Well, at about 6400 miles, my front driver side wheel cover fell off. I noticed it after I was getting into my car in a parking lot. I picked up a new one from Toyota and it cost $84. Ouch! I didn't realize these can come off so easy. I checked the other 3 wheel covers and they were fine. Has this happened to anyone else? From now on, I'll pay attention to make sure my wheel covers are on snugly. Especially after having the tires rotated. I had mine rotated at 5k, but not sure if that had anything to do with why mine became loose and fell off or not.
If you had your tires rotated at a toyota dealer i would have asked them to replace it because if you didn't hit anything i would be willing to bet it's there fault. but either way you got a new one. I know Motor Trend said one fell off during testing but they are very very hard on cars and most likly hiit a curb or cornered so hard the tire folded under and the wheel cover hit the gorund.
Are you sure someone didn't take it? I mean these things just don't come off that easy. Check the wheel for any damage.
We lost a wheel cover from our 2010 Prius/IV too, but we know how and why it happened. However, we didn't notice the loss until several days later. The thing is . . . the one wheel without the cover looks so much better. When we talked to the dealer, they said that we could take off ALL the wheel covers and get a Toyota emblem to put in the middle. Has anyone done this? Would it affect any warranties?
My wife just lost the front passenger side wheel cover this morning. Fortunately, we were able to retrieve it! Our 2010 Prius just turned 2200 miles. Our 2006 Prius never lost a wheel cover in 56,000 miles, with tire rotations every 5,000 miles. This is not a good omen! Upon closer examination, my wife must have hit a curb, as there are scrapes on the aluminum wheel. I can't fault Toyota for that!
Wheel covers, no thanks. I took my off my choice and love the real ones. Just bought the toyota emblems for the middle part at parts.com.
What model did you search under on parts.com if you don't mind me asking? I'm going to take the cover off too. Thanks, Winston.
Taking them off will not affect the warranty, BUT if you drive a significant amount of hwy driving, you will get a small MPG hit as the covers help with aerodynamics. For city driving (low average MPH), the absence of wheel covers should not result on any noticeable differences on the MPG.
You are generous and that is a good thing. I remember once I sold a car in a private sale and the buyer wanted the original wheel covers. Twice during a trade in with a dealership they also asked for original wheel covers. Just sharing some experience but if someone could use them, helping out someone is also rewarding!
The wheels are recessed out of the wind shear. I can't imagine the difference is enough to even compare with the extra weight of a six pack setting in the seat next to you, let alone having the air on, sunroof up, or all the windows down. Some things are not even worth counting.
Lost a rear wheel cover turning too sharply over a curb on the weekend. Went back two days later and picked it up. It was still there in the grass on a median strip.. In the mean time, of course, I have taken the rest of the covers off and purchased center caps. I figure I'll put the caps on for me and throw on the covers when my wife drives it as she tends to rub curbs more often.
I'm not sure I agree with that. In higher speeds, lots of cross winds can have some degree of interference in the wheels, which is diminished by the wheel covers. There is a whole thread elsewhere in this forum where some people tested it with and without the covers and a difference was noted, most of the time small but real. Have you seen the wheel covers in the civic hybrid? They completely obliterate any crossing air flow.
I got it off one of the forums here. Don't remember the number. Actually, the number I did get was incorrect. Luckily, the dealer called me up, after looking at my vin and the parts number and found a mismatch. We got the right parts number and he sent it to me a few days later. It looks great. Some folks stated that they lost mpg (2-3 mpg) from removing the hubcaps. I haven't seen any drop in my mileage, and I my commute is mixed (1/3 small roads, 2/3 freeway). Oddly enough, my mpg has increased by 1.1 mpg since I've taken it off. I'm not saying it's because of the hubcaps. Maybe I'm driving smarter. Got 53.9 mpg since I've taken the hubcaps off (450 miles), was 52.8 before. Anyways, I would call them and ask.
The hit on MPG can be felt only in windy places with constant shifts in direction, like here in the midwest sometimes, and, of course, with hwy driving. I really believe the hit is still very little, and probably with very little impact from tank to tank, but with a possible considerable impact on your lifetime MPG. It's like the Prius with the 17" wheels (V). Is the MPG lower compared to lower models? Very little, but will your lifetime MPG be affceted by it? You can bet it wil...
