exterior door panel

[tcpoob]

05 4wd sr5 v6

is the exterior door panel (both front and rear, if it makes a diff) one piece or two? if two, is the lower piece metal or plastic, or plastic covered metal? i saw some earlier 4th gen (only sport edition?) with the whole lower piece looking like plastic - perhaps to protect dings and dents. not sure if they stopped making those or those were mods after purchase on the 4th gen.

i got some moderate scratches on the passenger side, both front and rear, from either a shopping cart and/or some arse opening their door too wide and hitting mine.

 

[sharp4runr]

They are two piece. I spoke to the member Prozac who had one of the pieces replaced. They are a painted plastic similar to your bumper but not as strong.

The early 2003 models came with the unpainted panels on the SR5 and Sport Editions. In mid-2003 all the 4runners came with the color matched body cladding.

 

[tcpoob]

thanks for the info. so the top piece is metal, right? i don't mind the bottom piece being (painted) plastic as over time it's probably gonna take lot of beating and i dont have to worry about rust from scratch. is the this reason it's made of plastic or more the cheaper cost for the manuf?

They are two piece. I spoke to the member Prozac who had one of the pieces replaced. They are a painted plastic similar to your bumper but not as strong.

The early 2003 models came with the unpainted panels on the SR5 and Sport Editions. In mid-2003 all the 4runners came with the color matched body cladding.

 

[Uneek]

thanks for the info. so the top piece is metal, right? i don't mind the bottom piece being (painted) plastic as over time it's probably gonna take lot of beating and i dont have to worry about rust from scratch. is the this reason it's made of plastic or more the cheaper cost for the manuf?

The top is metal. The bottom or the cladding, being plastic is probably for both reasons you've stated.