Bulletin: Toyota does not approve of Paintless Dent Repair

Scottwax said:
Playing Devil's Advocate right back...how much do body shops at Toyota dealers stand to benefit from this? A lot of people are under the impression that the body shop at the dealer is the best place to take their car for body work.



Poor conventional body work can also leave the car owner with rust problems, along with mis-aligned panels, visible sanding marks under the paint, wavy panels, paint mismatch, etc.
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I AGREE 100%.
 
That CRIB #60 was quite dated having been published in August of 1994. Toyota has revisited PDR and they have subsequently published CRIB #146.



A newly released CRIB, #146, lists the guidelines for performing PDR on Toyota, Scion, and Lexus vehicles. Panels with many dents, such as hail damage, may be considered for PDR as long as the original panel strength is maintained. Dents of up to a softball size in diameter may be considered as long as the damage is at least 50 mm (2") from the edge of the panel or a body feature line. Creases that are up to 100 mm (4") long may also be repairable.



A general overview of the recommendations in the bulletin include:



• inspecting the finish with a 30X magnifying glass to make sure the finish hasn’t been damaged (see Figure 3). If the finish is damaged, refinishing will be required.

taking steps to ensure that the protective coatings in the repair area are not damaged, and that the coatings on the back of the panel are restored, if damaged, following repairs.



• inspecting the panel after the repair with a 30X magnifying glass (see Figure 4) to make sure the flexing of the panel did not exceed the elastic limit of the finish, resulting in micro-cracking and possible delamination. If the finish is damaged during the PDR process, refinishing is required.



Toyota strictly prohibits drilling or cutting panel reinforcements or braces, as well as the use of wedges used to gain access to the backside of the damage. These items may void the manufacturer’s corrosion warranty.
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I agree too. The last thing I'd hate to do is pay to have body work done when PDR will suffice. I think ALL body shops have alot to gain from this, especially Toyota ones. I constantly appraise Toyotas down here and the majority of their owners have the notion that they *need* to have any and all work down at the dealer. The thing that is revolutionary is that this gives a valid excuse for a shop and/or owner to refuse PRD and an insurance can't do a single thing about it. Shops have to resort back to manufacturer's guidelines and repair. If the manufacturer publishes this info, it's law in the eyes of the repair industry.



You're also right about poor body work failing too. That why there's industry repair standards that shops/techs are *supposed* to follow.



Imagine being a Toyota owner and you incur damage that could be repaired via PRD (it could be a door ding or extensive hail damage). You take your car to a trusted repair shop and they refuse to perform PDR and give you documentation to support why. Even if the insurance company writes for PDR up front, they'll end up owing conventional repair. How bad would that suck?
 
jfelbab said:
That CRIB #60 was quite dated having been published in August of 1994. Toyota has revisited PDR and they have subsequently published CRIB #146.

Quote:

A newly released CRIB, #146, lists the guidelines for performing PDR on Toyota, Scion, and Lexus vehicles. Panels with many dents, such as hail damage, may be considered for PDR as long as the original panel strength is maintained. Dents of up to a softball size in diameter may be considered as long as the damage is at least 50 mm (2") from the edge of the panel or a body feature line. Creases that are up to 100 mm (4") long may also be repairable.



A general overview of the recommendations in the bulletin include:



• inspecting the finish with a 30X magnifying glass to make sure the finish hasn’t been damaged (see Figure 3). If the finish is damaged, refinishing will be required.

taking steps to ensure that the protective coatings in the repair area are not damaged, and that the coatings on the back of the panel are restored, if damaged, following repairs.



• inspecting the panel after the repair with a 30X magnifying glass (see Figure 4) to make sure the flexing of the panel did not exceed the elastic limit of the finish, resulting in micro-cracking and possible delamination. If the finish is damaged during the PDR process, refinishing is required.



Toyota strictly prohibits drilling or cutting panel reinforcements or braces, as well as the use of wedges used to gain access to the backside of the damage. These items may void the manufacturer’s corrosion warranty.
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That's very good info. Can you fax or e-mail me CRIB 146. I'll PM you my contact info.
 
I use a really great PDR guy all the time and have no plans of removing this from my services. I think the manufacturers come up with worst case scenarios like this so they can sell more panels and parts. For Toyota, there is no money in outside people coming up with something that eliminates the need to buy their parts from them.



I know that when my PDR guy does his work he wraps the end of his tools so there is no metal on metal contact (except in rare cases)



Interesting post. I'll be interested in seeing where this goes from here.



.........................................................C:D
 
That's an odd statement from Toyota.



I know for a fact that the local Toyota and Lexus dealers use PDR on their certified preowned vehicles.



They also perform spot paint repairs (ie, just paint the corner of bumpers) on those same CPO'd cars.
 
That's probably because the body shop refuses to cut corners (i.e. spot refinishing) & not use inferior products/processes. Just because the used car department does it, doesn't justify or make it right.
 
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