Prius Sand Bath - Should we bring it in?

"Probably" not a big deal.
If you have an air compressor, you can blow the sand out of your engine compartment. Water (gently!) can take care of the rest.
You can remove the air filter for this car and see if there is a lot of sand trapped in the filter housing (there probably will not be) and remove this with canned air or your compressor.
You'll know a lot more when you do a visual inspection for yourself, but I would not worry about it. Lotsa places in the frozen North use sand on their roads during the winter, and there are lots of people who drive along beach roads, and other places where sand and other FOD are present. That's why almost all cars...including your G3, are built with this in mind.
A good cleaning, and you'll probably be fine.

Just make sure all of the grit is rinsed off the car before you go wild with a brush or other cleaning tool.


Good Luck!

 

Sand tends to trap moister and can cause premature rusting. I would be sure to check all the cracks and nooks to get it out. Vacuum if you can.

 

How can anyone really answer this without seeing the vehicle? Obviously you don't want sand on or in your vehicle for many reasons.

I'd be concerned about it in the engine compartment, I'd also be concerned about on the paint, clear coat surface.

If it was my new vehicle, unless I was 100% convinced I had removed ALL the sand, I'd probably ask the dealership if they would be willing to take a look. Air Filters, vents...underside..there might be stuff I'd miss...

But really if YOU haven't even seen the damage yet, how can anyone really determine how big or little of an issue this might be from a second hand written description?

IMO, it's always wise to error on the side of caution. I'd probably have it checked out, even if it wasn't really necessary. I'd also plan to very, very slowly and carefully wash the vehicle using a high quality Car Wash and several buckets....sand is GRIT and grit scratches....which means you want to remove without abrasion. That might be the issue that would worry me the most.

Once you have seen it? You might have a much better feel for how big an issue this is or isn't...