Where to put California HOV stickers?

Toyota Rav4 EV Forum

Help Support Toyota Rav4 EV Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

commasign

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2013
Messages
24
Just got my California license plates and mailed out the HOV sticker application. For California RAV4 EV folks, where did you put your HOV stickers? The side stickers seem to be an easy decision, but how about the rear sticker? On the rear door below the RAV4 logo? Or on the actual bumper which is slanted down and probably hard to see? Anyone have pictures?
 
I will post a picture later but I opted for the rear door because I didn't like how it would look on the bumper (as you noted, sloping down). My choices were complicated by the bumper zits (parking sensors that the dealer installed which I didn't end up paying for).

arnold
 
9461048131_e81e6f635a.jpg



2013-08-07 19.05.51 by arnolddeleon, on Flickr
 
i did put mine on (5 minutes ago) on right rear bumper becuase it said to put them on the bumper. I debated the door (its much less likely you'll need to replace the *door* than the Bumper, but it said bumper so i figured it'd be ok there. And the 2 quarter panel ones are a lot more obvious than the one on the bumper anyway.

I doubt it *actually* matters though as long as its on the vehicle somewhere an officer can see it.
 
n3ckf - would you mind taking a picture of your rear sticker? Trying to get a sense of how well it would fit there. Thanks!
 
I recommend putting on some masking tape as guidelines. I put the tape on step back to get sense of how the lines will look. I like find a surface that is largely flat so the stickers don't bend. I generally try to follow the instructions on the sticker placement (I amuse myself by looking how people get it wrong, particularly the size) but you can see the I broke the rules here. The side stickers are suppose to be on the body but they are instead on the wraparound bumper and the rear one is suppose to be on the bumper but instead I have it on door.

arnold
 
I put mine on just like yblaster. I got pulled over once because the cop said he couldn't see them. I thought someone may have taken them in the parking lot so I tried to give him my regestration. He didn't want it. He finally admitted they were on the car. He tried to give me a hard time and I told him I was just following instructions. I'm sure he didn't even look before he pulled me over because my car is blue and they show up well. He hadn't see a Rave4 EV before and couldn't belive a SUV could get the stickers.
 
VQ EV said:
I put mine on just like yblaster. I got pulled over once because the cop said he couldn't see them. I thought someone may have taken them in the parking lot so I tried to give him my regestration. He didn't want it. He finally admitted they were on the car. He tried to give me a hard time and I told him I was just following instructions. I'm sure he didn't even look before he pulled me over because my car is blue and they show up well. He hadn't see a Rave4 EV before and couldn't belive a SUV could get the stickers.
This is exactly why I did it like Arnold. Much more visible.
 
Yes I was going for understated while still meeting the spirit of the instructions. I've had no problems so far.

While driving on my motorcycle the other week I saw a Volt with only one large green sticker on the back that looked like it was falling off and it had no plates, just the paper dealer advertisement. I'm thinking he was asking to be pulled over.
 
I first affixed 3M "paint protector film" on my car (due to the ease/cleanliness of removal when the time comes) in the three locations then put the HOV stickers on that film. I'm just not comfortable with putting "bumper sticker" glue directly on my paint job.
 
I plan to place the stickers on the glass instead of the bumper. I wax my car quite frequently so having stickers on the paint produces a lot of build-up around the edges. Will post pics once I receive/install them.

FWIW, my previous Prius Plug-In had the stickers on the glass as well and I was never harassed by any passing CHP officers while in the HOV lane.
 
My HOV stickers were denied! Just got the letter with a form for the dealer to correct the registration to say the motive power is "electric" instead of "gas". Sigh.
 
commasign said:
My HOV stickers were denied! Just got the letter with a form for the dealer to correct the registration to say the motive power is "electric" instead of "gas". Sigh.
You're not the first one. An earlier thread here says you need to get the dealer to complete and sign a REG 256 form stating that the original paperwork was completed in error. See Section E regarding change of motive power. Clearly the DMV knows the car is electric based on the VIN, but this is their bureaucratic procedure.
 
mnml said:
I plan to place the stickers on the glass instead of the bumper. I wax my car quite frequently so having stickers on the paint produces a lot of build-up around the edges. Will post pics once I receive/install them.

FWIW, my previous Prius Plug-In had the stickers on the glass as well and I was never harassed by any passing CHP officers while in the HOV lane.

thanks for the idea!
i'm leaning towards doing this as well.

i narrowed down my location for that 3rd small white sticker.

1. Directly above the RAV4 emblem
2. Below it with some bending.. i'm considering cutting it before applying, just to accomodate the hump on the door.
3. Glass
 
we went a little creative.
we figured, it's on the door for accident/replacement purposes and it's right next to where a cop would look when checking out the license plate.
khCzjFWl.jpg


and we went with the line of the moulding on the bumper. so it's not level with the ground, but slightly angled with the car.
6r3JJAPl.jpg


ps.
we WERE going to go above the RAV4 emblem, in line with the angle of the "4", but we didn't.
GVZ1qmol.jpg


pps.
we cut out the stickers still on their backing and taped them in different places to see how they looked.
 
We put the rear sticker on the bumper. Yes, it's a bit hard to see, but we wanted to put it exactly as instructed by DMV.

I was stopped on the southbound 405 in West LA by CHP who said the same thing -- he had never seen a car like this that had HOV stickers. He was very polite and apologized for stopping me. Since my car is silver, I expect this to happen more than once.
 
edmc said:
I first affixed 3M "paint protector film" on my car (due to the ease/cleanliness of removal when the time comes) in the three locations then put the HOV stickers on that film. I'm just not comfortable with putting "bumper sticker" glue directly on my paint job.

Did you use trim the film to the outline of the stickers? Where did you buy the paint protector film?

Thanks,
 
LabDad said:
edmc said:
I first affixed 3M "paint protector film" on my car (due to the ease/cleanliness of removal when the time comes) in the three locations then put the HOV stickers on that film. I'm just not comfortable with putting "bumper sticker" glue directly on my paint job.

Did you use trim the film to the outline of the stickers? Where did you buy the paint protector film?

Thanks,

I followed EDMC's advice and did this as well. I purchased the Scotchguard Film from Amazon and applied my stickers to that. I then cut around the stickers and shaped the film to match. After that, I placed the stickers with the film on the car. It worked like a charm. I don't know if it will make them easier to remove yet, but I figured it couldn't hurt. :)
 
Back
Top