tecman

I've had this problem since I bought my GX. I'm guessing the original owner bumped into something or maybe it's a defect? I used to be able to push it in and it would stay for awhile but eventually the plastic tabs wore out. I pulled down the plastic in the wheel well to see what was there (nothing).

I couldn't find any resolution from inside as there is nothing relating to this area of the bumper. Only the two screws in the fender well and the plastic tabs.





This is what it eventually came to look like.







I pulled the plastic bumper back and scuffed it up with a grinder.





This is what I used to bond it.





high-tech pressure application LOL





This is what it looks like three weeks later. A little bit of a wider gap compared to the other side but I can live with it.A big improvement from what I HAVE been living with.

The good side.

sivert55

I've had this problem for a while. The front bumper wraps around the left fender and attaches via a linear clip with small metal
wedges to grasp the edge. There are also 2 screws in the wheel well to keep the well liner in place. My issue is that the edge of the bumper appears to have worn down and now the retaining piece can't bite it. At freeway speeds, the seam separates and i have to push it back into place every time i stop. I replaced the front bumper side support #52116-60210 on the driver side. The problem isn't the metal teeth in the support piece. It's the edge of the bumper trim. i don't want to pull this whole thing off and go crazy with the plastic repair. I'm think I'd be happy to just use some epoxy adhesive between the body panel and the support piece. Both are plastic, though i think different kinds. i also think whatever I used would have to be slightly flexible since the bumper flexes at freeway speeds due to wind pressure.

Has anyone here tried a plastic body panel adhesive to bond plastic to plastic? I found several by JBWeld, 3M, and SEM. But i can't figure out which would hold on to this panel in an outdoor setting, exposed to temperature changes (Florida) and rain.

Any adhesive/epoxy suggestions would be appreciated.

Here's the piece I already replaced. The metal tab teeth are visible along the top edge.

tecman

sivert55

is the glue still holding up?

sivert55

Yes, that looks like my problem. I PMd the OP to see how the adhesive is holding up after 3+ yrs.

Thank you for finding that.

tecman

It broke down after a while so I used wire. Not proud of this but so far it is holding up. I am now having this same problem on the drivers side I just wish Lexus gave me something better to work with as a fix. Give me some brackets to replace or work with.....



It came back.


I drilled holes and used wire to pull it in on 8/25/17







This is today. All is good so far 3/7/18

tuandino

tecman, I really like your wire pull method. Glad that it's been holding up for you for over half a year now. My daily driver '10 accord has the same issue, i'm gonna apply your method to mine if you don't mind.

Nickk6

I took my bumper off the other day looking for a solution to this problem as well. not ideal, but not sure what else to do at this point. I have both sides popping out.

sivert55

I agree, that wire idea is awesome. Inelegant, but durable. What kind of wire did you use?

I'm going to start with the 2 part epoxy fix. I'm going to do alot of prep work on the panels to make sure they have the best adhesion possible.

I think those quick-release fasteners would look cool on a street car.

Acrad

Any way to rivet the pieces together?

naser075

just bring the damn car to a bodyshop am sure it won't cost more then the time and effort u putt in ..... u r driving a lexus gx not a lada

tecman

tecman

sivert55

Dear Canuck,
Thank you for your response. I'm sorry you assumed I hadn't taken it to a body shop before deciding to try to fix it myself. I'd appreciate the response more if it contained something useful or encouraging.

You are correct; it is a GX, not a Lada, which is why I'm disappointed it has this body panel problem at the ripe old age of 5 with no impacts or collisions.

I took it to the local Lexus dealer and they said the bumper cannot be repaired in place; only replaced or spliced with a donor bumper to get a new toothed end that would have enough material for the retaining slot to bite. The new bumper quote was way over $1k. Looking at the repair route, the parts and labor to splice an undamaged donor end onto my bumper, with matching paint, was nearly as much. Dealerships are expensive and Lexus is no exception. The Lexus service manager said they see this problem on about 5% of the out-of-warranty vehicles that come in. The retainer clips chew away at the soft plastic biting edge of the body panel until there's not enough material to grip, and it pops out. It's just what happens.

Then I tried a local collision repair shop I've used in the past on a different vehicle. Their quote was in the $750 range for the splice repair idea and almost the same price as Lexus for the color-matched replacement bumper.

I'm disappointed in the body panel fitments on Lexus vehicles. I wish i didn't have to deal with this at all. I hoped the legendary Toyota/Lexus quality would have born out in the plastic bumpers. But it hasn't, and I find myself in this position undeservedly, though not alone. If, in the future, the adhesive solution fails, maybe I'll be forced to go the replacement or splice/repair route. But for today, I'm keeping my $1k+ and trying something less expensive that I can easily do myself.

If you talk to your Canadian Lexus dealer anytime soon, give them the same feedback I gave mine: "the bumper edge retention concept they're using is a terrible piece of engineering and they should be ashamed to use it on such an otherwise fine vehicle."

Sincerely,
-a no good DIY yankee.

PS: God Save The Queen

tecman