Very sorry about this damage. And only 5 weeks into a new vehicle. Sounds like you have one estimate from a dealer. That is a lot of $$. I wonder if you could save some money if you went with an independent mechanic with good reputation? Would they be able to work on the new LC? Would you trust it as much? I don't know what I would do. Maybe worth a look. Just really unfortunate.
Took it off-roading..:it’s in the shop
- Thread starter ctgallosb
- Start date
In my opinion, no type of skip plate would have helped in this case. OP said there is frame damage and the fact that there is AC damage suggests the entire engine got pushed upwards with the impact.
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- Moderator
- #43
A LC is really not the machine to be jumping dunes!
I would agree, I think the FE skip plate or a skid plate that braces the entire lower radiator support area using more mounting points, would give you a better chance over stock of spreading the impact over a larger surface area. We have seen multiple standard skid pads cave in at this point (they are probably designed to do this) and cause radiator issues. That being said if the impact is large enough and that energy is transferred though the lower radiator support it is going to cause issues. The stock radiators are very thin and I have had them fail on other vehicles just by age.
Sorry to hear this happened to you. But I’m also relieved to hear it was the debris shield and not the skid plate. The debris shield is essentially tin and plastic and can be bent by hand. The OEM skid plates (engine and transmission) are supposed to hold the weight of the vehicle and there’s a place to be used as a jack point. They come standard on the first edition and are options for the 1958 and LC.
There's 34 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.
The first thing I did after I bought my LC was switching to KO3's (275's) on 18 inch wheels (those 20's are not off-roading material), and I bought the steel front/transmission plates as others here have mentioned. Makes a giant difference.
When the majority of vehicles you see in an area are dune buggy type vehicles, that's usually a good indication of what type of vehicle you should be driving as well. The current LC250 is a very capable vehicle when used as intended. Jeeps and Broncos are more capable off road but lack refinement and dependability. I think the Throttle House video shows you can get through the dunes with careful planning and probably be okay the majority of the time. The problem with sand dunes is the environment is constantly changing and unpredictable unlike a trail where you are on solid ground and can see obstacles and take your time getting over or around them. The dunes sometimes require speed to get up and over and we've now seen two instances where this has not gone well as the front end comes in contact with hard sand. Dunes seem to give an illusion of being safer since the sand is soft.
I think the real issue is what Did you actually do?
1. Where you driving normal?
or
2. Did you not give a crap about what's in the manuel and said... F' it ... I'm going for it.. ?
1 or 2
The truth will tell us on this forum what we need to know
1. Where you driving normal?
or
2. Did you not give a crap about what's in the manuel and said... F' it ... I'm going for it.. ?
1 or 2
The truth will tell us on this forum what we need to know
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If you keep doing things like this and your budget can handle it it won’t be long and you’ll be giving advice on an off-road forum instead of asking! Fix it and learn, and I’d get it fixed at a good independent Toyota repair shop or do it yourself. You might as well get a relationship started with some good mechanics! There is such thing as a volume discount as time goes on.
Yes you were stupid and no you don’t air down low-profile tires on 20 inch wheels and go dune jumping in a stock LC. For Gods sakes man! When you hear crashing grinding noises you don’t ignore them and floor it. Especially if you need to drive home. Yes your “instructor” in a “class” is a moron and shouldn’t be “instructing”. I could go on and on but you get the picture.
Anyway, congratulations! Most people wash and wax their LC and drive to Costco.
I would really be worried about getting the frame fixed by anyone but a Toyota dealer due to warranty implications.
Good point… often when you go down the road of use/abuse off-road or on a race track days of thinking about warranty coverage are history. I’m not sure how serious the OP is and what’s his next step. Entering the production class of the Baja 1000 maybe, in a stock LC?
My 2022 4Runner was totaled because I got rear ended and bent the frame, very minimal, but did.
The body shop requested a new frame and wouldn't do just a fix.
I was ok with the totaled because I ended nearly breaking even with the insurance payout plus I used a car for over a year "for free".
So who knows if just the radiator support would trigger it, but worth a check.
The body shop requested a new frame and wouldn't do just a fix.
I was ok with the totaled because I ended nearly breaking even with the insurance payout plus I used a car for over a year "for free".
So who knows if just the radiator support would trigger it, but worth a check.
