Door Edge Guards removal & Factory Paint?

Firstly, I did use the forum title search function and couldn’t really find an answer to my question.

Secondly, Hello. New member here from the Northern LP of Michigan. We are former 4th Gen 4Runner owners, and have been looking to buy a new 5th Gen since June.

Well we’ve settled on waiting for a 2022 model (either a SR-5 Premium or OR-P). However, the last 3 or 4 units our local dealerships have shown us in allocation all have Door Edge Guards. I presume this is a regional dealership issue.

I’d rather not have them as they seem like a good place for road salt to settle & hide.

My concern is that these can’t be removed without some scratching of the factory paint. I know it seems silly to pass up a $44k vehicle over a $70 option, but I hate the idea of having scratches on a brand new vehicle.

Has anyone removed their Door Edge Guard? And if so was there any damage to the paint?

 

Hair dryer and patience or judicial use of a heat gun should work fine to remove edge guard. Go to youtube and search how to. jm2c

 

Yes, all that shit can be easily removed by a good detail guy who knows what he is doing.

Depending on how those guards are designed and how long they’ve been on, they may have already scratched or etched the paint where they are attached.

 

The edge guards just pulled off my Tacoma. I didn’t use heat, and they left no residue. No idea if that is normal. I didn’t have them on the 4Runner

 

This☝️is my exact concern. I’d hate to find this out after purchasing.

 

A concern worth having were it a used vehicle. New, not nearly as likely, but anythings possible.

 

I've seen Door Edge Guard glued to the paint in time of an older Yukon (parked outside in MD). Uncle ask me to see if it can be replaced but it looked impossible to remove without paint damage.

 

My dad had a very old first generation Tacoma that he bought from a Gulf States Toyota dealer in Mississippi that had ugly ass chrome door guards and one and one of them got ripped off at a car wash, it took the paint with it.

 

https://allfitautomotive.com/blog/how-to-remove-door-edge-trim/
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funny, I just removed mines this past monday.. had the 4R for 8 months now.. it was a hot day in the bay and I just pulled them off very slow.. spontaneous decision, lol..no paint damage at all but I did give it a wash later that day when it cooled off so that way you could not see the edge trim pattern placement..

 

I am the opposite I ordered mine with the door edge guards but my garage is tight.

I live in MI also but downstate but unlike yourself will not drive mine in winter.

Overall though I think they look nice on the silver ORP. They are really on there super tight. Obviously I cannot speak to if salt would or would not impact the door in the long run.

I would take a look at one up close if you can and maybe you might change your mind. Either way wishing you the best with your new ride to come.

 

my 2016 runner has the door edge guards and there is no issue .. white vehicle white door edge guards...
the front end of my runner has a plastic paint protection for rock salt throwing at the protection of the paint ..
my runner looks like new ...purchased it in july 2016...
Toyota black plastic breaks down now ... exterior plastic does not have UV protection ..

 

Tell the dealership you would be very interested in buying if they could remove the door edge guards. The body shop at the dealership should be able to remove them in no time, without any damage. If that's what it's takes to make a sale they might be more than willing to make it happen. Give it a try, all they can say is no, then you say you're going to look at some other vehicles. I understand your concerns about the salt though.

 

The last time I checked, the optional door edge guards do not come installed on the vehicle and are simply snapped on by the tech during the PDI. (Same with the rear roof rack caps.) You might want to ask the dealer about that. BTW, Since they're plastic, they really don't damage the paint much, if at all, even if installed.

 

When my tundra LunaRock Pro was being built I was able to have the dealership remove them from the build. I did not want them. No need for them and a pain in the ass when detailing my truck. So if they come on your new truck I would remove them right away since there probably won’t be any scratches or residue.

 

Yeah my dealer told me the edge guards, running boards, and cross rails were put on at port. My guess is they could delete if it’s not there yet worth a shot if you want

 

I did not add on the door edge guards with my order but they were added on at the port anyways. As I look at them, I don't see how salt could get in there because it almost looks like they are 3M taped on and they are tight. With that being said, a simple heat gun will get those off with no problems. If you are gonna do it though, I would do it right away.

 

I took mine off a few weeks ago. peeled off easy on a hot day. Then some goo gone on a rag cleaned up the minor residue. Zero issues took no time at all.

 

Awesome. Thank you guys for all the informative replies. My salesman at our nearest dealership says he checked with his service tech, and he was advised that they can come off cleanly.

With that said we just put a deposit down on a 2022 SR5 Premium 4WD in Classic Silver.

 

Oh thats awesome. You should take possession of it around Fall of 2024.

 

LoL. Hoping it’s not that long. I was advise it hit the post on 10/6, but has to sit for a 2 week hold.

 

Cool. Hope that happens. Nightmare stories on Tacoma threads.
My buddy ordered the new Bronco July 2020. He JUST got it.

2 week hold? Making sure your 4runner is covid free?

 

The door guards are normally a port install on new vehicles - part of the premium package (item on configuration is D5). I have them on my MGM '17 ORP. They match the paint so much that you don't even notice them. The vehicle has 49K miles and was a daily driver on the interstate to/from work for 3 1/2 years in North East Ohio (Read that as liberally salted roads whenever the roads are wet or snow covered when it's cold - a lot of lake effect snow). I haven't seen any problems with salt/dirt infiltration or rust.