16 Tacoma bumper cap removal

That was my next course of action, going to maybe give some love to the grill too. Fun weekend ahead of me especially since the wife is working haha

 

I had to take mine off to inspect for damage and realign the bumper side cap distance to the bed on one side after being rear ended the first week of ownership. Mine has the BSM and Park assist so this is what is required to take off the center bumper cap and the side caps.

It is a very good idea, if you have been off-roading to hose out the area behind the bumper of mud and gravel that may have collected there. Otherwise it will be falling in your face the entire time you are underneath the truck trying to free the components listed below.

1. Remove license plate
2. Remove all the push pins you can find on both the center bumper cap and the side caps. There are a bunch along the bottom, one directly behind the license plate, and two that are a bit hard to get to on the side caps between the bumper and the bed (vertically gap)
3. From beneath, depress it's tabs and pop the trailer plug socket assembly rearward (unsnaps), and disconnect wiring plug.
4. Again, from beneath, depress their tabs and pop the license plate light sockets inward (unsnaps) toward the center (both sides). Easiest to unplug once it is released and hanging, then pull the wire and connector back through the hole.
5. Carefully pull each sonar sensor out of its retaining clip socket. They are held in with a rubber seal and a tab that clicks into place, so use care not to pry. They free themselves with a little wiggling while applying constant pressure.
6. The center bumper cap should now be able to be popped upward. Use a thin long screwdriver or a pry device, gently start to free the snap clips on either side. There are a lot of them, and it may take a bit of pressure, but be careful, as they can be broken moderately easily. Once both sides are free the center should release by prying or pulling up and back.
7. The side caps should be almost free except for a 20mm long metal alligator tooth type clamp that slides on and holds the cap in place near the upper inboard corner. I couldn't figure out a good way to release this, and luckily, it popped off while I was tugging my side caps rearward. The clip and the boss it attaches to were both in good shape and were reusable.

Installation is a reverse of disassembly. Side caps must be installed first as the center bumper cap overlaps the sides. TAKE NOTE: use care that the center bumper cap is in perfect position and the snap tabs are all aligned with their holes before you pop it back on. It takes a bit of force to get back all snapped on, and if you are misaligned, you will break or severely deform the misaligned snap tabs. Apply a tiny amount of grease to the sonar sensors rubber portion prior to assembly to assist in plugging them back in. Feed the wires for the license plate lights and trailer connector socket, connect, then pop back in place. As there is little room to maneuver your hand behind the bumper to get everything connected back up.

 

Awesome and thanks for the writeup!!! Doesn't sound hard, just a pain with all the push pins and tabs.

 

That looks so much better than the chrome and taping it sounds a lot easier to remove the damn thing. How long did it take you including taping it? Did you use anything besides plasti dip?

 

I was rear-ended a week after I got my truck and I'm still deciding whether I want to let the dealer replace the center bumper or do it myself. This is a big help.

 

Taping didn't really take long at all, I just cleaned the bumper really well, let it dry, taped it and plasti dipped, the longest part is waiting time between coats and initially letting it dry, it took me about 1 1/2 hours to do everything start to finish.

 

Thank for the write up.

Cheers!

 

Has anyone successfully taken the chrome caps off ?

 

Yes. Look at post #22.

 

This really looks good! Way better than the chrome..

 

Has anyone seen the unpainted bumper caps as supplied by Toyota? Are they SR caps or something less finished?

 

I will let you know. I ordered a set and they are on the way, but I'm guessing the finish is just some sort of primer.

 

love the plasti-dip. Keep us posted if it lasts, or have peeling/chipping issues.

 

thanks!

 

No having to worry about it chipping or peeling, I had some plastidip on my mustang for almost 2 years, it peeled right off no problems and had no worrys with it chipping plus the finish under it looked perfect, if you apply it correctly there should be no issues,what I will do just to be safe is peel it and reapply every year, I also have my grill done also.

 

I have some parts getting line-x so I'm planning on doing the bumper ends I ordered at the same time. My quicksand will have the chrome ones so I'm hoping this will look better but I'll keep the chrome ones for a back up. Is line-x a good or bad idea?

 

If it's something your interested in doing I say go for it. Honestly though I think you would pretty impressed with the plasti dip durability. Either way I think your bumper will look really good.

 

Got the bumper ends today. To my surprise, they are just black plastic. I'm pretty sure it's what the SR comes with. I'm just going to put them on my quicksand as is in place of the chrome.

 

Post pics please when you get them on.

 

Will do but my truck is still 3 weeks out!