Front Bumper to Fender Separation

[Copp4]

I can't seem to figure out why the area where the bumper meets the fender keeps separating. The separation will vary from a 1/4" to 1/2". Its the seem between the two directly under the headlight.

You can pop it back into place, but it barely wants to stay together. Once you drive it, it will separate again.

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[RaisedByWolves]

I can't seem to figure out why the area where the bumper meets the fender keeps separating. The separation will vary from a 1/4" to 1/2". Its the seem between the two directly under the headlight.

You can pop it back into place, but it barely wants to stay together. Once you drive it, it will separate again.

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One of the retaining clips is likely partially or completely broken. Pull the bumper and inspect. Hopefully it's a partial deformation so you can repair or rebuild.

 

[Titanpat57]

someone hit something and didn't tell you...:fear:

 

[Simpleman74]

its your bumper trying to run away and make room for an aftermarket bumper!

 

[Copp4]

someone hit something and didn't tell you...:fear:

Idk...if so, there are no marks or indications of it. It's a 2014 with about 25k miles on it. It seems really weak in that area though. As in, not much support. Push slightly on the lower portion of the bumper and the two body parts easily move away from each other. This only happens on the left front. It doesn't do it on the other side.

I wish I had a schematic of the assembly and how the parts are supported or connected to the vehicle and each body part.

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[1engineer]

Idk...if so, there are no marks or indications of it. It's a 2014 with about 25k miles on it. It seems really weak in that area though. As in, not much support. Push slightly on the lower portion of the bumper and the two body parts easily move away from each other. This only happens on the left front. It doesn't do it on the other side.

I wish I had a schematic of the assembly and how the parts are supported or connected to the vehicle and each body part.

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It takes five minutes to pull the front cover.

 

[Copp4]

It takes five minutes to pull the front cover.

That's great. I'm not in a hurry as I don't feel it is the fault of the owner(wife or myself), but a defective part or assembly by Toyota.

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[MisplacedTexan]

Idk...if so, there are no marks or indications of it.

Mine does the same thing, but I'm the culprit. There's no marks or anything so aside from the gap you wouldn't know it got tore off.

Yup, I went out to try and recover a buddy, went around a hole, slid off the trail a bit and got stuck. When I got recovered myself the left portion of the bumper got hooked into some reeds and store free and folded all the way over to the headlight.

No scuffs, no crease mark, nothing. It just doesn't fit as tight.....annnnnd now I'm waiting to buy an ARB...maybe shrockworks... bumper

But there really isn't much holding it in there. Theres some tabs on the cover that fit into slots under the headlight, and a few screw/tabs that follow the fender over to the fender well.

 

[Copp4]

Mine does the same thing, but I'm the culprit. There's no marks or anything so aside from the gap you wouldn't know it got tore off.

Yup, I went out to try and recover a buddy, went around a hole, slid off the trail a bit and got stuck. When I got recovered myself the left portion of the bumper got hooked into some reeds and store free and folded all the way over to the headlight.

No scuffs, no crease mark, nothing. It just doesn't fit as tight.....annnnnd now I'm waiting to buy an ARB...maybe shrockworks... bumper

But there really isn't much holding it in there. Theres some tabs on the cover that fit into slots under the headlight, and a few screw/tabs that follow the fender over to the fender well.

Well at least mine isn't the only one. However this one hasn't been off-road, on a trail or ever been stuck. The bumper it has is fine(no intentions of upgrading it), it just makes no sense to why it is so weak in that area. Hopefully Toyota fixes it, as I do not feel I need to be responsible for the repair costs.

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[MisplacedTexan]

Well at least mine isn't the only one. However this one hasn't been off-road, on a trail or ever been stuck. The bumper it has is fine(no intentions of upgrading it), it just makes no sense to why it is so weak in that area. Hopefully Toyota fixes it, as I do not feel I need to be responsible for the repair costs.

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Best of luck with Toyota. I think my case may have been a little extreme, but looking at it I wouldn't expect it would take very much of anything to pull it out if you snagged it on something while backing up. I'm going with the aftermarket simply because I imagine that the bumper cover is going to cost 75-80% of what the ARB/Shrockworks/other bumpers cost.

 

[Copp4]

Best of luck with Toyota. I think my case may have been a little extreme, but looking at it I wouldn't expect it would take very much of anything to pull it out if you snagged it on something while backing up. I'm going with the aftermarket simply because I imagine that the bumper cover is going to cost 75-80% of what the ARB/Shrockworks/other bumpers cost.

I hear you, but I can pop it back into place, but it will not stay. Not sure what is broken behind it.

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[e60ral]

it's totally busted, there is no way to fix it. time to get a steel bumper, tell the wife you don't have a choice.

 

[05Rrunner]

Hi ,
Does anybody have the procedure for popping off this front bumper in like five minutes ?
Thanks

 

[Copp4]

it's totally busted, there is no way to fix it. time to get a steel bumper, tell the wife you don't have a choice.

You tell her. It won't happen. It's her vehicle. She wouldn't have any part of making it look rugged.

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[Icefroggyfrog]

I am trying to figure out why this is happening to my 2014 Limited. It pops right back in. No known accidents I am aware of (wife's primary vehicle). Didn't see any body damage on the front bumper that would indicate otherwise.

Any thoughts on how this could be fixed?

 

[Tisoy281]

I am trying to figure out why this is happening to my 2014 Limited. It pops right back in. No known accidents I am aware of (wife's primary vehicle). Didn't see any body damage on the front bumper that would indicate otherwise.

Any thoughts on how this could be fixed?

Bumping this up because I have the same issue on a certified pre-owned 2014 Limited that I got less than a month ago. Spoke with the salesman, and was told that the Texas heat causes the separation. (Bunch of BS, I know). He said their body guy would essentially just glue the bumper, but we would have the chance of it ripping paint off if it came separated again. Debating on taking it up to the sales manager and getting a new bumper cover put on.

 

[83Mule]

Bumper cover is around $220 unpainted. Mine is doing it too, and even gluing wont keep it on. The little tabs are too weak and the black retainer under the headlight that locks onto the bumper is just not locking on tightly enough. You can't even get behind the joint to screw it together either.

 

[hereinhelena]

I can't seem to figure out why the area where the bumper meets the fender keeps separating. The separation will vary from a 1/4" to 1/2". Its the seem between the two directly under the headlight.

You can pop it back into place, but it barely wants to stay together. Once you drive it, it will separate again.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

This is interesting - My 2017 TRD Pro has the opposite "problem". The gap (near the headlight is very tight (touching) on the passenger side - tight enough that the paint is abrading (if you look really closely). It is the only body panel gap that isn't perfectly uniform. I took it to the dealer - they said (after some discussion) it was covered under warrantee & sent me to a body shop. The body shop guys advised me to not touch it. They said that the tabs are prone to getting a loose fit if disturbed & may not reattach as firmly again if the panel is popped off. They offered to look at it - but said that may make things worse, & it is non-adjustable anyway. I wasn't sure whether to believe them, but decided, for better or worse, to leave it as-is.

 

[SR5Bart]

Toyota knows about this and I just had 2 new 4Runners (Limited and Trail) in the shop and had guys from Japan actually come out to see whats going on with them. Needles to say both of the 4Runners got new bumper covers. So Toyota is aware of the issue now I guess we wait n see.

 

[Tisoy281]

They're sending someone out today to pick up my 4runner and take it back to the dealership (1.5 hour drive). I'm definitely going to make sure that it's replaced and fixed correctly before they bring it back. Thanks for the info, guys.