Do you leave the dealer name on your Prius.

My votes:
A dealer sticker or emblem...absolutely remove.
License plate frame...if high quality, no rattles...can aid in service department indicating dealer loyalty...will retain.

 

Unless the dealer is going to pay me to advertise for them, everything comes off. Stickers definitely are removed. License plate frames, at least here in NY, are "Illegal" because they obscure part of the plate. This is rarely if ever enforced, but I remove mine anyway, since the dealer doesn't pay me to advertise for them.

 

It's legal unless is covers any of the wording! (which most do) They typically only enforce it when they think you are doing something wrong and need to pull you over.

 

God no, I took the plate frame off the moment I got home. Why give them free advertising?

 

I never realized how strongly others feel about this. My plate frame says "TOYOTA SAN FRANCISCO" and it has never bothered me. The dealership was one of the best I've ever worked with, including luxury makes. Perhaps I'd be more inclined to remove it if it was a totally $h!tty dealership experience, yet I likely wouldn't have purchased from them, anyway. Around here, thieves like to cut the corners of license plates to take the renewal sticker and are deterred by plate frames (easier to move on to the next vehicle/easier target). This is a pro for leaving them in tact (and not needing to spend money on a "plain" frame from the auto parts store).

 

^^^ That's what vanity plate frames are for

 

While we're on the subject: put a drop or two of oil on the threads of your license plate bolts occasionally.

 

I forgot to say anything to the dealership before taking delivery, so I let it ride. A metal stick-on logo applied directly to the paint (in the old days they would drill holes). Nothing a hair dryer and some patience couldn't cure.

 

Anti seize! It's way better. Just do it once and you will be fine. It will last 100K miles on spark plugs. I also use it on my gas fireplace door and on a bolt inside my pellet stove.

 

I use anti-seize here and there, brake pad backing plates mainly, a little bit sparingly on wheel hubs, but for small bolts I like a drop of oil (say 3-in-1 oil): it just capillaries into all the corners nicely.

 

I took the dealer name off the car (sticker), but left the plate frame with their name on it because I like the store and don't mind giving them a bit of a plug. I then took the three hybrid badges off, along with the word "PRIUS" on the left side of the hatch. The car looked a little odd with nothing on the hatch, so I added a chrome TOYOTA badge in the exact spot where the world PRIUS is from the factory. The Toyota badge is from an FJ Cruiser. I got this idea when I was behind an FJ one day in traffic.

Yeah, I know why the hybrid badges are there...

...I live in a fairly redneck part of the USA. Most people don't know the new style Prius is a Prius around here unless you have Prius and hybrid badging all over the place. Everyone is used to the pre 2016 style. I don't need any unnecessary coal rolling or bro dozer anti Prius drama, so with just the Toyota badge, none of the mouth breathers locally are any the wiser for the most part.

Sad, but in my neck of the woods, a certain contingent of people pigeon hole you as a certain kind of person if you drive a Prius, and they feel the need to let you know about it. Honestly, I don't really care what they think, but I also don't have time to waste on drama or petty crap on the road. Debadging removes the problem 99% of the time. Regardless, I think the car looks better with only the Toyota emblem on the back, so I would have gone this route even if the locals around here weren't inbred.

I'll try to remember to take a pic of my hatch, and you all can flame away or thumbs up as you deem appropriate.

 

LOL. Not here, ours are plastic.

 

That crossed my mind. I've got a few of those, black nylon nuts and bolts, the package describes them as license plate bolts. I've used them on the rear wheel well replacement for the rusty crap that was holding on the rubber spats at the leading bottom corner.

Yeah, our rear plate bolts are stainless, but I'm still concerned because the riv-nuts inside are not, I think. A drop of oil never hurts.