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I screwed up and wasn't paying attention at the light and lightly rear ended a Camry. Very minor damage to both cars.
From outside inspection, the only thing damaged is the upper grille and the grille molding. Bumper is still intact, minus a few scratches. Doesn't look like any tabs were broken.
My deductible is $1000 so I want to know how easy to fix this by myself.
I notice the grilled is a two piece assembly, so I will only need the top piece. I will also need the outer trim piece.
I believe you gotta take the entire bumper off to replace the grille. Any tips?
Yes the entire bumper would need to come off to replace the damaged grill parts.
The good news is you only need basic hand tools to do this. Trim clip remover, 10mm socket, ratchet, and extension, needle nose pliers (angled head preferred), a slot (flat) screwdriver, and a philips (star point) screwdriver.
An extra pair of hands to get the bumper off and on would be good too.
Once the bumper is off, a little patience in getting the grill out is really key. After all the screws are out, it's just a matter of a series of tabs to take the grill assembly apart.
For a first timer, I would say approx. 3 hours, barring any unforeseen issues.
Thanks for the tips! Haven't taken a bumper off in 15 years, especially on my first Lexus.
I did a bit more inspection yesterday and figured I should replace the bumper absorber as well.
I have all the tools to do this but just afraid once I get the bumper off and find more damage.
Found a video from SpecOne detailing how to take the bumper off, that will greatly help.