Gap in Front Bumper - any reliable fix?

Hi All. Recently joined after lurking for awhile; great forum here. Wanted to get the latest thinking from the group on the dreaded front bumper gap, as mentioned in the TSB here.

1.) I have a 2016 4Runner Limited. First noticed a gap on my passenger side below the headlights after inspecting a body shop's repair of my front bumper following a very minor collision. It may have been there before the collision -- but I had never noticed it. The shop told me it was likely due to my insurance only paying for an after-market bumper for the repair.

2.) I complained to my insurance company, who offered to have the work re-done with an OEM front bumper. When I picked up the vehicle the second time (w/ the OEM bumper installed), the gaps on both sides looked good... but after a few weeks of driving, I noticed the gap again.

3.) After some Googling, I learned of the TSB, and the various threads online indicating that this is a common issue (leading me to wonder if the gap had always been there -- but only something I noticed after inspecting the body shop's repairs).

My Question to the group: is this there any reliable fix for this issue that doesn't involve some home-brew jerry-rigging? I'm at the point that if the consensus is that "this can't easily be fixed for the long-term", I can mentally resign myself to no longer let it annoy me. Pictures of the driver side (good) and the passenger side (with the gap) attached.

 

It’s not normal. Had the same issue. The body shop fixed it for me. Not sure what they did. They said something about needing a new bracket .

 

Seems when that happens, it's usually the passenger side, but a friend of mine's 2018 SR5 has it on both sides, and considerably worse than yours. He must not mind, and I'm not going to say anything, but it would bug me. My passenger side is slightly out like that also, and I too have been searching for a real fix, but no luck so far.

In my case, I feel like the bumper right at that point under the headlight needs to be heated and reshaped, but I don't want to mess up the paint.

I also feel like there must be a way to attach something to the back side of that spot to pull the bumper in, but haven't really found a way to do that either.

 

There is a grey plastic bracket on each side that the upper corner of the bumper snaps into. Those brackets are bolted into the sheet metal. After my deer hit it has not been the same, even though I took it back and after they adjusted it, it still wanders off. I replaced those brackets on my own and spent a bunch of time adjusting it, but the gaps are still not perfect. The is no wiggle room on either the brackets, the bumper clips or the sheet metal, so its difficult. I suspect that part of it is my bumper is not an OEM part, but a CAPA "certified" part, so not quite the same.

 

Would you happen to have any photos of the back side of the bumper, especially the brackets you mention that snap into the body clips?

 

A little white lightening should fix it right up

 

No reliable fix. TSB does not work. The plastic tabs on the bumper cover do not remain at 90 degrees and become pliable. They need some type of stiffening.

I cut some angled aluminum and used an adhesive to stiffen them. It works but my original cover was perfect, after I hit a turkey the replacement Toyota cover was the one that had problems. I am going back to the body shop next month for them to replace it again. The brackets underneath are a new part number and are slightly different but I see no difference in where the tab on the cover clips into them.

Genuine Toyota or OEM covers have the same problem.

 

Mine does this on the passenger side. I have to give it a firm hit and it goes back to the way it should be. Unfortunately, it pops back out pretty soon after. I wonder if something like this is covered under warranty?

 

Probably, but the 'fix' doesn't turn out to be much of a fix, from what I've read. Check out the TSB referenced above.

 

Part #20 is what I replaced (both sides) and it didn't do much.

 

it's a joke that Toyota hasn't been able to fix this.

 

I've wanted to pull off the bumper cover to see if something can be attached to the back at the circled points below (which are where these don't stay put), to attach some way to pull that back in. However, every time I think about it, I get cold feet thinking I just may make matters worse by removing and re-attaching the cover...it's a no win situation.



The sad thing is, you hear about people pulling off that cover all the time, with no mention of it not lining up again upon reinstallation. Or, maybe it doesn't, and it just doesn't matter to some.

 

I pulled my bumper cover off to hack it up for a low profile bumper install. I didn't notice the issue until I read about it in other threads - I know my passenger side pops out but not sure about driver side. I also don't know if it was doing it before I removed the cover but sounds like you guys that haven't removed it have the issue too.

I have popped the passenger side back in several times, it just requires a little push. But it only stays for a few minutes before it pops back out

 

I appreciate all the replies. Puts my mind at ease that I haven't taken it to the body shop (for the third time!) -- which I now firmly believe would be a waste of time, effort, and coordination, since hardly anyone has had a fix that works over the long haul (aside from the first reply above).

 

I suppose in some rare cases the body-mounted bracket may be defective, and replacing that may work. But not for many.

 

I have the same problem, passenger side, after a very minor front fender bump. rest of the bumper is good, but can't get this thing to stay in. tried to apply some epoxy on the back side, shoving it up in there with my finder. It held for 3 months and then popped out again. Looking for new ideas.

 

Me too, I have it.

 

I replied last year when this thread came up, but still haven't done anything to "fix" this. When it's cooler out, mine stays put. Temp goes up, it comes back out a bit. I think I've just learned to live with it, sorry to say.

@Matt83 - did you ever find a solution?

 

For those that are able to at least temporarily push the corners back into place... Seems like if one were to goop-up a bunch of 5-minute epoxy and work it into *exactly* the right spot, it would hold the corners in tight. We just need to find that spot.

 

I took my bumper cover off and it lined up exactly like it did when I reinstalled it. Which is to say, with the same misalignment it had since new lol.

Instead of trying to come up with a way to make the bumper cover stay snapped all the way to the corners,
I wonder if a better strategy is to lightly hammer out the body panel that holds the clip, so that it meets the bumper where it wants to naturally be.

 

Opportunity knocks! Great project for a new light weight aluminum bumper. Sell it on safety and looks, she'll approve it.

 

They don't make a bumper, aluminum or steel, that replaces that part of the stock bumper cover, so you will definitely get a nicer bumper, but still have that protrusion.

And, she doesn't care. I'm the only one who sees it.

 

Interesting theory, but wouldn't the end result be the same as it is now? Those two panels still not flush...

Did you have the bumper cover off for that reason, or because of something else?

 

Lol, I was going to say the same thing, even though it feels wrong to throw out a justification for a steel bumper.

Ironically I did see a 4runner once that had a steel bumper that replaced all of the bumper cover. But it kinda looked bad. It’s harder to make a steel bumper have a good looking transition when itbhas to follow the seam lines of original bumper cover. Heck, Toyota can’t even do it with the molded plastic covers!

 

It's very odd that most of the issues with this are on the passenger side. Although a co-worker has a 2018 SR5 that both sides do this, way more than any I've seen. I'd have replaced that bumper cover years ago, but he doesn't even notice.

 

I was just spitballing with my idea on hammering out the body panel slightly…but it might work if done very carefully. It’s because the cover wants to pull off the end of the plastic bracket that holds it. The plastic bracket is hard mounted to the steel panel. If the steel panel can be shaped in a way that pushes the end of the plastic bracket out (towards the direction the cover wants to go), then maybe the cover wont have tension pulling it out.

Probably a job for a good body man though…since I’m not sure if that might ruin other lines elsewhere.

edit: Oh, yeah I get what you’re saying. But I think a slight adjustment may relieve tension at the expense of a perfect joint…but maybe it would slightly improve the misalignment. Probably not even worth the effort though…

edit 2: I had the bumper cover off to cut it up when I was installing my winch bumper.

 

You see a lot of high end cars with bumper covers that have multiple round body colored caps along the length of the bumper, presumably covering fasteners. If I could figure a way to put a screw or something like that, and have an MGM painted cap, I might consider doing that. But, which looks worse - misaligned body panels or a plug to hold one side in...?

If I could just get hold of a bumper cover off a wrecked 4R, I'd figure out a way to attach some wire to the back side of the panel to pull it in. I've seen someone's writeup on doing that, but I couldn't quite follow what he was saying...and couldn't really see what his photos were showing.

 

Hmm, are those caps perhaps the little covers for the parking sensors? Maybe you could look for those…but sometimes those parts are sold unpainted, so you’d need to match the paint depending on how accurate you want it. Regardless, it might look odd being so close to a corner of a panel.

I remember the post detailing the fix you’re referring to. It’s probably the cleanest way I’ve seen, but it is what you would call “custom” work, and needs a little thinking time to do it right.

There’s also the potential of making things A LOT worse…like when I forgot to disconnect the front radar when I first tried to take off the bumper cover! That wouldnhave been an epic disaster had I not caught myself lol.

 

I have this on my passenger side, it drives me a little crazy. I usually give it a whack when Im walking by and notice it out. Doesnt stay in position long though.

 

Exactly. Mine is the same.