Driver's side grab handles.

Coming from the Jeep world we have grab handles everywhere... lol. The one handle I am sorely missing (especially since the lift) is the grab handle on the A pillar on the driver's side. There is on on the passenger side which is awesome but what options do I have for the driver's side. Also wondering how it all plays together with the airbag there.

 

Check out these links; https://www.4runners.com/threads/driver-side-a-pillar-grab-handle.10893/

https://trail4runner.com/2022/09/27/ktjo-4x4-drivers-side-grab-handle/

 

Thanks!

 

Those things will crack your skull in an accident?

 

Airbags prevent that. (Comment from experience)

 

I was wondering this too. If the side curtain airbags deploy, wouldn’t that handle act as a projectile. I agree it’s an inconvenience but I’m sure the engineers excluded it for a reason. Honestly, I’m not sure either way.

 

There’s a passenger side grab handle. The airbag is designed to blow out from the slit nearer to people throwing the whole pillar cover and handle towards the windscreen.

 

Ahh ok. What’s your source for this information?

 

@Saker and @mtnslyr I believe are correct, it's been studied and posted here on 4Runners.com that the grab handle mod is safe in a airbag situation and also the airbag isn't in the way for installation. I don't believe they would design the pillar to deploy directly in the drivers face, same goes for handle attached to it, same goes for the passenger side pillar for that matter - it prolly goes towards windscreen.
The older 4runners had driver pillar handles, all sorts of new vehicles still do, the only reason they foolishly scrapped it on the 5th gen is I believe for line of sight / safety.

 

See answer to next quote, it applies here too.

You are correct on the first part of your answer. Airbags deploys between the "A" Pillar and the "A" Pillar cover that the grab handle is installed through. The pillar covers and handles are NOT thrown towards the windshield, they stay in place!

Ahhhh, the source of my information is..............when I totaled my 2014 T4R, the airbags and curtain bags deployed and the handle and cover stayed intact and I didn't hit anything forward of the steering wheel.
Thats pretty much real world source of information, just sayin' .

 

@JLtoTRD glwood54 has good experience with this and good parts for sale.
If you understandably want to add a grab handle, I believe you buy the OEM passenger handle which is ambidextrous, you just flip its orientation around for the drivers side. Important to mention though that along with the handle you must order and replace the drivers A pillar trim with one that matches the passenger side, and it's raised contour mounting points. If you don't swap the pillar, you'll notice your driver's side is perfectly flat, and when you mount a handle directly to it, it's too tight on the hand.
I happened to have installed an OEM FJ grab handle, exact same color, cuz it provides much more hand clearance height.

 

Thanks, you are mostly correct. They stay in place.

See this link on T4R....

 

That’s a very good source, I’m sorry for your misfortune

 

Someone had to prove it, right?
j/k

Thanks, I wasn’t hurt, and the new one is paid off now.

 

Mostly correct. I did purchase the oem passenger side grab handle from Toyota and mounted it with the bracket from Jason as detailed in @Saker's post #12 above. It was solid and worked great. I wanted it to match the passenger side, however, so I purchased the kit from KTJO to see if I could use their A-pillar cover & grab handle with Jason's much better mounting bracket. Initially it did not work, and I put the KTJO kit up for sale. After getting no interest in the sale, I revisited using the KTJO cover and handle, and was successful in combining those with Jason's mounting bracket. The result was a driver's side grab handle that matches the passenger side in looks and function, with, IMO, a far superior bottom mounting method than that offered in the KTJO kit. Not for everyone, but it worked for me.

 

I did the KTJO + Jason bracket, too, and I'm really happy the with result. While it was open, I could see how the airbag deploys (by blowing out under the rear edge of the pillar garnish). The bolts in the handle and their mounts in the A-pillar are too beefy for the handle to get blown off.

 

[FJ compared to Toyota grab handle, just an fyi for those desiring more hand space. I know some dudes who replaced both handles with FJ so they match. Bolt spacing identical]

 

Has anyone added rear grab handles like the GX's have?

 

Interesting.
100% there’s folks here with photos of that pillar trim off, wonder if there’s any factory fastener points hiding.

 

Wouldn't be surprised if the GX parts are plug & play.

 

Would the rear handles for Taco's work on our cars?

https://www.ktjo4x4.com/collections/rear-grab-handles-products/products/tacoma-rear-grab-handles-3g

 

^I doubt it, since the 5th gen cab is a couple inches taller than the 3rd gen Tacoma cab.

 

Not to mention a completely different body style.

 

Does adding the handle on the driver's side distract ones eye while driving or obstruct vision out the windshield?

 

^I've had the KTJO4X4 handle installed for more than a year. The handle is angled to minimize A-pillar width growth when viewed from the driver's seat. The driver's side A-pillar grab handle had been Toyota OEM for decades. Not having it on the 5th gen is more of an anomaly.

 

No sir, not at all for me. I think like anything, you adjust for it pretty quickly.

 

Negative

Don't even know it's there until you use it

 

I have a set, but to be fair I have a GX. They actually have three sets of handles on each rear door - the grab handle you showed, a handle above the door, and a handle down low on the back side of the door frame which is used for 3rd row passengers to climb in and out. It's glorious. Plus of course two for each front door, above and on the A pillar. The GX has as many handles in it as the 2nd gen Tacoma has cupholders!

To your point, the bodies are different, but a lot of stuff does bolt up between them. Peel back that B pillar cladding and see what you are working with under there!

 

This got me thinking. I was wondering if the B pillar trim from a GX was the same for the 4R. So I jumped onto Ebay to see if I can find pics to compare. Here is the backside of the trim. Looks very similar but not exact. Does anyone have any pics of what it looks like behind the B pillar of our 4Runners?

 

This is from the "What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?" thread. Probably the best we can get until someone takes the time to remove their B pillar trim.