Bumper Gap Fixes int he works, 2019 Limited

Bumper Gap while in GA last week, I found some issues, not known to me at first.
But, Passenger side bracket holding bumper was cracked on one side, and missing attachment screw closest to tire.
The bracket that goes under the passenger headlight, GONE.
Headlight assembly was replaced apparently. It has a different adjustment screw color, silver vice a cold galvanized look.
So, took bumper off today, and the brackets under the headlight I ordered were wrong, if the drivers side is correct. Supposedly when you have a bumper sensor, this bracket is different? No idea.
I ordered the new brackets for TSB to fix bumper. You can see the differences. The new one looks like it is sunk in a little to allow velcro to sit in and not push bumper out as old brackets would due to thickness.
Also, how does this foam piece fit in the bumper, as it fell out when I pulled the bumper? And where the blue circle is, does something go there?
So, let me know what you all think. I will fix it next weekend when I get back from travel again.

 

I fixed the bumper using all new brackets, via TSB. Drivers side is perfect for me, passenger has a little gap. Its not the bumper, its the fender is bent in just a tad..
I will live with it.
Last pic is drivers side before.
1st pic is drivers side fixed, second/third are passenger side.

 

Nice. On mine the little clips on the bumper side were broken so they wouldn't go into the black brackets. I also did the TSB yesterday. Hoping it works

 

After driving 4 miles, passenger side popped.
Very unfortunate. I am trying to like this car, but with OCD on repairs etc, its rubbing me raw.
The two tabs that lock into the bracket just have very little bite. On the side of the bumper towards the tire, it bites hard. You feel it when you pull bumper off.
Its flexible plastic, and flexes it does.
If this was metal, or much more rigid, and the bumper teeth that go in were more of a lockable design, I wouldnt be having this issue.
So, conclusion, if yours ever pops due to damage, (Mine apparently was), then sell it.. If you care about the looks..

 

No thanks! Cosmetic stuff is a ton less important than the alternative unreliability and constant mechanical and electrical issues right off the new car lot. Been there, done that enough times to know better. If you want to be mad at 4Runners because yours is damaged…sell it and go buy a dirty nasty Jeep that will live in a service bay while the 4runner’s new owner puts a small self-tapping screw in the bumper cover and drives it for twenty five problem-free years.

 

LOL, I am more frustrated right now. Already had a Jeep. It was in a few times. Broken roof, wheel sensor, window regulator, dash went out.....

 

The TSB to "secure" the bumper better just doesnt do well. The parts that are secured to the bumper are secured better than the bumper to the cars fenders etc.
I think the mold keeps a certain tension once product is finished, and, it just pops out due to tension and weak little finger nail clips to bracket. Bracket is weak do, very easy to flex it where the clips go in..
I am going to teach my grand kids to lightly push bumper back in whenever we park.. Make it a habit.

 

It's true. Infloowed the twb ans the right side still pops out.....irritating

 

Check the "nubs" on the bumper. It's supposed to stay clip into the bracket. Its easy to wear it out. Since that area of the bumper gets soft, it flexes away from the bracket as you drive causing the bumper to pop out. I remedied this by putting something directly under the "nub" to keep tension upwards into the bracket. Hasn't popped out since. I even banged on it from the front. Holds like a champ.

FYI, I had some extra electrical wire laying around so I just cut a small piece off and used that. Forgot the gauge tho. I suggest hot glue since it'll stay in place as you put the bumper back on.

 

So you glued some wire in front of the nub, so when it clicks in, it pulls tighter? Trying to get a visual.
I used a solid piece of plastic to the bracket, forcing the part it clips into to hold steady, as it flexes too.
I drew a line, on the old bracket, which is above the new bracket. This is where I put a piece of plastic. It pushes against this by wedging between fender and bracket.

 

my issue is the knubs on the bumper itself its been bent so many times that it slips out,

 

I am sure a fix will come out later to address the flexing and wearing out of the nubs. A epoxy on the knubs, maybe a steel bumper? Being a little OCD..
Or maybe a new bumper, and reinforce the mounting areas, nubs, and such..

 

The nub is on the bumper. Not the bracket.
Same nubs that @aRabidLunatic is talking about.

To help you visualize, I put a quick diagram together.
Diagram is when viewed looking DOWN the side of the car. Not looking at the side.
Goal is to fill up the yellow gap so that the bumper stays clipped into the bracket.

 

There is A Toyota fix for it. It involves velcro.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10176697-9999.pdf

 

Gotcha. I see where you filled in the space to make it push up. I was putting something above the bracket to push down. Yours is better.

 

Yep, thats what I did. Doesnt work.. Its a wet band aid if anything. Tension, and weak clips are causing it pop. Fix someone uses above looks like it will work great. I will give it a try when I get back from Travel.

 

My passenger side wants to keep doing this:


I can push it back in, and it sort of stays. When the bumper heats up in the sun, that's when it wants to push out a bit. It seems to me the bumper itself has changed shape somewhat since new...it's almost like if I could heat up the bumper somewhat and reform it so that corner is more in, that would keep it in place...

There has to be a real fix that doesn't involve velcro. I read the suggestions by @EC15 above, but never having had my bumper off, they don't register with me what he's referring to...

 

I was thinking of trying this. Pop it in, then hair dryer in that area where it curves to the side. Maybe help take some tension off.

 

It needs mechanical bite on the tabs. If you remove tension it will most certainly help. Sitting in the sun does just that...Have to be careful temperature you put on it.
I was thinking, before this write up, to pull bumper off and scrape the inside down and thin it out, so it will lose tension. It was a thought.

 

Do not thin out anything.. That's where the problem started. The tension gets lost and it keeps popping out.
If I still had the old truck, I'd take pictures to post.
I am not taking the bumper off the new truck right now and risk wearing out the mount portion on the bumper.

 

The problem, at least in my situation, was the design of the bracket.
In the picture below, the red highlights the actual bumper grab points of the bracket. This is where the nubs on the bumper clips onto.
The problem is the empty yellow area. Since there isn't anything there to keep tension up against the bumper, it gives the bumper sort of an escape path to pop out. As I mentioned earlier, the goal is to put something in the yellow area to push the bumper up so it stays in the bracket.

I initially bought a new bracket in hopes of fixing this. After comparing new bracket to old bracket.... it wasn't the bracket. The fault was in the design of how it mounts.

If the bracket on the bottom half of the picture is a revised design, you can see how Toyota added additional support where the yellow area is.

 

Very good drawing. It does show the weak spot. Toyota should have made the area thicker, stronger material to reduce all flex, and made the attachments clips stronger, or more. When mine comes off again, I will look into working your ideas into it. Right now, the car is going to sit for two weeks while away. It is in the garage, with velcro ( adhesive holding the velcro on), and painters tape with some material under it to hold the bumper in place, as if you were lightly pushing on it. Its in my garage.

 

I just noticed something. On both sides of the truck, the fenders are pushed in ever so slightly.. Hmm.
Someone had mentioned to me that the fenders may need to be pulled out a little.
Just a thought, look at the heavy blued section, then under the headlight where the light blue marks are, to see if they are ever so slightly pushed in. This is drivers side.

 

I think the fender area looks fine. The problem, IMO, is keeping the bumper corner pushed in to match.

I'm wondering if you could epoxy a piece of sheet metal reinforcement to the back side of the bumper cover at that corner to keep it shaped correctly...

 

The velcro isnt holding. Even the fender screw with new side bracket isnt holding. The geometry changed with mew brackets. Someone mentioned the washer may be pulling it, the fender back towards tires, if that makes sense. Drivers side is still good.
I am going back to the house and ser if anything is obvious

 

Okay, I went full redneck engineer.
I used zip ties and pulled the bumper in. I removed a clip from the chrome part of the bumper that holds it to the bumper. Pics might show it better. I then pulled zip tie to a metal bracket near windshield washer jug. Pulled and it pulled bumper cover in.