GR Corolla | Broken Grill Clips? | NEVER AGAIN | Problem Solved

[@CarQuicks]

I literally just came back from a road trip to the East Coast from Texas. When I got to NJ I noticed the grille tabs were broken again. I did have one replaced under warranty Ty, but I’m at 37K+ miles, so I highly doubt they’ll give me another. I also was running the Aeroflow Dynamics front lip and everything you said about downforce I thought the same thing. With the air pushing down on the front bumper, I could see how that added stress would break the tabs. - This solution is genius! I’m going to do the same thing, I probably won’t even bother with getting a replacement or I might buy a new one and do it. - But THANKS for showing this! The added straps and screws was very smart too! Great video!

[@jimsgaragetoys]

Perfect, I want it to help a lot of GRC owners. I think that it would work if you didn't replace it but having a new one would make me feel better. I'm hoping that people will see this and start to do this before they have any issues.

[@andrewmerrick601]

I just hit 30 cakes over the weekend. I am not sure how many people are this far along, but I got mine last June..... thats a lotta miles

[@jimsgaragetoys]

@@andrewmerrick601 30 cakes?

[@andrewmerrick601]

@@jimsgaragetoys 30Ks/ 30 thousand miles (idk i started saying cakes in my head just cause)

[@jimsgaragetoys]

@@andrewmerrick601 I figured that's what you meant but wasn't certain.

[@RJ1987JRLJ]

Thanks for the Video Jim! Where did you bought your forge front bumper lip, looks awesome 😎

[@jimsgaragetoys]

Thanks! It's actually the CF lip from ExtremeOnlineStore.com and the link is in the description below the video. I have all of my mods and links listed there. Since I had matte forged CF pieces on my car I wrapped the lip with some vinyl that matched. I did a video on that too.

[@NMTDevastator]

Possible to do this without taking the bumper off from the outside? Mine has about a 1/4" gap so some clips must be broken, but don't want to deal with the dealer

[@jimsgaragetoys]

If you aren't going to replace your broken grill you could do it from the front with grill still on. You could get screws in through the top of the grill into the bumper but you couldn't get on in the middle hidden location unless you removed the bumper. I would recommend that you remove the bumper and replace the grill but do this to prevent it from happening again.

[@bbb4019]

I like the horn relocation u did for the velossatech. I did the same but used zip ties! I haven’t had this bumper issue yet but I suppose am doomed to eventually. I’ll probably find some way to help support those clips, ideally without removing anything to this degree

[@jimsgaragetoys]

Thanks! I prefer to not use zip ties if I can help it. Just adding the extension bar to drop the horn word perfectly. I think that over time most people will have issues with the grill clips unless they don't enjoy triple digit runs and/or add a splitter lip that adds downforce, but it sure makes a difference! It really isn't that hard to remove the bumper to gain proper access to the area.

[@LoveLikeaHurricane]

on the fk8 Type R same thing. Fix for that is to use some cut up cloth hanger sticks and zip ties behind the grill to add strength

[@jimsgaragetoys]

All of these clips being made of plastic. I love seeing the creative fixes that people come up with.

[@porkchopspalace]

Thank you for this. Question: what thickness of tape is that? I have the 100k warranty. They won't replace it since I didn't notice mine until I was at about 60k miles. They said that won't cover any cosmetic items. Even though I asked 3 to 5 times before getting it if it was the same as the original warranty bumper to bumper. Of course the answer was yes. They seen a few scratches on my lower bumper and said I must of run over a curb or something. I'm like there's 70k miles on my car. I'm driving on the highway most of the time you don't think there's gonna be scratches. Anyways. At least they are replacing my head unit that's in a constant reboot cycle. I asked how much for the grill they said close to 800. I'm like I mean not you installing it. How much for the part. Oh that's like 300$ I'm like 500 for service. Wow. And these guys know I do all my own service. Like I'd put my own head unit in if it wasn't a warranty thing.

[@jimsgaragetoys]

Yep, $300 for a new grill. I left the link to the 3M tape I used in the description below the video. If you do what I did when you replace it you should be in much better shape. I didn't get an extended warranty because I've never really needed one on a Toyota, and when I hear things like this, I figure that they only cover major things. That's weird about your head unit, that's the first I've heard of that. Hoping that the aftermarket comes out with a 12" widescreen unit for the 23+ Corolla like they have for the 2019-22 models. I love how those look so much better.

[@porkchopspalace]

Yeah I usually get the 100k warranty just in case of drive train issues mostly. But at first I didn't hear anything about the head unit having issues. But then I started hearing people talk about how mine all started. Then I looked online more with other toyotas that use the same infotainment system and then I found quite a lot about it. I made a quick video about it on my channel. It's the only video on there so far. But I heard others with higher mileage talking about how mine started. Like if you have your phone plugged in to the USB port for apple car play or android auto and bump the cord it can cause it to lose connection. Or quick few reboots at first of the software when you first start up. Then the quick few times ended up turning into 5 mins, then 10 mins, then 15 mins, then it could take 30 mins. I tried a few things I found online with no help. Another forum talked about unplugging the battery for 30 mins. Did that. Now the software won't even boot up. Just get the Toyota symbol then the warning screen screen about using it while driving. Then reboots again. Never get the actually infotainment software to boot anymore.

[@jimsgaragetoys]

@@porkchopspalace That's wild. I haven't heard of any issues but I haven't looked around for them either. It would be nice to see some aftermarket options become available. Thanks for the info.

[@liudxdx]

will you be able to share the warranty information with us? I don't want to make a trip to the dealership and get rejected. Thank you

[@jimsgaragetoys]

There really is nothing to share. I had to go to the dealer so they could inspect it and see that the grill clips were broken. When they verified that they were broken, he took pictures and set up an appointment for me to have it replaced. They said they would order the part. You will have to go to the dealer and speak to the person that handles these warranty claims for the dealer if you want them to replace it for free. To me there is no real reason to deny it other than an accident. That's what the guy said that looked at my car, he just wanted to make sure there was no damage from it being hit.

[@porkchopspalace]

Also I think I might just try to epoxy my clips back on cause they never actually fell out and just do this maybe with an extra screw or 2. Cause I don't think those clips are really doing much. Especially when you get up to 125mph.

[@jimsgaragetoys]

If you are going to epoxy the clips back on I would use a little epoxy between the grill and bumper to strengthen it more. Adding the screws like I did is also a great idea. Mine is so solid now and I have one more thing that I'm going to do but I'll wait to show it until I receive it and get it install. This will be a game changer. 😉

[@andrewmerrick601]

How is this not a recall? Toyota denied me saying its likely they will blame it on scraping. Seems like many people are experiencing this issue.

[@jimsgaragetoys]

I agree, this is a design issue but many are being rejected due to possible damage that could have caused it. The dealer told me that was why they had to see the car, to make sure there was no damage that could have caused it. If you can I would try another dealer, if not just order one yourself and do this so it never happens again. The main cause of this is poor design and downforce with speed and splitter lips causing more downforce. It should be designed to handle these forces. I've since found several other cars that experience similar problems so it's no just Toyota. The problem is the use of plastic that isn't reinforced.

[@andrewmerrick601]

@@jimsgaragetoys Thank you for the feedback sir. I am waiting to see if someone comes up with an aftermarket solution. I don't really like the honeycomb, I rather have an opening with a net to keep the debris off the inter cooler. For now, good ol' zip ties have kept me looking good.

[@jimsgaragetoys]

@@andrewmerrick601 I like the idea of adding a mesh net of some sort inside the honeycomb to keep debris off the IC too, but I'm okay with the honeycomb design. I'm not a fan of using zip ties if I can help it. I think of them as just a temporary fix and I wanted to do something that would last. It would be interesting if the aftermarket did come out with some type of improvement.

[@andrewmerrick601]

@@jimsgaragetoys Me neither haha, but its the only solution I have for now until I figure out a way to reinforce it or replace it with a stronger design. I am terrified of these bumper clips, I had a regular LE I never got back to stock fitment. New bumper and new brackets all around, it just didn't wanna fall back in place (the bumper edges would always pop back out after some time) Knowing this is the same design... makes me not even wanna think about removing the bumper.

[@jimsgaragetoys]

@@andrewmerrick601 That's wild, I've never had an issue getting my bumper to go back on and fit right. I've found that most times people don't have something lined up right causing the issue when they put it back on.