TRD skid plate more oil change friendly?

New owner of 2023. Just wondering if the TRD skid plate is more friendly to use for oil changes, than the stock plate?

 

Nope, the TRD plate has to be completely unbolted and removed.

You're best bet would be an aftermarket skid plate that has the access door built into it.

 

True^,

Pulling the front skid for the oil filter change can be annoying, but it does give you the opportunity to take a good look at the bottom of the engine and surrounding underside if that’s your thing.

 

I had a TRD skid plate for 6ish years. As posted above, all four bolts must be removed to change the oil filter. To just drain, the skid plate can stay on.

Removing the 4 bolts isn't hard, but recommend anti-sieze and starting the bolts by hand to stop cross threading. I'd also recommend getting internal tooth washers to keep the front spacers in place as they're kinda annoying to reinstall.

 

I was on the fence about buying the oem skid for my 4Runner and ended up buying the car trim aftermarket one(looks a lot like oem). It has an access door for oil changes and I bought the one that comes in black.

 

One can make this really easy by doing this mod. I’ve had the Toyota tech tell me Toyota should have done this along time ago…..

link: https://www.4runners.com/threads/trd-skid-plate-mounted-w-studs-2010-2021.27082/

 

I had the TRD skid on for a year, switched to the stud mount (which was a great improvement) that made it slightly easier to change the oil, but switched to an RCI aluminum skid this summer. So much easier to change the oil, looks great and offers a little more protection. It was about $150 more than the CarTrim version and only about $50 more than the TRD version.

 

I did this as well. I liked that it "looked" like an OEM TRD but had the subtle but huge advantage of an access door for the oil filter. QC was not the greatest on the one I received, but I was able to modify it slightly to correct a few deficiencies that makes it really great (at least in the "looks" department - probably not the best option for true off-road protection but I'm not a rock-crawler type.)
I had to slightly modify the letters' retaining tabs so they'd fit squarely in the skid plate, added heli-coil thread inserts for the acess panel screws for durability, and changed all hardware to OEM instead of the black oxide included with the cartrim plate. For the access door, I got some shallow head SS screws.

 

^^^THIS IS IMPORTANT^^^ And, c'mon, it's not really that hard. 5 12mm bolts and it's off.

 

You are talking abount an OEM / Non TRD plate.

TRD plate only has 4 bolts.
My mod has 4 Studs and nuts and is super easy . No fighting getting the bolts to line up!

 

You are correct. I still stand by my statement that it's not that difficult. Been doing it for 13 years now, every 5K, 180K on it now. 36 times just for oil changes. FYI: I did look at the mod.

 

CTH offers a china version of the TRD brah with an access panel. I think it can deflect wind.