Trunk Mounted Bike Rack for 2012 Toyota Prius V

Question:

The Prius V does not come with a Trailer Hitch. What are my options for a bike rack to mount on the back of the car. I do not want a roof rack as the roof is very high on the Prius and would cause lots of Air disturbance on long distance trips.

asked by: Alan

Expert Reply:

I do not have specific information about the Prius V model, but I can tell you that the owners manual for the regular Prius model states that Toyota strongly discourages having a hitch installed on the vehicle, which would seem to rule out a hitch mounted option. Although there are hitches available for the Prius and the Prius V, I would recommend reading and abiding by anything recommended in the owners manual.

A trunk mounted rack would be the perfect solution. According to Thule, all of their trunk mounted bike racks will work just fine with the Prius V. You should take a look at the Thule Passage, part # TH910XT for 2 bikes or TH911XT for 3 bikes.. The Passage is a basic rack that still offers anti-sway cradles that will prevent the bikes from swinging fore and aft and possibly striking the vehicle or each other.

For best results when carrying womens bikes or bikes with sharply angled top tubes or step-through frames, using a frame adapter like part # TH982XT is recommended. The adapter spans the distance between the seat post and the handle bar gooseneck, and provides a level attachment point to the bike rack so the bike has greater ground clearance and is not carried at an angle.

For install details or product demonstration videos featuring the products I recommended, click the provided links.

expert reply by: Mike L