WOW! The rear quarter pannels are flimsy!

This afternoon when I was leaving church and was walking up to the truck and noticed a rather large impression just behind the rear fender flare. It turned out to be a big 'dent' that the lighting and rain drops really made stand out. At first I thought that someone at the church just leaned up against it, but then I remembered removing my factory wheels/tires from that side of the truck a week or so ago so I'll accuse myself since I have no idea exactly how this dent got there.

When I got home I took a big aluminum mag light and reached up under the fender and was able to pop it back out and it made a really LOUD noise. It appears to be holding its original shape so far, but I was really unimpressed by how cheap and flimsy those rear quarter pannels are.

I'm sure many of you already knew this, but thought I'd share my experience with some of the newer forum members. Be careful loading and unloading things out of the bed of your truck!!!

 

Yes the metal on these trucks is super thin, that is one thing the Americans make much better than the Japanese and that is sheet metal to make the body panels of their cars.

 

Yeah, I noticed a dent on top of the cab a little while back... Then I remembered that a long time ago, I loaded a bunch of furniture and it was leaning on the cab. At first, when I saw it I thought one of my pissed off clients did it while I was at work. I blame myself for it now--Helps me sleep better. lol
It sure doesn't take much to put a dent in vehicles these days
Glad to hear you were able to pop yours back out & that it was in a place where you could do that... Mine isn't

 

Helps your mileage though

In seriousness though...the panels may be a bit thin, but I still love my Taco.

 

yeah they make them thin nowadays so they absorb some of the impact during a car crash....the sheet metal on my dad's 1972 chevy truck is like strong as the frame on our trucks....lol

 

they sure don't build them like they used to.

 

I agree. I hit a car this past winter. Well the car was stuck on ice and snow, I didn't know they were stuck and tried to go around them. I slid and just rubbed the car. No damage to the car. But My truck got $1900 damage over the fender and quarter pannel. Just a small dent and scratched paint. Paint seemed aweful cheap as well. I couldn't believe that tiny force can cause that much damage.

 

Yeah our trucks don't have the thickest of steel. I laugh whenever i manage to catch the Tacoma commercial when the truck gets struck by the meteor and survives

Whenever it rains hard and I'm in my truck, it sounds like someone is dropping marbles on it. Seems to be the way most car manufacturer's are going these days to save weight and improve fuel economy.

 

Again, our trucks are built to crumble, like kilgoja said, to absorb impacts and save your life. I agree, its very flimsy, even on the door panels, but it (cheap or not) serves a purpose.

 

Get used to it. The CAFE standards will make it even worse.

 

Today's cars the engine will outlive the body; whereas 30 years ago it was the other way around. Agreed the flimsy body's are from lessons learned from NASCAR. The panels are meant more to give and break away, than withstanding an impact unfazed. It just sucks that a minor dent costs so much to fix. Good thing for the OP that they were able to pop the dent back out.

 

I'm sure it makes it quite a bit lighter aiding in mpg as well as making the truck safer in the event of a crash. I f'ing hate all these parking lot door dings i've been getting lately though! It does dent really easy

 

So this is the only vehicle built that is built to be safe. Getting in an accident in say a ford is not safe. To be honest I would rather get in a wreck in a big f150 than my Tacoma.

 

Thats funny. I hate it when someone parks right on the white line so that you have no choice but to squeeze yourself out of your truck or worse yet you come out of the store and there is a car that has you wedged in.

I'm also the guy that parks right next to the jackass at the store that wants to straddle the white line and take up two parking spots just so he can protect his little honda accord! well since i got the Rhino anyway. Just so you know, i'm out there getting those "Close Parkers" back for ya.

 

Chalk another one up for Toyota quality.....................if these trucks were any heavier they would get 15 mpg......................

 

What's wrong with Toyota quality or are you just making your usual nonsensical observations?

 

I had a little dent on the roof of the cab. Went out and bought one of those suction-cup dent removers at the local autoparts store. It was around $5 and it popped the dent right out with no signs that it was ever there.