Great Question! But first..... Greetings and :welcome: They put the plasticky covers on the alloy wheels for fuel efficiency (of all things!) I'm told it makes 1-2 MPG difference in fuel efficiency over the uncovered OEM alloys. Now that you know, there are several schools of thought on what you should do next. SOME say leave it as is. SOME say it's easier to clean the OEM wheels w/o the covers. SOME of the younger drivers out there think the OEM wheels are crap, covered or uncovered, and opt for aftermarket rims. Takes all kinds..... What I would do is to buy 4 of the metal "Yota" caps and get rid of the covers...unless you parallel park a lot, and then I would actually take 100 miles and get used to the car first. I like to park like----1-2" from the curb and I actually embarrassed myself by putting a 1-inch scrape on my plasticky cover by 'missing' my first curb. Stuff happens. Anyway...that's the reason they're there! Good luck w/whatever you do next! Good Luck!
:welcome: to PRIUSchat. :cheer2: ETC(SS) did a good job summarizing the frequently revisited matter of the Prius' wheel covers. The only point I'd add is that there seems to be a larger number of 2010 Gen III owners reporting losing a cover than Gen II owners. Don't know why. To look into whats been said in the past, some would say further discussion is :deadhorse:, use the search tool with "wheel cover."
I removed mine and purchased the centercaps. I get as good or better mileage as many here. I think they're cosmetic and like the incorrect MFD display of MPG they are supposed to make us feel better(your mileage will be lower than the display, but hey last summer it showed a little over 70 mpg, I'm not going to kick about upper 60s). I do love my Prius but I guess lots of things come equipped with BS. Just my thoughts
I think they are there to protect the rims from curb rash. A lot cheaper to replace a plastic cap than a wheel.
