2017 crew cab

I had a 2016 for a short time, received a full refund due to failure of disclosure ,didn't see very slight hail damage until got it home, they attempted to repair , made it worse , bought it used with 7,000 miles, thought I would keep it, before finding the hail damage , found the valence panel lower (textured) part number 53911-04210 , was separating from the bumper cover, the black clips were showing,( there is no air dam on the TRD) now regret paying $200 for a new one , it did not remain in place, the molded clips ( cheap plastic) did not stay attached to the bumper cover; picked up my 2017 TRD off road on 03/07/17 , that was first thing I looked at , panel was not separating from bumper cover , just noticed yesterday 0627/17 with 1600 miles , same problem, tried pushing panel in, clips would not hold, after looking at several 2016 and 2017's , all have same issue , contacted Toyota Customer service, they documented it , of coarse no one has heard of this problem or reported it, myself when I purchase a moderately expensive vehicle I expect it to be without flaws, mine goes back to selling dealership on 07/07/17 they have previously replaced the rubber roof strips, the sticky tape did not hold,both were lifting up , my advice when buying any new vehicle check everything, there are very few new vehicles that don't have defects,seems the customer is the final quality control inspector, will update if repair works ( retired aerospace Quality Control Rep)

 

Pull it off and throw it away! You're probably dragging it on curbs when you park. The Offroads and Pros don't come with the lower valence (air dam). The truck looks much better without it and you improve approach angle significantly. Some say there is a slight decrease in mileage without it, but I think it's insignificant. The EPA reported numbers are the same for trucks with and without the air dam.

 

Significant increase in approach angle? It's 3 degrees... If that is significant than the mileage lost by taking off the valance is significant.

OP, expect to lose around half to 1 mpg on the highway (minimal in the city) and a couple of degrees on approach gained with it removed (which most anyone wouldn't reach anyways so that is minimal). Chances are ground clearance will be a limiting factor way before approach angles, especially when the departure angle is 23 degrees...

Tyler

 

I guess it just depends on how you use your truck, and how badly it bugs you to see some clips exposed. To me, 3 degrees in approach angle is huge. Departure angle is less important, as you can always slide off the trailer hitch. Also worthy of note is that it's another 4 inches or so when pulling up to a curb.

I'm also a little skeptical of the MPG improvement. Why would the EPA numbers on the SR5, Offroad, and Sport all be the same if there was truly a 1mpg difference? People on this board have frequently posted that they saw no change to fuel economy either adding or removing the air dam as well. I guess there's only 1 way to find out, and there's no way I'm adding an air dam to do it.

By the way, I just noticed your screen name. I'm a fellow AMC fan!