Am I wrong? (Auto Body question regarding our Tacoma beds)

Hello TacomaWorld! Some of you may have seen my previous posts regarding my initial headache, dealing with the other party’s insurance company after the right rear quarter panel of my Tacoma was hit (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/advise-needed-on-handling-auto-body-insurance-adjusters.774604/).

After I finally got that resolved, my truck was repaired, but everything is not up to my complete satisfaction, including the paint (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ilver-sky-metallic”-that-hard-to-match.781824).

Now, I’m still having an issue with the area around my taillight. Since day one, I’ve tried to show the Auto Body Shop how the bed panel was tilted in slightly and the reveal around the rear tail light was not correct.

At first they told me it just sits in the socket and that everything was replaced and that the quarter panel just bolts onto the plastic bed? It seems to me there’s got to be something else structurally at the panel is bolting onto. I took them at their word, and figured I would adjust it myself when I got home. When I loosened the three bolts to do just that, indeed, the right rear tail light moved around slightly, but not in a way that would let me adjust the reveal.

So, I proceeded to take out the left tail light, and there was no movement, or play rather. Once it clicked in to the sockets, it was rock solid. The reveal was correct and there was no way to adjust it. So now my truck is back at the shop and they’re committed to making it right, so they are telling me, but they keep telling me the panel just attaches to the bed and nothing else there could be bent and cause the problem. (I keep looking at the Toyota line drawings from the parts database. It’s really difficult to see how it’s all put together.)

I took the below video and sent it to them. On Monday I’m meeting with a paint specialist/representative about a problem I’m having with that. So, I’m wondering if anyone’s familiar with the way the beds are assembled? If anyone could give me any ideas on what could be causing the problem I’m having with the gap/reveal around the tail light on the right side, I’d really appreciate it! Am I too OCD in wanting them to correct this issue? Many thanks in advance!


(sorry I had taken videos for those last two thumbnails, but I didn’t realize I can’t upload them directly to the forum. I hope the pictures are clear enough.)

 

If they guarantee the work, then bring it back-- really shouldn't have even taken it away from the body shop, should have rejected it as soon as you saw it on completion.

I had an eclipse they replaced the front end with aftermarket parts. Similar situation, I brought it back after a week and had them replace all of it with OEM parts due to poor fit...

 

oh boy - here we go

 

If they replaced that bed side as written there is nothing they can do about the light. I cannot tell if your inner bed side had damage from the loss, that could be causing the gap issue. Otherwise it is a pretty straight forward repair. I would be sure you don’t have any aftermarket parts that could be causing the issue.

I would ask for all receipts to be sure they replaced the side panel OEM and see if there were any aftermarket parts (lamp) that caused the issue. Otherwise, I could see the color issue but trying to nitpick gaps and body lines on a full frame truck is not going to get the results you want.

 

Part out!

 

Yes, it was done at the dealer and everything was OEM. I insisted on it and they told me right from the start that they rarely use aftermarket. Anything additional they need will be covered by a supplemental to the other parties insurance because they were at fault. So if anything else is damaged, I know they can get it replaced.

As for the new panel it was OEM, as there’s no aftermarket available. What I’m not sure of is if the metal behind the tail light assembly is part of the quarter panel that bolts on (and was replaced) or if there’s a separate inner structural piece that might be bent.

 

So you have an inner bed as you mentioned. I like to think of it as a hot tub, just no 4th wall. Then the rear body panel/sill. That creates the transition from bed floor to bed sides. I believe the lamp bolts to that. And the bed side then mounts onto that. You could have had damage repaired to rear sill which would cause gap issues to the tailgate. The light fitting in the bed panel should not be affect though. A the shop mentioned it just bolts on.

 

What shop fixed it?

 

@Mastiffsrule , thank you. Good information and diagram. I've spend the last half an hour or so now looking at the diagrams and some videos. The two "pins" on the back of the twilight definitely snap right into the quarter panel. (I couldn't remember because I was so angry with dealing with this.) After seeing the diagram you posted, I watched some videos and confirmed this:

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The shop I used was the auto body shop at the Toyota dealership where I purchased the truck new.

They did not replace the taillight since it wasn't damaged, but the panel is new. The tailight pins pop into the holes easily enough. It is strange though because the right taillight then just doesn't fit as good as on the driver's side. The manager of the Auto Body shop mentioned that it should be "an easy enough thing for us to measure." So, I guess that will be the next step.

(Edit: as I woke this morning, the thought came to my mind that maybe there’s an [extremely slim] chance that the pins on the tail light got bent. I know it would seem unlikely that they wouldn’t just break, but perhaps it happened; that might account for why the tail light isn’t sitting correctly in a brand new panel.)