My Prius came with the $180 set of monogrammed floormats, which I think are fine, especially the one in the cargo bay. Today, as I was removing them to brush them off, one of the little grommets in the carpeting that secures the plastic clips for the driver's side mat, fell into the hole in the carpet and now lives under the carpeting. There is a space about four inches square under the hole, so the grommet is not caught between the carpet and the metal floor. Not a big deal, but a nuisance nonetheless. I stuck my finger down into the hole and was able to locate the grommet, but in trying to move it towards the hole in the carpeting, I lost it. Just thought some of you might want to know so you can use care in removing the driver's floor mat without pulling the grommet out of the carpeting.
Think you could find a magnetic 'wand' or something to retrieve it? Is it metal (haven't checked mine). Seems like it might be worth a try.
I have a 'grabber' in my tool box for just such occasions. Looks kind of like Doctor Octopus claws. Push on one end and the claws pop out, let go and they grab whatever you are fishing for.
The rings in the carpet itself are plastic. The problem was that the hole in the carpeting was a tad too big and the ring had nothing to grip. Because it sits over a hole, there is always some downward pressure when you try removing the mat. Finally, it just fell into the hole. Not a big problem, but I'm one of those artist types who gets bothered by "disymmetry", i.e. having picture frames that aren't exactly level, and loose items floating about under the carpeting, etc, etc. I don't see much point to the hooks anyway since the mat has enough grip to stay put and mine shows no sign of moving with the clips removed.
