Hello all! We found a great deal on a used Prius that has an incredible service record and right in our monthly price range. She's a beautiful Black 2005, 98k with the very nice Package #4 and Toyota alloys! We absolutely love it and plan to keep it through 200K and beyond! There were issues already known that I was okay with, and once I saw the impecable service record since it rolled off the lot in 2005 in Tuscon, AZ, I was so happy about the purchase. I had some questions about the "issues" the car had: 1. The weather stripping. It is in real bad shape . Reading about melting weather stripping in hot zones, I am going to be replacing them ASAP. Best supplier and price? 2. "Unspringy" top glovebox door and bulge in dashboard above it. I saw the Youtube video of drilling holes to replace where the tension spring goes, is there any other, less-intrusive methods? What about getting the bulge back down? 3. The lower bumper "spoiler" (plastic horizontal piece that is in between the corner lower spoilers) has a crack, and upon inspecting the undercarriage, some of the plastic is either gone and/or melted (it looks as if it was rubbing against the exhaust). Anyway, brought it to our big Toyota dealer, ran their 19 point inspection and passed with (green) colors, except a yellow for the cabin filter.
Can anyone answer me what the significance of my tail lights are? They are black on the top half and all other Prii I see on the road have full clear ones (I prefer mine, so I'm def not complaining!). Also, my rims are different than other bases models, what package/price did they come from?
Model Year. It's common practice for mid-cycle cosmetic changes like that. 2004 & 2005 had dark backs, making them appear tinted, but were actually clear too. You'll also notice they don't have the "hybrid" emblem. That was introduced in 2006.
Your wheels look standard to me. They have the outer trim rings removed. That probably makes them look different.
John: thanks for the info! I love the look of the lights, though I'm fairly certain there is the "Hybrid" badge on the rear of the car. Thanks JMD, I think I'm sold on Toyota hybrids for life, we love it. Xpc: I see. They just look so much different then most, if not all of the Prii I see around here in OR.
Just did a google image search and yep, you are absolutely right. Does the lack of the ring affect mpg at all (I'm guessing nominally?)? Is it possible to powdercoat these a darker grey or even black?
Correct. It wasn't on the side though, which is easy to see on my 2004... Back then, believe it or not, some people thought Prius was just another traditional car from Toyota. Also, note that the side-emblem has become the simple way to identify the PHV model quickly... The double-thick (2 lines of text) makes it stand out.
Ah okay! Thank you! Learning the models, trims, packages, and badges is reminiscint of the old Honda Hot Rod days where you needed to know exterior markings to know what you were up against under the hood (most of the time heehee).
