Stupid cheap plastic hubcaps...

Well, is seems like you should have learned how to park by now.... The center caps will not help you the next time you hit a curb again. Perhaps you will be really upset because the wheels are not steel and will not look so pretty with damage from the curb. What about your side wall of the tire? Did that get damaged? That would be a more costly dilemma. Good Luck and stay away from the high curbs.(((( years ago we were able to buy curb feelers... They would alert the driver that he was too close. Those were helpful to the novice driver. )))

 

I've seen a Prius with curb feelers, front and back.

Might not be a bad idea for some...

 

I don't have the same wheels you do but I have seen the ones you have at the dealer both with and without the plastic wheel covers. I think it looks better without, just using the small center caps.

I thought the same thing about the Gen2 and took the plastic covers off of it soon after I bought the car.

 

....so many places where this car just seems like cheap junk...


Mike[/QUOTE]

I think I would have to take issue with this statement...In my 25 years of automobile ownership I have been blessed (and cursed) to own some interesting cars including an Infinity J30, a Subaru Outback, an Acura 3.2TL, a BMW 328I, and most recently a Nissan Murano. It was with an eye towards quality that I purchased the Prius that I now drive. I find the car to be quite well assembled and though the plastics are lightweight..I accept that this car also weighs 400 lbs less than comparable vehicles of its volume and I am getting the best milage possible!

Your subjective opinion about the car's quality not withstanding I beg to differ!

 

Get the mudfLaps! They stick out from the sidewalls and, I think, even the hubcaps. I can hear them rubbing on the curb at times and they can act as (expensive) curb feelers!

 

M-DS When was yours built? I have no rattles, a nicely formed steering wheel (that I have since covered with a black wheelskin (looks smashing if I do say so myself). And I got rid of the stupid wheel caps ten days into the ride so who cares?

You should see the trim on my Mother in laws Buick Lucern if you want to see ill fitting and ill formed BTW.

 

It takes patience and some skill to install a wheelskin...this is my second one..the topcoat on my leather wheel began to wear off on my Murano wheel (Typical Nissan Infinity problem) so I installed one there as well. You should do it because the texture of the Prius wheel is exactly the same as say...sandpaper. Not at all like the non-leather Honda wheel (my wife drives a base Pilot) which actually feels nice on your hand.

The wheelskin really is top quality leather. It feels great on your hands and by installing it you cover the plastic where you touch at the bottom of the wheel.

The trick to installing the wheelskin well is to wear a glove on one hand that you use to pull the thread tight. Failure to do so will result in some nasty blisters!

 

You need your transmission checked if it rolled 6 inches in park or maybe the park brake needs adjusting?
I guess the wheel covers are cheap, a lot cheaper to replace than the alloy wheels that would get scratched up without wheel covers when driving by Braille.

When my (now ex)wife bent my custom made moon domes against a curb I got angry at the wife, not the hubcaps.

 

Are you putting it in Park and then applying the Emergency Brake? Mine only rolls in Park if I do not apply the emergency brake.

 

The Prius is not the easiest to park. Bad visibility and low ground clearance. I feel like I am sitting in a tub and I have no idea where the curb is - especially on a dark rainy night. Then, when you are backing in, beep beep beep which make it hard to concentrate, starts waking up the baby, there are cars backed up waiting for you because you are blocking the road, and makes me want to just finish it ASAP. That's when trouble happens. If you are not doing it every night, it is difficult to keep your skills up.

Yes yes yes, we can all drive better, take refresher courses on driving, install feelers and spend Saturday mornings learning to park, be better spouses, make more money, go to church early etc. I fall short of that standard.

So unlike others, I feel for you.

That's one thing I don't like about alloy wheels - they get scratched by the curb. I wish I have steel wheels but I am not paying to change back.

I had to learn parallel parking all over again so I feel for you. Of course, it would be the same (except for the beep) if you bought a Porsche or Lamborghini so you might as well learn before you trade up.

Driving a minivan, my other car, I can park blind. Back up very slowly until you hit a bump. Go forward, bump. Stop. Done. In a parking lot, drive until you hit the bump, then stop.

 

One of mine went airborne out of nothing in my last trip and almost hit a car coming in the next hwy. I did not hit anything, no pothole, nada! My wife also swears she did not hit that wheel anywhere when she drove it in the day before... cheap plastic, and I suppose cheap assembly... they are gone in my next oil change this coming weekend... does that count as the first finding of poor reliability too? I hope not...

 

I like peanut brittle, but I never like the plastic hubcaps. Consider it a blessing you cracked one, and take them all off!

I think curb feelers would be a definite upgrade for your Prius since it seems like you do tend to bump into them from time to time :der:

 

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