Bullbar warranty

[Johnk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnk]

Hi All,

I became the proud father of a new D4D last week and have spent most of last week and this week hunting around for the good fruit to add on.

Dual battery cradle and isolator was no problem but I am having difficulty with the bull bar selection. People are telling me Toyota do not warrant vehicles with non Toyota bars and steel bars cause firewall cracking.

ARB indicate there is no proof that steel bars cause cracking as the bars are attached to the chassis not the body.

Question:

1) Has anyone experienced Toyota refusing warranty using a non Toyota bar.
2) Do steel bars cause cracking.

[GeoffM Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GeoffM]

Hi Johnk ..... can't help with the warranty part, but I've had an ARB steel winch bar on for over 100,000 k's without any cracking.

Also have 12,000lb winch and dual battery system and driving lights, so plenty of weight up front and those K's include the Cape (x2), Corner Country and LOTS of other off road stuff.

Geoff

[Johnk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnk]

Thanks Geoff,

I am encouraged. I like the ARB bar and it sounds like you have put a steel bar and car to the test.

Comments have also been made that a vehicle with a steel bar (especially with a winch) needs to have the front end regularly realigned. Have you found this to be the case?

John

[Jacto Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jacto]

Hi Johnk

I have always had ARB bars and never heard of warranty being refused. I even ordered my D4D from the dealer with the ARB bar fitted and was not advised of this. ARB do a lot of research and product testing to ensure their equipment is going to do the job on the vehicle it is recommended for. Anyway I would rather hit wildlife with steel than alloy :wink:

[GeoffM Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GeoffM]

Johnk,
Never had an alignment or tyre issue (except with the Grandcraps).

Have Cooper ATR's that get rotated every 15-20k and an alignment when ever I feel it neccesary (either pulling or uneven wear) or at the installation of new treads, but I do pay attention to tyre pressures for the surface I'm running on.

Geoff

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

Hi Johnk
I would rather hit wildlife with steel than alloy :wink:

all depends on the construction of the alloy bar..

i had hit 2 roo's with this bar..


all it did was crack a indicator in the bar.. :wink:

[wengnuts Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wengnuts]

The cracks found in the firewall were caused by the placement of the dual battery (possibly resulting in a poor distribution of weight i the bonnet section resulting in the cracks). It used to be located in the left rear section of the bonnet. They have since address this problem by installing it in the front right section of the bonnet. :shock: :? My old prado had an ARB deluxe bar and ARB dual battery setup and there were no cracking issue.

Bullbar fitment comments withdrawn.

[Damien Parker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Damien Parker]

Bullbar fitment comments withdrawn, thanks Damien for the correction. ops:

Could you clarify this statement as it doesnt read the way i think you intended...

My bull bar is fitted to chassis, not the body. I know this as i fitted it myself

I would also suggest that the bullbar does indeed shake around as its secured by 8 bolts at the lower end of the uprights - This is with the ARB bar. If the body moved around at the frequency that the bar shakes at there would be a lot of loose components floating around interior and engine bay IMO.

The vibration would be exponentially exaggerated along the uprights to the point of least resistance.

[rmargoss Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rmargoss]

In the lcool forum there are a number of examples of people having their warranty claims rejected by Toyota for firewall cracks because of aftermarket bars. Some of those people had the ARB bar.

It's a good read, with pictures and may be worth a look.

[StormyKnight Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close StormyKnight]

There is another option to Steel & Alloy.....& I'm yet to be fully convinced, but at a recent show I saw the video....

http://www.smartbar.com.au/smartbar%20-%20video%20.wmv

Anyone hit a roo with one of these?

[Johnk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnk]

I am impressed. I gather from your comment Pradogxlv6 that the smartbar is not available for a 120?

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

My Alloy bar has over 45 roo hits now.
The base plates (3mm alloy) are looking a bit average, as is one top tube (6 foot grey!!)

Bit rough on the wildlife eh!!

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

Team Slayer at night.

[wally Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wally]

To answer the question regarding aftermarket bull bars and Toyota warranty.

Toyota will not cover cracking in the chassis or inner skirts if your Prado is fitted with a non-genuine bull bar. If you have a non factory bar that was fitted by the dealer at purchase, the cracking is not covered by warranty.

That said, Vehicles affected are usually ones that have seen lots of harsh corrugated roads.