Welcome back to my second channel where we hang out and do fun random projects that don't
quite fit on the main channel We just have more fun here.
If you've seen my video on the main channel of where I lifted my truck, there are a few
more modifications I want to make.
And the one today is slightly illegal but it still works out pretty well.
Let's get started.
[Intro]
So when I'm talking about illegal, I'm not talking about like street legal or road legal.
In fact, it's more of a trademark issue.
So Toyota has these grilles for the front of the trucks, and there's a trademark obviously
on the name Toyota.
There are different styles of grilles you can swap out, and the style of grille that
I want, Toyota sells for a bout $400.
But I found one online that's a copycat, or like an imitation Toyota grille that sells
for about $100.
So it's kind of hard to justify spending $300 extra dollars on the genuine Toyota part when
the copycat one does the exact same thing.
And there's no like performance increase or anything with the truck, it's literally just
a piece of plastic.
So today we're going to find out if the imitation grille is any good, and if it even fits on
the truck.
It's interesting to see how it ships because putting the actual name Toyota on there would
be illegal.
So on the grille itself they have the O, Y, O, T, and then you have to put the letters
on yourself so it doesn't get stopped when you import it.
Kind of creative.
Now that we have all the letterings on, let's see how hard it is to remove the old grille.
So inside the truck there are two 10 millimeter bolts here and here.
We'll pop these off.
And then one thing that the 2018 Tacoma's have that some of the other Tacoma's don't
is a radar sensor underneath this logo right here.
So you have to unclip that, and then the last thing is one little plastic clip right here...which
with the right amount of leverage can pop right out.
And the bottom part of the grille right here is just held in with a little series of clasps.
So it comes out directly towards the front of the vehicle.
So if we're looking at both grilles side by side, on the other side here we have the radar
sensor.
So I'm going to unscrew some of these screws right here along the sides, and toss that
into this panel here.
And then on this, to remove, you know, this section of the grille that's going to be replaced
by the black section, there are 10 screws and then a bunch of these little clasp things
that you just take and you pinch shut and then the whole spike can just pop out of the
front of the housing.
Radar sensor is easy enough to remove.
There are plastic clasps here, here in the corner, and down here.
And then 2 screws...one here, one here, and one here.
And then the whole radar contraption can come loose.
I was worried about this being like damageable because in this grille there is nothing protecting
it through the front slot.
And in this one there's like this plastic backing right here.
But honestly, the whole thing is made of plastic, so I really doubt, you know, that it could
get damaged.
And the probability of something flying through that hole is pretty minimal.
Now these metal screw holes are pretty important, so I'm going to pop these out and transfer
them over to the plastic housing over here.
So we want this portion.
So we're going to put this other plastic frame into this one.
Let's see what else we need.
So it looks like we have the black plastic here, and then this chrome portion.
Nice.
So it looks like we got rid of the chrome portion and now it's just solid black plastic
all the way around.
I like that better.
So for the radar sensor I'm going to put in this screw hole.
It clips in.
So we have one plastic clasp up at the top of the radar housing, and then one over here
on the top of the grille as well.
And I'll probably just end up cutting this one off so it's not dangling around back here.
And all of those black screws that we took off aren't needed with the new grille.
The back is just held in by those clasps, which isn't as secure I don't think, but so
far it's staying on.
And now it is installed on the truck.
I have the sensor reconnected right here, and then the two bolts on the top, and then
those two clips on either side.
Okay, so quick update.
I've been running this grille for about a couple months now, and everything is 100!
okay unless it is snowing or raining outside.
If you look closely, there are a couple little holes inside of this honeycomb mesh where
water can get inside on the sensor.
And when the water is on the sensor, a warning pops up inside of the cab saying that it's
like out of order or not functional for a time.
But once it dries off, then the sensor goes back to functioning like normal.
So in the vast majority of the time that I drive my truck, it's okay.
But with other brand-new 2018's from the dealership, they come with this little panel right here,
which I'll also link down in the video description right below this.
And so when I tried to remove this section of the grille, I actually had to break the
plastics that go on top of it.
You can see the 2 little broken parts on the part that's closest to you.
And these two little pins right here right below the Toyota logo snapped off of the old
honeycomb piece.
But what I'm hoping is that this new honeycomb piece, which doesn't have any holes in the
grille, is able to block out all of the water that might touch this sensor on the inside.
It's just got these 2 little slots and then the 2 pins up top.
So one last little pin up top, and the whole thing clips into place.
And it's pretty solid.
Don't imagine it's ever going to come out on it's own.
If I pull hard enough, I can get it to unlatch a little bit, but there's no way, even with
braking hard, that it's going to come out.
To be honest, I'm not really sure I like that little shiny patch right there in the center.
I think it kind of distracts from the plastic and the matte of the whole truck...the aesthetics
of it.
So if you don't mind your sensor going off when it's raining or snowing, which actually
is probably when you need to sensor the most, maybe you don't need the clear shiny protector
for it.
Last, and hopefully final update, I'll keep the video description active with any updates
after this.
But when I put that cover in front of the sensor, it did take a while for the computer
inside of the truck to realize that there was a new obstacle in front of the sensor.
So it would work for like the first 5 minutes of a drive and then turn off and have that
warning sign pop up again.
But after about 5 or 6 days of that, I assume that the sensor recalibrated itself and now
that warning never pops up anymore and the sensor is functioning.
I did test it out, you know, coming close to another vehicle and then having that warning
light pop up.
Anyway, so that is the update.
Everything is currently working with the new block in place.
And that's it.
So what do you think?
Is it worth the $100 to get rid of the chrome and add the Toyota logo instead of just, you
know, that little emblem?
Or would you have paid $400 for the actual factory version instead of paying $100 for
the imitation?
Let me know down in the comments.
I'll put a link down in the video description so you can compare the prices of the aftermarket,
you know, the copycat one and the real genuine Toyota part.
And if you haven't seen the truck lift kit yet, I'll put a link for that right here.
As well as...come hang out with me on Instagram and Twitter.
We have fun over there.
Thanks a ton for watching, and I'll see you around.