The interiors of the glove boxes are hard plastic and if you have hard objects in them (CD cases, etc.) you can hear them rattle when you go over a bump in the road. It seems every other car I've owned had glove boxes lined with some sort of cushioning to muffle the sounds. I use the top glove box for papers so it's not an issue, but I didn't like all the rattling coming from the bottom one, so I got some black felt with adhesive backing and put it on the floor of the lower glove box. Much quieter now. BTW--I removed the glovebox and put it on my kitchen table, which made the process much easier (instructions on p. 449 of owners manual).
Great idea, thanks. I would say you have a legitimate, easy and inexpensive mod. I just wish there is a way to expand the lower glove compartment to something bigger. I am used to a previuos car that held a lot more stuff in 1 large compartment instead of the 2 smaller boxes in a Prius. My previous car also had a locking glove compartment, making it easier for me to store valuables like GPS and other electronics in it.
I'd also put a vinyl strap or even a webbing strap across the back of the lower glovebox to hold the owners handbooks out of the way. I think that is one of the few ways Toyota went backward with the Gen III Prius, dropping the slot at the back of the glovebox for the handbooks. Use an old webbing belt or some old seatbelt from a dismantler, attach with pop rivets and washers or small metal thread screws, nyloc nuts and washers.
I keep the case of handbooks in the storage area under the cargo area floor, along with a bunch of misc. stuff. My experience is once you've owned a car for a short time, you hardly ever use the manuals so why take up glove box space.
I agree! I immediately missed the slot for the owner's manuals. Your webbing idea is very good! Charlie
Great idea! I'd heard of it before, but didn't know what material was being used. Can you provide that info, including where you got it, how much it cost, etc. And how about some PICS!?
It's felt with adhesive backing, that came in 9" x 12" pieces (you'll need 2 since the glovebox is ~14" wide). $1.29 each at Michael's. Any craft store should carry it. Pic below.
Similar to you, I wanted to use the upper portion of the glovebox to hold my clip sunglasses (and my husbands) along with my cell phone charger. I bought one of those little black vinyl? rectangles that are designed for the dash to keep your cell phone from sliding around. The nice thing about that item is, it doesn't have any adhesive to worry about when removing. And I know there is a sunglasses holder on the roof, but my little clip-ons get lost in there!
On the solar roof versions, we lose the glasses holder - I just toss my clip-ons under the center console where others suggest a "purse". Between that and my company badge, that area is working out just fine.
