where's the front of my prius?

When the headlights go out, you're too close to the wall. A crunching sound is often another clue.

Tom

 

Back in 1978 my grandfather bought a new Corvette, another car with a long nose that you didn't know where it ended.
He was worried about damage. I tied a piece of heater hose to a string and hung it from the ceiling, also tied a coupl pieces of ribbon to the string. The heater hose would be what he hit with the very nose of the car. This would make the string move so he would know when to stop.

My father actually had a "curb" he built inside our old home garage.
Basically a 2 x 4 with some short pieces braced to the wall.
When the front tires hit the "curb" he stopped.
It was a very small garage and the nose of the car had to be about 2 inches from the wall for the door to close.................

 

Both my wife and I don't have good depth perception to begin with, so the Prius was a challenge for us. First we took turns standing in front of the car so that the other person could sit in the driver's seat and visually memorize where the car front is. Then for weeks I would park and then go to the front of the car to see how I did.

Nowadays it is rarely a problem, but in tight areas I just get out the car and make sure. Honestly, I think we all learn to use different visual cues that work for objects in space. Patience is key, give your brain time to adjust and forget the things that 'just worked' in the old car but do not serve you well with the new one.

And as other people have emphasized, the car does not have a lot of clearance !

 

Usually before, but if you pull in fast enough, it happens simultaneously.

Tom

 

I bought an aftermarket backup camera W/two cameras one front, one back & put power switches inside center box for each. The display shows the one i turn on.

 

I just did the license plate bumper things. Went to Home Depot, $2.19 for a 4 pack and put them on the front.

For some reason one screw was long enough, but the other i have to replace if i want to keep my license plate frame on the front.

Now the Prius and the Infiniti G35(long hood no visibility) have front bumper bumpers.

 

I bet just about everyone whose been driving a particular car for a while could hit any bump or pot hole they chose with the right front wheel. How is that possible? They can't see the right front wheel.

Likewise, you'll learn where the front bumper is. You'll park carefully at first, and then when you get out, you'll say "wow, there's another three feet of space in front of me." Then next time you park a little closer. And over time, you'll just know.

 

Rubber License Plate Screw Bumpers

SD,

I have both the NoBump.com rubber license plate screw bumpers and the DIY bumpers made from rubber chair leg tips.

The NoBump.com bumpers are more substantial and protective, and they'll probably last forever. But I like the punk, spikey look of the rubber chair leg tips more, so they're what I've had on my car for the past year. However, because of their thin sidewalls, the chair leg tips will dry out and crush and have to be replaced periodically. But at around $2 for a 4-pak, it's no big deal.

BTW, I can tell from the price you paid that you got the fairly large 7/8" diameter chair leg tips. Because they're wider and longer, they're probably more susceptible to crushing than smaller diameter and shorter chair leg tips. When the time comes to replace them, you might consider the smaller 3/4" or 5/8" diameter sizes.

I just got back from Home Depot myself. I needed new rubber chair leg tips because after about a year, mine did dry out and crush. For your reference, below are pictures of the different size rubber chair leg tips and the NoBump.com bumpers.

Left to Right: 7/8", 3/4" & 5/8" chair leg tips, and the NoBump.com bumper:





And here's a picture of the 5/8" diameter ones on my front license plate. You can see that the top two are a little crushed in the picture. Right now, they're crushed a lot more than that (and even the bottom ones got crushed too):

 

I have a parking guide made for me by Arizona Charlie out of a bracket and a cell phone antenna.

I like to mess with people and tell them the car can wireless suck power from the overhead lines. When they start to nod I tell them it's really a parking guide.