Front Bumper Repair Question......
 

Hello All,

I need some advice/suggestions on how I might fix a small bumper crack in the front of my 2013 ES. I have attached some pics of the damage.

I am hoping maybe someone on the forum may have some auto body repair experience and could suggest a solution.

Thanks in Advance for the help!!!!

My first choice would be to visit the dealer if the car is still under warranty and see if they will accept responsibility, that is if this was not caused by a accident.

Agreed. This îs in a corner and one can argue that it is a fatigue crack due to flexing of the bumper. You should ask Lexus to replace the bumper.

Interesting....That's the last thing I would have thought of. I will give them a call and see what they are willing to do. I am not sure what caused the damage, as I am the second owner of the car. I have tried to figure it out, but there is NO other damage on the bumper that would suggest an accident. Honestly, it looks like some kind of defect with the bumper and the corner has just worn like that and cracked. I will let you know what they say.

I truly appreciate the advice, Thanks!!!

If you bought it from a Lexus dealer, they may repair or replace the bumper cover at no charge.

The post that I quoted above was, I think, mistakenly posted in another thread, but I pasted it here because I think that his assessment of the situation is likely spot on.

The crack looks to me like something that was caused when the vehicle bumped into another vehicle or other object. If that is the case, the dealer's shop will be able easily to determine that when they examine the the shock absorber behind the bumper. They still may agree to do a repair as a good will gesture or to do it at a reduced cost, but I wouldn't count on it.

When the bumper skin is cracked, I'm not sure that I've ever seen an attempt at repairing the crack that looked good. It is likely that the only quality repair would be to replace the bumper cover. I think that Dave's guess at $800 or more is likely to be on the low side.

less - thanks for redirecting my post, not sure how that happened. And you are probably right on my estimate being low, it was several years ago that mine was replaced by the dealer.

Dave Mac

Just chiming in quickly to let everyone know that bumper covers can be replaced really cheaply if you go the aftermarket route. The aftermarket covers are available in the sub-$200 range, and can be had fully painted to match your color code for around $400-$600 including shipping on the internet.

I recently sold a Prius and went this route and the finish was top notch. They even do the tri-coat and metallics without issue. The bumper arrived fully painted and just slipped right on in place of the original damaged cover. This was to fix damage caused by hitting a truck tire husk on the highway.

The bumper cover comes off and goes on really easily, perhaps within an hour all in if you're good. I recently had my ES300h bumper off to do some work on the car and the part that took the longest was going to the hardware store to buy a few more plastic clips since a few of mine broke while taking them off.

The dealer will be the easiest route to have the work done, but also the most expensive. The internet will be the cheapest and not much more time (if you count the time it takes to deal with the dealer). Once finished, laypersons shouldn't be able to tell which route you went with. Pros can probably always tell when a bumper has been replaced, regardless of who does the work.

Good tip! I never knew prepainted bumpers could be bought like this. I'll probably replace mine with the kajillion stone chips my 09 has already picked up.

Here is an example for a 2007 IS350: http://www.revemoto.com/bumper/2007-...umper-painted/

and for an ES300h: http://www.revemoto.com/bumper/2013-...umper-painted/

I went with this on ebay for my prius: http://www.ebay.com/itm/330985804512 I was extremely satisfied with the quality of the paint job; these guys also offer Lexus front bumpers, rear bumpers, and fenders that are pre-painted before shipping, although I don't see 13+ ES models (but probably can get it if you ask). Their prices were crazy cheap too; $239 shipped for the prius.

I would be somewhat cautious about using an aftermarket bumper cover. Generally, the material is thinner than it would be with an original equipment bumper. I've seen aftermarket bumpers that have noticeable waves along their surface and some that start out okay but develop those waves over time.

I'd also be cautious about buying a pre-painted bumper. There can be significant variation in color from one paint lot to the next. When the bumper is painted by a (good) body shop, they can use various techniques to insure that the paint does, in fact, match well. I might not have as much concern if we were talking about a black vehicle, but I'd be especially worried if the vehicle was a light metallic color, like a light gold or light silver, or if it was a 3 stage pearl color. Putting a pre-painted trim piece, like body side moldings on a car, isn't likely to look bad even if the paint match isn't perfect, but a less than perfect match with a large panel, like a bumper, can stick out like a sore thumb, especially to those who pay more attention to fits and finishes.

I might consider a pre-painted aftermarket bumper cover for an older car, or for a car I was selling or trading. But for a new or couple year old $43k ES350? I'd spend the extra money and get it done right, matched right, with an OEM cover.

On my old 2003 ES300 thats still in the family? I'd do this for sure.

I agree. On a relatively new $40K car, I'd get the cover replaced by the dealer or body shop. Not worth the hassle of a repair job, if that's possible, or a mismatched pre-painted cover because of a slight difference in shading because of environment, age or color lot.