2018 Grill/Warranty question

Hey guys, I just picked up my brand new ‘18 quicksand last week and I’m brand new to the forums and the Tacoma family! Like so many others I’m not too fond of the stock grill. I’ve seen plenty of other threads about whether you can get a TRD Pro grill to work on an Off Road but my question isn’t so much about compatibility but warranty.

When I bought my truck I paid extra for the Pro grill since I had seen on the forums and had dealer assurance the Pro grill would work. The dealer went to put on the new grill and the service advisor told me it was not compatible. I then spoke with the actual technician and he said the Pro grill wouldn’t work on the Off Road. He stated the Pro grill was not compatible with the TSS and that’s why they cancelled the ‘18 TRD Pro and had to revive it for ‘19. I informed him that there were ‘18 TRD Pro Tacomas, in fact there was one sitting in the show room of that very dealer and they should have the same sensor. He told me he would call me back, when he did he said “oh yeah, so it is actually the same sensor and in theory we could move it but Toyota forbids us from doing so and if you swapped the grill then you would void the warranty on the truck.”

I know there are sellers on this forum such as DBCustomz and Custom Car Grills that have grills compatible with the 2018 TSS, my question is if swapping the grill or moving the TSS lower (such as on the Pro grill) would void the warranty. Sorry about the long story in advance but I felt I had to illustrate why I don’t have confidence that the dealer knows what they’re talking about since the tech wasn’t even aware they made ‘18 TRD Pro Tacomas. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

1. They cannot void the warranty of the truck for a change like that, only deny service for any faults that can be related to the after market modifications.

2. Check out the info in this thread here: 2018 TRD PRO Grille w/ TSS-P Radar Info/DIY

 

It won’t void the warranty on the truck. Dealers just say that crap so they won’t have to work on your truck.
The magnusson moss warranty act (law) states that dealers have to prove a modification caused the failure to deem it not under warranty.
So if your sensor stops working or the grille falls off the replacement cost will be out of your pocket because it will be a pain to prove that your mod didn’t cause the failure. But you aren’t going to have any issues remounting the sensor. So you don’t need to worry.
Your warranty will still cover literally every other previously warrantied part of your car without fuss.

 

No, your warranty will not be voided. The Magnuson-Moss Act protects you, the consumer, from being required to only use Toyota parts & service. If you replace the grill and somehow (I don't even see how it would be possible being a Toyota grille designed to be compatible with TSS, but let's just assume) have issues with TSS, I do think Toyota could be justified in blaming the grille. BUT, per the M-M act, Toyota would have to prove that your modification caused issues before they could not honor the warranty on that part/system. If they can prove it, only that small component or system would be voided under warranty; not the entire truck or unrelated systems like drive train, lighting, suspension, etc. However, realistically speaking, if you ever did have issues with TSS system and you had a different grille, I would just swap back to the stock grill before taking it in to that dealer to avoid the headache of dealing with a nervous nellie like that.

 

The dealer is lying to you. My impression is that some dealers dont want to sell pro grills to non-pro owners.

My dealer flat out lied to me and said the pro grill with sensor didnt even exist yet, but he would let me know when it was available. That was about 3 weeks ago.

Many users on here have done the swap successfully. As for warranty, I'm not too sure.

 

F that shady dealer. I wouldn’t use them for any service either. Call another dealer.

 

As stated before, your dealer is stupid! Find another dealer to work with.

 

Thanks for the help! When the dealer told me that stuff it didn’t really make any sense to me. Though when they mentioned it would void the warranty on my brand new truck I figured I would err on the side of caution before I pressed them on it.

 

Buy grill.

Change yourself.

Have another dealer perform warranty work, IF any is ever needed.

Before doing that, I would ask them to confirm the software version for your ECU/Transmission, and ask them to apply the latest TSB.

There's no reason not to take advantage of that right out of the gate.

 

I added a dbcustomz grille on mine. I was getting increasing radar faults from the purchase date. Finally completely shorted out and I took it to the dealer. At first they told me the sensor would not be covered due to the grille. After they inspected the sensor and mounting they said it was probably just a faulty sensor and warranted it anyway. I think they just thought it was badass when it lit up in they’re service bay

 

Was the dealer in Michigan? I was told the same thing.

 

Toyota of Clermont, Orlando, FL. Speaking of sketch, I also bought the TRD Pro wheels from them after the fact and they tried to take back the Off Road wheels that were already on the truck. “Well you bought the TRD Pro wheels so standard procedure is to take back the old wheels”.....it wasn’t a trade or anything, I had them put on after the purchase of the truck and paid the full price. Again, the dealer doesn’t inspire any confidence for me, neither regarding their knowledge and quality of work nor their ethics lol.

 

You bought the pro wheels outright? Sounds like some greaseball tech tried to snatch your old rims.

After buying the truck new, I’ll never go back to the dealer except for a recall or an important TSB

 

I feel your pain. I go to the one in Winter Park. They haven't denied me yet but it took weeks to fix my last issue.