Flapping wheel well splash guard on 2023 4R SR5 Premium 4x4

Hello everyone. I wish I had a better experience to share since this is my first post. I bought a used 2023 SR5 Premium 4x4 with only 22k miles from a local dealership a few days ago for my wife. We drove separately on the 50 mile trip home with it and when we got home, I expected to hear how much she loved it, but instead said that it's making a weird noise in the right front wheel area around 60 mph and that she was so scared the whole way home. My heart sank since I had just handed over $40k... I jumped in and test drove it and heard the sound as well. It came and went as I turned the steering. All kinds of thoughts were rushing through my head (one was picturing the "As Is" release form) and I was kicking myself for not finding this before buying it a few hours earlier. I test drove it at the dealership, but regrettably, I didn't get on the freeway at high speed and only drove it around the dealership like a dummy. Arriving back home, I crawled underneath to look for something obvious and noticed that the front lower section of the plastic splash shield that surrounds the passenger front right wheel well was hanging down. The two screws that attaches the lower section and the front bumper cover to a bracket were missing so at high speeds, the wind forces the lower part of the splash shield back, causing it to rub the tire. I was actually relieved that this was the issue vs something more serious. I also found several loose screws (I could turn with my fingers) that attach the lower part of the front bumper cover. The bumper cover was loose also and I noticed it was shifted a little below the right headlight and overlaps overlaps the right front fender by about 1/16". Carfax reports that there were no prior accidents. I made an appointment at the dealership tomorrow since it's still under warranty (I'm thankful for that), but does the warranty cover damage caused by loose or missing screws? This seems like a manufacturer's defect to me. Is this a fairly common issue? Sorry for the long post.

 

Welcome from Arizona.
Hopefully your dealer has enough pride in his business that he will gladly fix the problem,good luck.

 

Welcome. Unfortunately, CarFax or the others don't always report accidents.