up. I had a body shop do it for around 100 clams. Definitely not as good as free. I took it to a good body shop as I was very nervous with my new baby Prius. I'm quite happy with how it looks.

    Anyone have theories on the anti-ding efficacy? I'm thinking that a car door would have to hit the Prius just right in order to hit the moulding and not cause a ding. Kind of like a Star Wars defense system maybe.

    But if it stops just one ding it will be worth it.

    Ex
     
    #6 exhuman, Apr 6, 2005
  7. Daisy

    Daisy New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2005
    14
    0
    0
    Location:
    Georgia
    I just finished applying my side molding, and it was fairly easy and took about 20 minutes.

    I did use the Probond adhesive promoter, a little at a time applied to the car just ahead of where the adhesive strip was being applied. Eddie Bell said it was not really necessary if the car was new and clean.

    Tried to attach a photo, but would not go through...not sure why as I followed the suggested size and format, but PM me if you like and I can send you a photo via email.

    Charles
     
    #7 Daisy, Apr 7, 2005
  8. Floyd

    Floyd New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2005
    21
    1
    0
    Location:
    Gulf Coast, Grand Bay, Alabama
    The side mouldings were the first accessory I ordered for my new 05 millennium silver metallic. Installation shouldn't be a problem, but I'm concerned about the distance the mouldings (square cut ends) should be from the edge of the doors. The instructions didn't mention the distance. I really need to have some idea because I plan to install some door edge guards later on. I haven't seen any door edge guards and I don't know how wide they are. I just want to make the mouldings look symmetrical. Anyone have any ideas?
     
    #8 Floyd, Apr 21, 2005
  9. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2004
    1,273
    11
    0
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Any photos? Are these like the Camry moldings I think were installed on a Priuschat member's Prius and shown in the Album? How ding resistant are the moldings?, i.e., are we just moving the unsightly ding from the door outward half an inch or so onto the molding where it still be unsightly?
    I ask the same question another poster on this forum asks: doesn't the protection offered by the moldings (maybe an inch wide at best) depend on the shape of the offending car door which hits your Prius? How to determine where on the Prius to mount the molding?
    B
     
    #9 Bob Allen, Apr 21, 2005
  10. Floyd

    Floyd New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2005
    21
    1
    0
    Location:
    Gulf Coast, Grand Bay, Alabama
    You can see the mouldings at www.metrotpn.com . The instructions say to put the moldings 13 3/4" from the bottom of the doors. I presume this is the average location for the moldings. I doubt if they would help if a big suv door banged the the Prius though.
    I don't have any door dings yet & I'm scared to death to park at WalMarts.
    I've got the moldings in hand & am trying to determine how close to the door edge to install.
    I"ve looked at a lot of moldings & these are the best looking ones that I've found.
     
    #10 Floyd, Apr 21, 2005
  11. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2003
    19,891
    1,193
    9
    Location:
    Nixa, MO
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen\";p=\"83172)</div>
    Bob,
    It probably does just shift the ding to the moulding instead of the door. I guess, in theory, you could more easily replace the moulding later.

    And yea, the height/shape of the car matters. I put my mouldings on after I already had picked up a ding. I'd hoped it would cover it, but, alas, the ding is a good 3-4" above the moulding.

    That said, I do like the look of the moulding. It augments the line of the little indent lower on the door panel...running paralell to it and really makes the length of the car seem greater and the height a bit less dramatic.
     
    #11 efusco, Apr 21, 2005
  12. kkister1492

    kkister1492 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2004
    355
    1
    0
    Location:
    Fremont, CA
    When mine were installed at a body shop, they placed the front ones 1/8" from the door edge and 1/4" back from the front edge of the back door. Hope that helps you. They look great!
     
    #12 kkister1492, Apr 21, 2005
  13. Mike N

    Mike N New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    55
    0
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I read somewhere that the side mouldings from the Highlander fit on the Prius. After some funny looks from the vultures at the local stealership while I was measuring the mouldings on cars on the lot, I ordered a set for the highlander. The come pre-painted and are available in millenium silver. They were pretty pricy. Each piece cost about what the whole set of generic ones cost. They look great however. Really improves the look of the big plain sides. Pictures will follow as soon as I get a chance to take some.

    Mike
     
    #13 Mike N, Apr 28, 2005
  14. c4

    c4 Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2005
    607
    51
    0
    I've got a Classic, which has that angled crease down the side of the body and I wasn't sure that the 2G mouldings would fit or not, so I went down the the local auto parts store, got a roll of 1" black moulding and a can of matching spray paint from the body shop.

    Went home, measured, cut and contoured the ends on a grinder, painted them, and installed. Cost $25 CDN ($19.95 for the roll of moulding, $5 for a small spray bomb at the body shop) and took about 6 hours all told (including paint drying time- I allowed the paint about 4 hours to dry "to the touch", as I wanted it to still be somewhat flexible to reduce the chances of the paint flaking/peeling as I installed the moulding). I installed the moldings following the aforementioned crease line (so they slope towards the front of the car instead of being level as in the 2G Prius)..

    I think they definitely add to the car's appearance as well as protecting the doors from getting dings (it's easier to touch up/replace mouldings than to remove dents from the doors), so I can't understand why Toyota doesn't include them as a standard feature...
     
    #14 c4, May 5, 2005
  15. RadMarv

    RadMarv Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2004
    107
    3
    0
    Location:
    Pittsburg, CA
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen\";p=\"83172)</div>
    Here's the moldings I finally got installed on my Prius last Friday.

    [​IMG]
     
    #15 RadMarv, May 18, 2005
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)