Recommend Me a Body Repairer - S. Wales
Litemoth - 2/10/12 at 06:19 PM
..For the car's body not mine...
My new daily driver (Yaris) has some damage to the sills. I bought it like this but didn't notice it....what an eeejit!!
It looks like some boy-wonder at the tyre garage has stuck the jack under any old where (on both sides) and curled the sill seams pushing the wings
out.
The sill has been pushed up slightly on one side so will need some skilled pulling to put back right.
Gutted isn't the word - the car is otherwise mint, has 25k miles on it and was driven by a sweet old lady to church on a Sunday - Literally!!
I've visited a couple of body repair places and they give me the impression that they want to uncurl the seems, Quick duaub of Schutz and
Bob's your uncle..all done! BUT i want it done by someone who'd do it proplerly.
Anyone know anyone up to the job in South Wales area?
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[Edited on 2/10/12 by Litemoth]
[Edited on 2/10/12 by Litemoth]
Xtreme Kermit - 2/10/12 at 06:35 PM
Nasty. I always wonder about where to stick the trolley on the Mrs' corsa and look for a bit of subframe rather than the sill.
Litemoth - 2/10/12 at 06:57 PM
I think a block of wood does a lot to stop this happening. (or the proper cup for the jack) (or not having a muppet working the jack)
There's a jacking point about 3 inches away from where they 'chose' to jack. The trolley jack has a cup which 'point loads'
the seam and starts it curling over and the weight does the rest. You can see the two dinks its made.
AAAAhhhhhhhh!!!!! x 20 (into a pillow)
ashg - 2/10/12 at 08:11 PM
thats been done on a two post lift. happened on my dads 4 week old c4 even when it was lifted on the correct points.
good body shops will have a rivet tack welder which spot welds a rivet to the outside of the panel. you then tug on it with a slide hammer to pull it
out and re paint. much much better than taking the whole sill off and beating it out.
Mark Allanson - 2/10/12 at 08:41 PM
I see this almost every week (Toyota bodyshop manager!)
Unbolt and declip the lower wing, use a wooded block and lump hammer to reform the sill seam, repair any paintwork, underbody sealer work, rebolt the
wing - job done.
Tyre fitters are the main culprit!
Stott - 2/10/12 at 08:53 PM
S&F in Porth did a good job of Phils Impreza when he stacked it and dare I say it, PRM did a cracking job on the Mrs Beetle
Litemoth - 2/10/12 at 09:00 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
I see this almost every week (Toyota bodyshop manager!)
Unbolt and declip the lower wing, use a wooded block and lump hammer to reform the sill seam, repair any paintwork, underbody sealer work, rebolt the
wing - job done.
Tyre fitters are the main culprit!
I'm convinced it's a tyre fitter's jack rather than a lift because the pads on a lift tend to be flat and padded. Academic now of
course - I can't see anyone owning up to this.
So is it a bit of a weak spot on the Yaris?
I think it'll take more that tapping back with a block because the sill on the off side has rolled under and the sill seam has caved the sill in
and not just bent over. You can just about see the sill curving on the third photo. I think it'll pull out easily with a seam clamp & some
hydraulics though.
What a polava
Litemoth - 2/10/12 at 09:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Stott
S&F in Porth did a good job of Phils Impreza when he stacked it and dare I say it, PRM did a cracking job on the Mrs Beetle
Cheers Mr S. I'll give PRM a shout tomorrow. Atlantic Spray in Barry used to be tip top but haven't dealt with them in donkey's.
Litemoth - 3/10/12 at 10:59 AM
Huge quote range from £65 to £400.
b14wrc - 3/10/12 at 11:23 AM
Hi Litemoth
I have an Auris SR180 with exactly the same issue. I was a bit gutted when i noticed it on mine, again after i had bought it 2 years ago.
Problem I have found, after unbending it, it weakens it and you can’t ever really use it. Last time i jacked it up, when I put the new wheels on last
month, I actually crushed the sill further, i stopped immediately and used the double skinned area directly under where the front wish bone bolts onto
the sub frame, its a pain as the jack is very difficult to get under but it is a far better place to jack. At the rear I find the sill points are fine
and not suffered any damage.
Trust me, i am supper careful when i work on my cars, and was very surprised and annoyed to find them so damaged. Doesn’t help i think that the car
never came with a spare wheel or jack!
Mark, does this work get fixed under warranty are is it not covered due to improper use? I am a bit worried about corrosion in that area now due to
the damage..... 
Fixing wise, I have just used some wood and a G clamp to reshape it, but its not any use as a jacking point any more!
Rob
Litemoth - 3/10/12 at 05:25 PM
quote:
Originally posted by b14wrc
Hi Litemoth
I have an Auris SR180 with exactly the same issue. I was a bit gutted when i noticed it on mine, again after i had bought it 2 years ago.
Problem I have found, after unbending it, it weakens it and you can’t ever really use it. Last time i jacked it up, when I put the new wheels on last
month, I actually crushed the sill further, i stopped immediately and used the double skinned area directly under where the front wish bone bolts onto
the sub frame, its a pain as the jack is very difficult to get under but it is a far better place to jack. At the rear I find the sill points are fine
and not suffered any damage.
Trust me, i am supper careful when i work on my cars, and was very surprised and annoyed to find them so damaged. Doesn’t help i think that the car
never came with a spare wheel or jack!
Mark, does this work get fixed under warranty are is it not covered due to improper use? I am a bit worried about corrosion in that area now due to
the damage.....
Fixing wise, I have just used some wood and a G clamp to reshape it, but its not any use as a jacking point any more!
Rob
I've just taken it to the local Toyota dealership and spoke to the warranty manager. They put it on the ramp and had a good look at it.
They'd "never seen one before" and said it had been jacked in the wrong place.
The chap there did give me the lead on a goody body shop at least. It's costing £200. I'll see if Toyota has any goodwill after it's
been repaired.
b14wrc - 3/10/12 at 07:31 PM
Didn't think they would repair under warranty, but saying that I think there is a design fault there and seems strange it's on two different
models from similar years....
Rob
Litemoth - 3/10/12 at 07:55 PM
As Mark says above...he gets quite a few mashed sills through the door.
In most cases, the bottom of the A pillar is a strong point that you might reasonably aim for with a jack but a car manufacturer wont admit
there's a weakness unless it bloodywell has to ...like the throttle potentiometer issue toyota suffered terrible corporate damage from. I
can't find much on this on the net...
[Edited on 3/10/12 by Litemoth]
COREdevelopments - 3/10/12 at 08:11 PM
Its not a manufacturing defect or cock up. There is a specific place to be jacked up on the sills, 2 little notches. The OP car looks like its been
jacked up on the most forward part of the sill which is where the wing attaches to the sill and hangs lower down. There are many toyota models which
use this idea. If it was jacked up in the correct place it would never happen. I have seen many cars which have been jacked up in the incorrect place
even when there is a big arrow pointing down.
Some people (not all) just have no care when working on customer cars. I would take it back if this happened to me.
Just re-read that OP bought it like that.
I also agree with Mark allanson.
Rob
[Edited on 3/10/12 by COREdevelopments]
[Edited on 3/10/12 by COREdevelopments]
b14wrc - 3/10/12 at 10:06 PM
Not being funny like, but I jacked mine up in the right place, the notches where your supposed to and the sill has distorted, which leds me to agree
with the rest that some tool has mashed them up in the past and straightened it. It's annoying, but can't really see it being fixed
properly. My arches have flared a bit at the gap, but it isn't too noticeable.....
Lesson to be learnt, take more time looking over the car before you buy it. I part x my Celica GTfour for the Auris which was a sad thing to do, but
was a bit blinkered in the fact I wanted a newer car. At the end of the day I love toyota's and my next car will probably be one. Although the
SR180 is a bit thirsty I do like it.....
Test driving a GT86 next week!
Rob
Litemoth - 4/10/12 at 11:56 AM
quote:
Originally posted by COREdevelopments
Its not a manufacturing defect or cock up. There is a specific place to be jacked up on the sills, 2 little notches. The OP car looks like its been
jacked up on the most forward part of the sill which is where the wing attaches to the sill and hangs lower down. There are many toyota models which
use this idea. If it was jacked up in the correct place it would never happen. I have seen many cars which have been jacked up in the incorrect place
even when there is a big arrow pointing down.
Some people (not all) just have no care when working on customer cars. I would take it back if this happened to me.
Just re-read that OP bought it like that.
I also agree with Mark allanson.
Rob
[Edited on 3/10/12 by COREdevelopments]
[Edited on 3/10/12 by COREdevelopments]
Nobody is saying it's a manufacturing cock up but a design flaw. The average garage monkey isn't going to trawl through the manuals to find
the exact spot that he should use to jack. Toyota had my car on the ramp yesterday and hadn't used the 'notched' area to lift either
but used elsewhere on the sill. (the Toyota guy recommended a different sill point again!)
Many of us use strong points and a spreader to jack and avoid the sill altogether. The point where mine was mashed is, as i said, on the A-pillar
which is generally a really strong part of the structure as it connects sill/bulkhead/roof/inner wing. To invite mashing further, the mud flap
moulding 'beefs-up' the look of this joint and doubtless says 'jack me here' to the average tyre fitter.
Toyota live and die by a system called "Poka Yoke" - invented by their Shigeo Shingo guru chap. It means things should be designed in such
a way to stop people making mistakes. They failed a bit on this one then. What i'm saying is that it's "not unreasonable" to jack
where they did and manufacturers should account for this when considering the stuctural integrity.
I (or the last owners - a sweet old couple) would indeed take it back but where to? It's had four services (two at dealer and two at an
independent) plus a tyre change. Who do you think is going volunteer to own up?
COREdevelopments - 4/10/12 at 09:49 PM
I hear your points Guys. Just as being a Toyota tech for 8 years I have seen way to many cars with this problem. The problem is if you use a trolley
jack it will tend to pull the sill as it does not move in a straight upwards direction, lifts do so will not cause too much if any damage at all. Also
any person working in the motortrade should have reasonable knowledge on jacking a car up no matter what brand of car it is. I will have sympathy for
the customer who has done it not the tyre fitter or mechanic.
Also Rob let us all know how the GT86 test drive goes as I love my Toyotas too. Not in a Toyota Dealer any longer so gutted not being able to go to
the launch.
Atb
Rob
Litemoth - 4/10/12 at 10:24 PM
Sat in a GT86 whilst waiting yesterday...nearly as good as the kit car...just a nicer finish on the leatherwork 
