Cement Taco Front Bumper/Paint

Yep, that's also there as well from the factory for protection, 2nd gens had it too, but a little less coverage. Flaps became optional for third gens. I've ran them and not ran them, they wont protect the truck 100% but it does help some. Lived in AZ for 5 years, had to face my OCD real quick, chips are just the norm there.

 

This is my first non-sporty car ever, so being higher up means less chips than I'm used to. I was a bit surprised it took so long to find it!

I also do a ton of highway driving around construction and while it's easy to dodge "dangerous" situations, sometimes you're forced into a situation with a hauler and you just gotta white knuckle it...

 

I keep thinking about how my old trucks had scratches and dints and I wouldn’t give it a thought. Now we are discussing paint thickness on a piece of plastic and being concerned. Am I the only one that is thinking like this?

 

Nope, hence my quote about "its a Toyota and a truck". I get it, but you can't keep it in a bubble and its not some collector vehicle, not worth the stress or worry, use it for its intended purpose, do your best to maintain it and keep on keeping on.

 

Yup, telling myself it's a truck (and that this is its natural state of being) has done wonders for my brain lol.

 

I get it and the "honeymoon" will be over at some point but I was really surprised when I found that a broom handle actually caused damage. If this thing can't stand up to plastic falling on it, itll look like swiss cheese from driving on the road. There's something to be said about things not being made like they used to be.

 

This I wont argue with, my grandparents house built in the 60's vs my parent's house built in 2006, no comparison.

 

Good news everyone, stopped by my local dealer and service manager agreed the grill surround is definitely a paint defect. Checked out a slightly older Sport in Cement and this "feature" was not there. I'll report back in however many weeks it takes to get a replacement piece.

Also picked up touch up paint for the other scratch which is not a paint defect. I'm sure I'll be using it a good bit. Maybe I'll get really really lucky and get the entire assembly replaced.

 

Quick update. Just dropped it off at the dealer to get the grill surround paint issue corrected. They got approval from Toyota to use a local collision center to get the current part repainted. Let's hope they do a better job than wherever the original part came out of...

 

Where did you grab the touch up paint from. Just got a scratch on mine and am looking for the right paint.

Thanks

 

Stopped by the dealer and it was $11 before tax. Cheaper than Amazon which I was ready to buy.

Also as a final update, picked up the car last week, issue resolved. The entire surround was sanded and repainted by a local collision shop the dealer works with. The shop also covers all the... ahem... white Taco paint issues.

 

Seems like the paint on Cement is really thin, I was washing my truck with the power washer(like usual) and saw a small chunk get torn off from my front bumper (size of a dime). I was pissed. Exposed all the way to the plastic, debating now if I should get it repainted or swap the bumper with a metal one.