Toyota Quality?

[KevinG]

I finally took my truck into the dealer to get the new driver's side fender flare ordered as discussed above. I asked about getting the 4 mud flaps painted at the same time and was quoted a price of $90 PER FLAP!

Wow. I haven't done much body work before, but this definitely seemed crazy high to me. Anyone with more painting experience care to comment on the price - just out of curiosity?

Once the roads are cleared of the snow and salt mix in a month or two, I may well take off the mud flaps anyway. I don't like the look of them, but do appreciate the functionality since the snow mix has been so bad lately.

You can save yourself some money by doing the prep work yourself. Degrease,degrease and degrease again. After that, wet sand with 600 grit paper until all of the "gloss" is gone from the flaps. You can use a grey Scotchbrite pad to get areas missed when wet sanding but be careful not to create gouges in the plastic as any metallic flake or pearl that is in the base coat will sit awkwardly in the grooves and look horrible. After that, degrease them a few more times, as the oil from your hands can cause fish eyes as well. You will probably be able to have them painted for about a quarter of the cost you were quoted...I was going to paint mine, but plan on removing them as soon as the weather is nice and the roads are clear.

 

[JasonCz]

You can save yourself some money by doing the prep work yourself. Degrease,degrease and degrease again. After that, wet sand with 600 grit paper until all of the "gloss" is gone from the flaps. You can use a grey Scotchbrite pad to get areas missed when wet sanding but be careful not to create gouges in the plastic as any metallic flake or pearl that is in the base coat will sit awkwardly in the grooves and look horrible. After that, degrease them a few more times, as the oil from your hands can cause fish eyes as well. You will probably be able to have them painted for about a quarter of the cost you were quoted...I was going to paint mine, but plan on removing them as soon as the weather is nice and the roads are clear.

Great tips!

I think I may paint mine.

 

[Scuba6]

You can save yourself some money by doing the prep work yourself. Degrease,degrease and degrease again. After that, wet sand with 600 grit paper until all of the "gloss" is gone from the flaps. You can use a grey Scotchbrite pad to get areas missed when wet sanding but be careful not to create gouges in the plastic as any metallic flake or pearl that is in the base coat will sit awkwardly in the grooves and look horrible. After that, degrease them a few more times, as the oil from your hands can cause fish eyes as well. You will probably be able to have them painted for about a quarter of the cost you were quoted...I was going to paint mine, but plan on removing them as soon as the weather is nice and the roads are clear.

Definitely good tips - thanks. Like you, if I remove them as weather permits, then the need to paint goes away. I think I'll move the painting project a little farther to the back burner and maybe work to find a smaller body shop for the eventual painting.

 

[KevinG]

Harper would know best how they are secured, as he has removed them all at least once :bigok: From the thousands of vehicles that I have taken apart, his description of the factory application is spot on. I too wonder if they have been R&I'd improperly but the pictures that people have posted of the excessive gap are pretty consistent. Typically, you will not see almost identical quality (or lack thereof) repair on such a small sample set. It is very strange that it appears to be some sort of adhesive other than 2 sided foam tape to secure the very top. It would be easier to find the root cause if they were completely removed, revealing what points of attachment were actually there. If anyone happens to get their hands on one that is replaced (so you don't get accused of causing the problem), I would be interested in seeing what it looks like.

 

[Scuba6]

If anyone happens to get their hands on one that is replaced (so you don't get accused of causing the problem), I would be interested in seeing what it looks like.

I would think they'd let me keep the one that's coming off the truck. If that's the case, I'll take some pictures and provide whatever info I can. The work should be done early next week.

 

[KevinG]

I would think they'd let me keep the one that's coming off the truck. If that's the case, I'll take some pictures and provide whatever info I can. The work should be done early next week.

Ok...they may tell you that the only way that they get paid from Toyota is to send them the defective part. Probably true but a high volume dealer may let you keep it. At least ask them if you can take some pictures

 

[Will733]

I just saw a little gap on my driverside front flare too (after seeing this thread I had to check).

It's very minor that I could only see it cause I was really looking for it specifically. Just what the picture showed... a small gap where you can see some glue-ish material seperating.

I'll just keep an eye on it and see how it's doing just before my 3yr 30k mile warranty is up.