bug deflector or protective film

I've had a Lund bug deflector on my 2006 it's never broke and done it's job over the years..

on new 2023's what have you guys been choosing ? Deflector or film What say you?


pros cons welcomed

 

Either. Neither. Deflectors are pretty ugly and not in fashion. Film has a line and is soft. I have had both over the years and now? It's touch up paint for the win!

 

Neither.

Deflectors are 80's ugly

Film on a plebian vehicle is trying too hard.

 

Neither. After nearly 3 years i've come to the conclusion their a waste of money. I had them on other trucks in the past. They ether caused the hood to shake at highway speeds or only keep the trucks nose from paint chips. Still got broken windshields, or dings in it. I had this tacoma ceramic glass coated which was the best move i ever did. No paint chips, or crap etched into the paint. Truck still looks much as it did back in feb of 2020.

 

I've got an AVS aeroskin on my hood and I think it's pretty cool. It definitely keeps the chips off the nose of the hood and sits flush. No hood shake or noise and I like the aesthetics but that's just, like, my opinion man.

 

It’ll be more expensive, but paint protective film can be applied to cover the entire front end. The bug shield is pretty limited. I have neither, but would choose the film. I always seem to get rock chips in the strangest places that wouldn’t have been protected by either the film or the shield.

 

I bought one from Weathertech. I sent it back not due to the product, but with the bad fittment of the hood from Toyota. The deflector rested too close to the headlights and almost chipped the paint on the grill surround when the hood was closed. If you get one, do not slam the hood shut the first time you close the hood with the deflector installed until you check clearances. I have read other posts with people complaing of the same issues with AVS. I am talking about deflectors that screw into the bottom of the hood and not the ones using the 3M tape.

 

Same happened to me with AVS. I tried 3 different times just to make sure I wasn't just getting a defective one. They are all defective. I bought 2 from Amazon, and 1 directly from AVS, and the results were all the same. really bad fitment that chips the top of the grill surround and puts too much pressure on the headlights. Chipped my 2 week old Tacoma on the right and left corners of the surround. Boy was I pissed, but luckily I caught it on time before it did substantial damage.

I even sent pics and measurements, and told them exactly what was off, and AVS just kept on saying nothing was wrong. They even sent me a free one for my "inconvenience" that I never opened up. it's sitting in the garage brand new in the box.

 

I bought an AVS deflector for mine because the hood on my previous truck was completely shredded from stone chips when I sold it with about 500,000kms. Same reason why I bought big RG mud flaps for my Taco; paint protection. I never had any problems with the fitment or quality so I can recommend both AVS and Rek Gen products.

Do I think my truck looks better with a bug deflector though?....No, not really. But the deflector is black and my truck is black too, so, not terrible looking......’Function over fashion’ for me I guess.

 

Well, with my hood, the hood sits lower than the fenders by about a1/4 of an inch when the hood is closed. That is with the rubber hood bumpers adjusted all the up. I was able to modify the bumpers by placing a rubber cap over them but I felt that put too much strain on the hood release mechanism as I had to use more force than I wanted to release the hood.

 

Lift the truck....

 

I got the AVS and the quality of the deflector is pretty sad. I didn't have the fitment problems other folks had but the unit it's self has rough screw holes and was scratched right out of the box. I would not buy AVS again, I would go with Weathertech. After seeing the crap quality of AVS I got Weathertech window visors and they are beautiful, night and day difference quality wise. One of these days when I have money to burn I'll get the weathertech bug deflector and throw the AVS in the trash.

 

I’ve had zero rock chips on my hood after I installed bug deflector 2. Small rocks would still hit the windshield at times but not enough to crack the glass.

IMO doesn’t look too bad.

 

That sucks you had bad experience. I’ve bought bug deflector 2 twice from AVS and the fit was perfect, and no issues with vibrations whatsoever.

Also had AVS window shades installed on both trucks with zero issues.

 

I have had a WeatherTech bug deflector on my truck for 40,000 miles.
Personally I prefer the look of the deflector over film tape but I would say get one or the other if you do a lot of highway driving.
They will save the front lip of your hood from getting rock chips.
I've had 3 vehicles in my life with no hood protection and everyone of them had rock chips/dents from road debris.
Also that is why I have mudflaps on all my vehicles as well so I won't be the one throwing rocks.

 

I have the Weathertech on my truck. No fitment issues, easy to install, no vibration. And I'm in the like the way it looks camp, but that's just me.

 

Weathertech stone/bug guard is installed on my truck probably since almost new. No complaints.



No chips on the hood yet at 23,000 miles. Is it completely out of fashion? Yup, sure is. Do I care? No. It's my truck and I can do what I want to.

I will say the Weathertech I put on my briefly owned 2014 installed pretty crappy. Looked ok, but the mounting was really awkward.

 

Running weather tech also. I had small fitment issue. I massaged it out with a Dremel .

 

------ the deflectors are AARP approved ------