TRD Grille swap panel alignment issue

This just bugs the crap out of me and flares my OCD. I've poo-pooed on other's people's threads asking about this, so I figured I'd start my own on the issue.

The entire grille swap process went smoothly until I reinstalled everything. The driver's side is perfect, but the bumper is forward of the bottom of the headlight on the passenger side by around 3/16". All the bolt holes and tabs lined up and went back together effortlessly - I didn't have to force anything. I peeked up behind there with a flashlight to investigate and there are no retention tabs or clips in this area below the headlight. There are just some slots in the headlight that the bumper plastic slides into (area circled in red), but they are not retention-style clips....they just locate the bumper and keep it up against the bottom of the headlight. There are three retention clips on this part of the bumper and they are all on the angled panel joint between bumper and fender (area circled in yellow). I can push the bumper back easily to make it line up - it just won't stay there. I used a ziptie to the frame in the little mesh opening to the right of it to pull it back into alignment but now I don't like the ziptie being there! I have a sickness, I know.

All this said, the damn thing might have been out of alignment to start with, but I just didn't notice because this is the first time I have removed the front-end and really examined things.

Can anyone else confirm if one side of theirs is this way? There is nothing behind it holding it out past the light so maybe the plastic is warped just a bit causing this? I loosened all the bolts holding the front-end on to relax everything to see if it would move into place before I retightened them, but that did nothing.

 

My passenger side on my 23' Platinum sticks forward as well, and has since new. You can push it in, it will stay for 5 seconds and then it will stay forward again. No mods to the bumper ever, it's just been that way. The fit and finish to the grille and headlights is also a disaster.... you can stick your pinky into the gap on the drivers side (between the mustache and headlight) and the passenger side is touching. The way the hood aligns with the upper mustache is also waaaay off. I brought it up to my dealer at its 15K service. They agreed its off and bad and told me to take it to a Body Shop of my choosing, get an estimate to get everything aligned and they will have Toyota Corp. pay for it. I don't know if its worth the headache or not.... For FUNZIES when I see another Tundra this gen, I check out their alignment and they are all over the place!....I've seen some Tundra's look spot on, and other way worse than mine! Just let your OCD chill, nothing is never perfect LOL

 

Man, thanks for taking the time to respond! I needed this. Maybe I need a Xanax prescription! LOL

 

Mines the same, has been since new. Fit isn't the best on these trucks. Gaps between headlights are uneven too. lol.

 

I seriously laughed at this because I have the exact same OCD. I took the bumper/grill off to put mesh screen over the intercoolers and noticed the same shit on the passenger side when I put the bumper back on. I had to take the whole thing off again and then put it back on only to realize I actually didn't fuck up the first time. It's just off a little under the headlight.

 

I'm starting to feel better now! It seems the consensus is that everyone's truck is out of alignment!! And mostly on the passenger side for whatever reason.

I wonder if there's enough wiggle in the headlight itself to loosen to bolts and shift it forward a smidge??

 

Damn, this made me go check mine. Mine is good on both sides & I've had it apart once. No issues here.

 

@Raven67

Take a pic straight down please. It may be the angle, but appears your bumper is forward of the headlight too (on both sides)?

 

Ok, I see, but that's not enough to even think about. I measured one tenth of an inch, both sides. We are talking about a mass produced Tundra, not a Bugatti.

 

LOL, thanks bud. I'm going to leave it and worry less!

 

I took my front bumper off the other day for the first time and things are not fitting as well as the did. Almost everything is being held on by clips making me feel like the clips get stretched, damaged, etc once disturbed and really need to be a one time use item.

For me one side seems to move or be misaligned due to this piece - https://www.tundras.com/threads/front-bumper-extension-insert-how-important.152851/#post-3807523. The corner bumper piece clips into this to hold it in place. There is a red plastic clip with a Philips head on it (pictured below). If I turn the red 'screw' slightly it tightens and the whole bracket doesn't wiggle but it easily gets loose again. Looking behind this it's a square peg in a square hole so turning it makes the longer diagonal put tension on the hole to hold it.

 

Taken my front clip off at least a half-dozen times. No issues with alignment. Gap is uniform, even with aftermarket headlights, and sits flush enough

 

Why the hell do I read these posts, come first light I'll be outside looking at mine, screw me!

 

Sorry bro. OCD pandemic.

 

I’ve had the same issue during reinstall. We had to take off the bumper again to investigate but there are no clips in that area. The gap sucks but is normal.

 

This is a similar piece that I had to replace on my Tacoma to get everything to align correctly. This obviously is a clip or retention system that is not completely engaged or aligned correctly. If it's new then a visit to the dealer or, better yet, a body shop, is in order. That alignment in the OP's comment is unacceptable, (the 2nd picture, the 1st one looks ok)

 

Thanks for posting this! I installed the Heritage grille last month and spent way too much time trying to figure out why I could not get the plastic to line up exactly how I wanted to regardless how many times I removed and re-installed the pieces. I remember looking at that part and I think I was too frustrated to think clearly to use some common sense. I will have to adjust mine the next time I remove the front end.

 

I don't think anything here can be adjusted.

 

This. This is the problem. I had the same issue with mine and I found out that this piece on the passenger side (mirror image on the driver side) had broken, likely when I pulled the grille forward. Driver side clipped in fine and normal and passenger side stuck out. Ordered this replacement part, installed it, and although its not perfect, it's definitely more in line with how it was brand new.

 

On another note, has anyone found a power source under the hood of a hybrid that outputs only when headlights are on? The grille lights are on anytime the engine is running, and while that's not the end of the world, I'd rather them be on with headlights. The CANBUS eliminates traditional fuses under the hood that I could normally tie into for this.

 

all the issues of alignment and associated work to remove and replace has made me decide to leave my grill as is. Someday I will revisit - when a local with lots of experience lends a hand.