A-pillar damage to new Tacoma

Hello guys. Had some seriously bad luck this weekend. A small tree fell on my 3k mile taco. Landed across the windshield blowing that out with glass inside. Also produced a dent in each A pillar. Had the truck towed to my repair shop and the guy there said very unlikely PDR and the repair would include removing a piece that goes all the way to the back of the truck, down and u set to the front again. This would require bed removal and all. I’m horrified to have a factory new truck go through all that after market repair.

Based on the pics does anyone believe PDR could be possible? If not I’m almost wondering if living with the dents and just having the windshield replaced is the smarter move. The repair sounds intense and I wonder if it would ever be “right” again. Any thoughts would be really helpful!

 

It is new. Sorry about the damage. It doesn’t look too bad but it’s new and you’ll always see it as you approach the truck. I had a few nicks just recently on my truck from a friends son who was helping load some old lumber on my truck. It’s a scratch down to the primer. I guess it’s all about your personality. Me I’d have to get it fixed. Good luck

 

A good PDR guy should be able to do it. It is a pain though as those pillars have a lot of stuff in them My jeep had a similar issue and we were able to fix it with PDR. As long as paint is not broken and the metal is not linked it might be possible. Get a PDR specialist to look at it as body shop may not have someone

 

PDR would be very tough because those pillars are thick and designed to be sturdy as hell. Give PDR a try but don't be too optimistic about it

 

Not repairing doesn’t seem like a fix, take it to a good body shop, you’re overthinking it. It does suck it happened to such a new truck, but that’s the risk we take.

 

The reason they are saying it needs/should be replaced is, because that is structural part of truck (in rollovers)
Just had this done to my 18. New roof, and structural side replaced last month

 

The glass is glued in, with the class out it would be a good time to fix the dents.

 

From what I see installing the A-pillar grab handle, the A-pillar interior trim, curtain airbag, and wiring come out easy, giving ample access from the inside to knock out the dent.
PDR may not bring it back 100%, but a shop can bondo, sand, and paint the rest. It's in an area where paint matching isn't too difficult.

 

start talking to some dealer techs. i haven't met one yet that doesn't have a story of a pre-titled new vehicle that got damaged on the lot and went through the body shop before being sold off to a customer as a new vehicle.

point is, while it's special to you, it is just a hunk of metal, with a prescribed repair plan. this is why full coverage vehicle insurance exists, let the insurance deal with it. insurance gives a lifetime warranty with the work for a reason, and toyota has a prescribed replacement procedure.

let them fix it the right way, and it will be just as good as new, otherwise, trying to do it your own way risks you/others lives later.

 

I just had $11,000 of hail damage repair done to my truck it was all PDR some of these guys are amazing I had some serious big dents in my truck including both a pillars.

 

Thanks everyone. The body shop PDR guy will be looking it over today but from what I’ve been told from a few body shops friends so far there’s likely little the can do. Looks like she’ll be getting all hacked up. Just praying that after it’s done all goes back together properly and no paint issues will arise years down the road.

 

Update? I joined the club today with a dam twig from a hanging tree on the side of the road

 

Back in 2015 my previous 2nd Gen was attacked by a pine tree:



It was repaired, not totaled:

 

What they do? Welded a new A pillar?

 

Honestly, I do not remember/recall. But it was just like new when I got the truck back from the body shop. They did a first rate repair job. It was over $7,000 in repair back then.

I did cut down EVERY damned pine tree after that, to the west of me.

 

Bed removal? BED REMOVAL? The only piece of the truck that goes from the windshield “all the way to the back of the truck” and to the front again is your f’n wallet. Seriously?

I agree with @3JOH22A and others. Damage is minor, mostly cosmetic. PDR should be able to fix it. Access to the back side of the pillars is not difficult, but need to be careful.

Based on your pictures, (IMHO) I would opt for the PDR rather than let someone chop up my new truck.

Now this one required professional repair!

 

Call around for a good PDR guy. I got this fixed with PDR and it is nearly perfect now. He spent hours on it but like I say, it came out great!

 

I am of the strong opinion that can be repaired more effectively with a paintless dent repair technique.

FYI, there is very very easy access to the inside of your A-pillars from inside the cab. Hundreds if not thousands of people who have changed out their front dash tweeters or hard-wired a dash cam or installed a D-side grab handle already know this.

The driver side is a no-brainer. That is very correctable from inside the A-pillar IMHO and can be peened out from inside the cab. I could get to that from inside in less than 30 minutes and that would be taking my time. The pax side will be a little more difficult because it is lower to the cowl and might require more interior dash disassembly or some bent tools. But same concept.

PDR shops are also doing crazy good things with glue sticks and heavy duty magnets. Again, I would absolutely NOT cut your A-pillars apart. And, no, neither one is metallurgically deformed beyond a yield point where structural integrity is compromised. Last but not least, do not discount the concept of body-filler and a localized re-spray if a PDR technique is not perfect. A-pillars generally take a beating from the weather - so some may disdain this concept and I would understand. But this is 2024, not 1974. The materials are so much better and paint matching is a snap.

Either way, having your body hacked apart and the bed-removed is completely non-sensical. Even though the bed can be removed by 2 body shop trainees in <30 mins. It is not that hard.

You also need to give consideration to the inevitable CarMax value degradation for an expensive insurance repair.

IN ALL DUE SERIOUSNESS, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU JUST HAVE YOUR WINDSHIELD AND WIPERS REPLACED BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY QUICK DECISIONS. DO MORE RESEARCH. Those dents are entirely cosmetic for now.

Most insurance companies allow a customer a good amount of time to elect a repair option once you make a claim.
HTH

 

I've been thinking on this for a few years now and I'm gonna say yeah, go for it!

 

I got a guy come out today took him about 2 hrs but he got atleast 95% of it out most people wont be able to tell it's there now. He said since there if there was access to the back he could have done the repair in 30 mins