Grill Surround Deformity

What the heck is this? I come out to my truck this morning and found the grill surround deformed in an upwards position. Last night when exiting my truck this damage was not there. This happened over night. I immediately check my dash cam. No one tampered with my truck overnight. There were no indications of incidents recorded on my dash cam.

I remember seeing a thread here on the forums regarding another 3rd gen owner having experienced the same problem. I've searched the forum but can not find that thread. Will someone please share the link to that thread if known?

 

Looks like some kind of impact damage, very odd if nothing showed up on the dash camera

 

I remember that thread. Let me see what I can find.
Here we go.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/anyone-here-seen-this-before.481846/

 

was your Truck parked by a window that reflects the sun in the morning? The sun's intensity bouncing off of low E filmed windows will cause plastic to melt. I've had the siding on my house replaced 3 times now because of the sun reflecting off my neighbors windows. does the exact same thing.

 

That's exactly what happened. Non Low-E windows with triple pane /argon filled glass. No more melting now. The reflection off the low-e film was just under 200 degree's

 

Almost looks like someone was trying to pop the hood.

 

This is what I'd wager. Sunlight reflection can be super hot.

 

Thank you for your help in finding this post, I appreciate your assistance.

 

No, I park in a parking garage on the 4th floor with no direct sunlight.

 

There is no damage to the hood or the grill surround that would suggest any type of tampering. In addition my dash cam is set to detect any type of tampering with the vehicle, as a matter of fact the dash cam detects any motion or movement as cars and individuals pass to close to my truck. It will record it as an incident and notify me via voice upon startup of my truck of any and all motion detection while I'm away from the truck. Also the service department inspected my truck and confirmed there's no evidence of anyone tampering with the truck and or hood.

 

The truck is parked in a parking garage with no direct sunlight.

 

UPDATE:

I took my truck into the dealership where I purchased it brand new. Took it to the service department fully expecting them not wanting to warranty the problem. I prepared myself for the forthcoming fight with the dealership and Toyota corporate. I assumed that they would not want to warranty it and I expected they would put the blame solely on me, honestly knowing I had nothing to do with it.

I pulled into the service department, my service adviser inspected the damage, called the service manager to inspect the damage. They both agreed that it did not appear that anyone attempted to pry open the hood. They both agreed that it was odd and the first time that either of them had seen anything like this. The service manager looked at me and said, "nice truck" and "we'll take care of it". He looked at my service adviser and told him to order the parts and get it taken care of. The service manager shook my hand and reassured me that it will be taken care of as soon as the parts arrive and told me to have a good day.

Whew, what a load off my mind. That is what I consider phenomenal customer care and service. I was at the dealership less than ten(10) minutes. I consider myself very fortunate that they immediately decided to do the right thing and replace the damaged grill surround without giving me the run around. It's comforting to know there are good people with good ethics still around.

Thank you all for the concern and help with this matter, I appreciate the support of the forum members sans the one negative comment LAUGHING about the situation and pointing out that this only happens to individuals who upgraded to the TRD Pro grill. To the one person who found this to be amusing, I bid you a good day sir and sincerely hope that one day you will not find the need to find humor in someone else's misfortune.

 

Is it underground? IIRC the other person had small gaps in his parking garage that during certain times of the day the sun would go down, reflect off those windows and narrowly focus on his car.

 

If you haven't noticed yet, we have a lot of trolls here lol.

 

No it's not underground but it's in a spot where there is no chance of direct sunlight.

 

is there any chance that your vehicle would have been somewhere the day prior and you simply had not noticed it yet? it only takes a couple of minutes for the vehicle to be parked in just the PERFECT spot for it to happen. This is sadly not as uncommon as some would wish with regards to sunlight reflections melting car parts...

Not providing this to be a a**hole just sharing to help provide root cause.

http://cdn.wonderfulengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Skyscraper-melts-car.jpg

 

Yes I've noticed. At first I would ponder what could be so wrong in someone's life that they get joy out of being jerks but soon realized it's not even worth it and sincerely hope that one day something will change in their lives that they learn that negativity only breeds negativity. I've noticed that those who consciously choose to live that way always wonder why things never work out for them. Hmm, karma.

 

I always back in when parking my truck and walk past the front of it as I'm entering the building. Honestly I would have noticed it. And no I didn't take your question/comment in a negative manner. I took it as you meant it, an intelligent question in an effort to get more information as to the possible cause.

 

Here's a photo of the parking space in question, prior to the damage. The light above the mirror reflecting off of the hood is the dash cam.

 

What's it look like in front of the truck?