So I decided to take the kids to the park today, I drove our Prius. When I went to leave I did not realize that a 1 1/2 foot post was in front of my car. I ran it over . I was so embarassed. So I drove it to the grocery store because I needed to pick up some groceries. I got out and checked and I ripped the front plastic panel by the passanger side wheel. The black panel in the wheel well was pressed up against the tire. I pushed the plastic back to where it should have been the best I could. I got my groceries and after I loaded them up a man stopped me and asked me how I like my Prius. He also has a 2005 Prius. I had no idea anyone in our area even knew what a Prius is. Anyways he looked at my car and suggested that I tape the black panel. I did not take his advice and on my way home I could hear it rubbing on the tire. I pulled over to check it and it had started to melt away where it was rubbing. I tryed to push it back where it should be and continued home. I have to drive 15 miles to get home and I ended up driving 39 mph because I could not hear it grinding at that speed. The speed limit was 60 mph on that stretch of road. My poor car. I am so upset. My husband works overnight so I haven't told him yet. I am not sure what we are going to do. The closest Toyota dealer is 1 hour away. I have never liked a car this much I feel so bad I beat it up. The best thing I can probably do for it at this point is get out some good old duct tape.

Crystal

Did I mention I have only had my Prius for a week

 

1. We had a brand new Chevette to replace my motorcycle. One day, driving down River Road, a beam fell out of a truck in front of Holly and she ran over it.
2. Holly was following a pickup truck with an I-beam rear fender and thought he was going to run the light at Airport Road. But he saw a cop and stopped and she ran into him. It took off the top of the radiator and crumpled the hood. It was her "victory dance" that had everyone else confused . . . she hated the Chevette. I hitched a ride from work, took a look at it and said, "Oh I don't know, $50 and a radiator job and it'll run." It was the closest call in my life when Holly heard that.
3. We bought a new, 91 Camry, and my wife borrowed it one night for an errand. She came home to tell me something and ran out . . . and came back in and said, "Bob, the car is GONE!" The car had rolled into some bushes and stopped at the neighbor's fence. All you could see were the tail lights.
4. We were driving down Airport Road, me in the Voyager van and my wife following in the Camry. An emergency vehicle stopped at the crossing street decided it was time to run the red light and turned on their sirien. I couldn't see them and stopped before the intersection and Holly ran into me.
5. We bought a brand new 2001 Echo and my wife was driving down Airport Road. She reached over to roll-up or down the passenger window and ran into the car in front of her: http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/echo.jpg

She hasn't driven the Prius, the commuting car since she has an Echo, the crashing car. Duct tape sounds like the right thing. GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

ps. I crashed the 91 Camry which led to us getting a Prius. A rain-slick street, traffic balled up, I crested an overpass only to discover someone stopped in the middle of the exit. My recommended Prius driving technique saves gas and ensures minimum speed at the crest of a hill.

 

Not the same thing, but just 4 days after taking ownership of our 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid I was driving on the highway coming home from the dealership (had some minor scratches buffed out of the bumper that we didn't notice upon taking delivery.) I'm following 2-3 car lengths behind a pickup with a bunch of junk in the bed, uncovered, but nothing screams "loose load". The fast lane's empty, but enjoying my new hybrid, I follow in the slow lane, and "CRACK!" The windshield got two small spider cracks, right at my eye line as the driver (See Photos). I was so ticked I had to pull off at an exit, sit in a parking lot and calm down before calling my husband. I drove our Toyota Corolla for 14 years on the same roads and had nothing more than a little glancing ding hidden behind the rearview mirror portion of the windshield. Murphy's Law made sure 4 days into the Ford Escape Hybrid purchase -- a vehicle we love -- she suffers windshield damage.

It was repaired (spot fix, not new windshield) the next day and it doesn't bother me too much, but I still fixate on that spot at times and think, "WHY!? Why not on the 14-year-old car we aren't heartbroken over when something happens to it?" And the sheer irony that a drive out to the dealership to have what amounted to two piddly little scratches in the bumper's paint "earned" us a broken windhshield.... that stings even now, coming up on two months' of ownership.

Best of luck on patching up your Prius and giving it (and you) some extra TLC until the memory of the experience is further behind you.

 

So I have been trying to find out how much a replacement part would cost. I can't find what I am looking for anywhere. Does anyone have any ideas? I need the black part that is like a liner in the wheel well. If anyone knows where to look let me know. Thanks

Crystal

 

Similar circumstance here as well. Had my 05HCH for about 2 weeks all nice and polished. I purposely park away from other cars and when I return from playing a round of golf, someone had whacked my hood and rear door with a set of irons and left some nice neat little dents. Then the same thing happened to my windshield, a stone hits right at driver's side eye level and leaves a nice little chip that still bothers me to this day. Nothing since then in over a year. It's murphy's law alright.....then the dealer leaves a nice door ding while doing an oil change.....can't win.....

 

Bob, Stay off of Airport Road!

 

I'm thinking your wife should stop driving.



https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...75.html?page=1

Maybe it's some sort of karmic payback for our SMUGness?


Anyway, with a bit of luck, you should be able to get it repaired pretty cheaply. Best of luck, and hopefully she'll be good as new.

 

Since we're sharing painful stories:

I trashed one of my nice OEM alloys on Thursday. I missed my turn and needed to make a U-turn, which I did: exactly one inch wider than I should have and directly into the curb. The wheel is still round and structurally fine but chewed to all hell. That required a few deep cleansing breaths once I got where I was supposed to be.

 

You too, eh? It was repaired in 24 hours, free of charge (and with a lifetime warranty on the repair, for as long as I own the vehicle.) If it spiders, they'll attempt another repair or replace the windshield, with our out-of-pocket being our deductible. We have Progressive insurance, comprehensive coverage 'n all that jazz, and it was an easy call with good service. The repair was done in 35 minutes or so, and good to go apparently right after that, but I had the day off and left our FEH in the garage for the repair to cure.

I'm left with what the repairmen aptly described as "two small hard water spots" that are in actuality the remnants of the cracks. I have a tiny bit of distortion, but after driving a bit the bug guts and such that get on the windshield are way more annoying than the remnants of the repaired cracks. I have floaters in my vision that are worse/more annoying than the little spots left over from the windshield cracks, but it's just the principle of the thing....