is it better to get the $300-$400 real trd pro grill or a knock off one for $150?

If you can afford to buy a 35K truck, why would you buy a cheap grille? Everything that I get for my baby is OEM. Buy once, cry once. My$.02

 

I was into the vintage air-cooled VW scene for many years until recently. One of the main reasons I got out was the cheaply made off shore restoration parts. The parts are made in Brazil, China, Thailand etc. and virtually everything is now junk compared to OEM VW German parts.

 

The same reason I got out of air-cooled VWs. The sheer volume of crap parts is nuts. I've been told it's now happening with English car stuff now too, but not nearly at the level that VW stuff achieved over two decades ago

 

Knockoff from The Taco Garage, just as good as OEM at 1/3rd the cost. Quality product with no downsides from my experience.

 

I prefer OEM if I can. I have an order with a Toyota dealership for an OEM Pro grill, had to supply a Pro VIN so I'm hoping they will release it to me and ship it. I tried a few local dealers and they wouldn't release the Pro grill without a VIN.

 

Pretty easy to get a Pro VIN from local listings on Auto Trader. It worked for me.

 

I bought a knock-off. It has done very well.


Personally, I think the SR5 grille looks better

 

Obviously it's your choice...but for me, I don't buy knock-off anything. I don't want a Toyota truck with non-Toyota parts on it. Again, that's just me, others have no problem with doing that...and I have no problem with them having no problem with doing that!

 

I've got the raptor grill for my gen 2. It is made of pretty good plastic from what I can tell fits good tight & 1/3 the cost. It's a plastic grill & has no function other than aesthetics. I'll save that $$ so I can buy primo ammunition or whatever other finer thing in life you prefer.

 

I got mine thrown in (as well as other crap) when I bought the truck.

 

My $75 knockoff was a perfect fit except for the garnish area, had to force it in a bit.

 

Couldn’t you just copy a VIN from someone else’s Pro?

 

Touché

 

When I bought my TRD OR, the dealer tried to sell me an OEM pro grill for $700. Maybe it depends on dealer whether they want the vin or not

 

Been waiting on my bumper/ over fender paint protection film for about 2 weeks. That’ll be my next real improvement. Rrrr

 

It's cheaper in price but the materials seem to be fine. My fake grill was $150, the OEM at a local dealership wanted $600 (cdn). That's a significant difference for a part that has no function other than to snap into place & hold the sensor. Fit & finish looks good on the fake grill as well.

Only thing I would recommend to people is to superglue the letters on in addition to the adhesive which will probably fail over time (if your letters had to be put on)

 

I bought the cheap knockoff (I’m that guy)

I bought it on wish.com for $96 shipped.

I got nervous when the grill showed up and no letters. A few days later a box of loose letters finally arrived. I had a light bar in my eBay bin ready to buy if they didn’t.


(I added monster glue on the back of the tabs after installing them on the grill with the 3m double sided tape)

I also have 2017 the last year before all the sensors!

I’d say for a ‘18-‘19 get the OEM. Less headache with the sensor.

‘16-‘17 (no TSS) get a knockoff. I saved a few hundred. Most people don’t know the difference. Although purists will say one has a matte finish and one has a satin finish.


I couldn’t stand the cheap fake chrome look. Everyone thought I bought a 3rd new truck in 3years when I drove to work the Monday after install.

 

I bought OEM, sure the cost is more but why cheap out. I think I was around $400 for the pro wiring , sensor cover and grill.

But I am selling my truck soon and will have it for sale.

 

Same, make the VIN issue their problem.


@Samuel.Rowland, a lot of the "knockoff is fine" people are driving 2016/2017 trucks. 2018 added TSS and you have it as well - if there is a system malfunction you can damn well guarantee someone might point out the grille is the issue whereas I've had zero issues through the recall and a calibration with the OEM grille. That was from a dealership who has been an absolute piece of shit otherwise. To me, the couple hundred in savings isn't worth the risk.

 

I've had no issues with my knockoff, and would buy it again in a heartbeat now that Toyota has jacked up the price on the TSS sensor garnish to insane levels.