Hood alignment done under warranty?

Toyota agreed to adjust the alignment on my Tacoma’s hood. The passenger side of the hood sat lower than the fender. I adjusted the front hood bumper on the passenger side. That took care of the front of the hood. However there is no adjustment on rear of the hood. I decided not to mess with shimming the rear attachment point myself and checked with my dealer’s service manager about having their body shop make the adjustment. As mentioned above Toyota agreed to this minor (?) repair.

My dealer’s body shop is a Toyota certified collision center. Is there any way that this minor adjustment could be messed up by a good body tech? (Yeah, I know anything is possible.) Any suggestions for questions to ask the shop manager when I take the truck in.

No, I am not OCD...just darn fussy about my vehicles. My wife and I have had six Tacoma’s. This is the first one with body issues. Now about the dust nibs in the paint…..

 

Why not just take care of it yourself if you’re worried? All you need to do is loosen two bolts and slide in some shims. Probably a half beer job at worst.

 

Take pictures and video of the hood and fenders prior to the dealer taking possession...that way if they scratch it you’ll have recourse should they deny liability...throughly inspect vehicle at the dealership when repair is complete bring any damage to their attention prior to leaving the lot. Can’t get any more anal than that...chances are they will do a good job regardless

 

Idk if they would add shims or bend the hinge. Bending the hinge involves a short 2x4 in the crux and pushing down on a closed hood. That would be the preferred method by the bodyshop as then you don't have to mess with readjusting the hood after you loosen the bolts.

 

Dude just loosen and remove a bolt at a time and stick a washer under there if it bothers you.
I have had my truck for a year and I truthfully have no idea how my hood fits.

 

Take it to the dealer for warranty if it bugs you, where has Toyota Quality gone?

 

On my 2nd gen it was like that. I grabbed the lip between windshield and hood and used my brute strength and pulled it upward with a jerk and it went right where it was supposed to be. When I traded it in 10 years later was still perfect

 

Toyota is known for lasting power trains, not perfectly aligned hoods. Or really anything other then their power train. They have always looked cheap, lots of plastic/thin metal, rotting frames etc. I get tired of hearing this

 

I finally checked with the body shop manager. He said the shop could and would make the adjustment to the hood. A shop tech would loosen all the hinges and move the hood around until it was properly adjusted. They might have to make adjustments to the passenger side fender too. He wanted the truck for a full day to make the adjustments. The hood is only about 1/16 inch low on the rear of the passenger side. Nothing else is out of alignment. Why does he not want to simply slip a 1/16 inch shim between the hood hinge and the hood? Is this a good solid "fix"? I think that I will either leave the hood as it is or corral my neighbor, buy him a beer and have him hold onto the hood while I install a shim or two

 

I love when job completion times are illustrated in beer time.

 

If it’s under warranty why not let the tech do their thing?