2023 rubicon radiator “bracket” question

[buckeyenutbill]

Evening everyone. New here. Currently in a 2016 wrangler unlimited. Looking at a 2023 (with a clean carfax and under 20k miles) Rubicon Gladiator at a local dealer and have a question about a cracked piece of plastic behind the grill on the passenger side of the radiator. This plastic piece is cracked vertically through the entire part. The dealer says the radiator has to be pulled in order to replace that piece. They also said it’s a common problem and doesn’t affect anything. They don’t want to put that much into it at the price I have negotiated. Any of you had this issue before? Does the radiator really need to be pulled for this replacement? It still has some of the factory warranty left. Would this repair be covered under that? I’ve attached a pic of the piece in question.
Anything else to look for that I may be missing? It is very clean inside and out.

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[Escape.idiocracy]

first I have seen this broken…. I would ask them to take the grill off to see if there is any other damages…. It’s like 8 push pins to remove the grill- 3 min tops…

I would insist, clean or not, a grill is easy to replace if there was front grill damage….. especially with folks changing to angry grills and 2024+ grills…. There could be additional damage….. that’s just such a weird piece to be broken.

also, be sure to check if it has the 3.0 motor….

 

[Jeepmonster]

I've never heard of these broken either. I noticed that the grille insert is misaligned and broken - maybe it was previously taken apart (or damaged)? This made me look at mine. Mine is pretty flat. The one in the picture looks bent (pushed in). Below is a picture of mine, which I think is normal. Also, a "clean" Carfax doesn't necessarily mean damage wasn't done to it. It just may not have been reported/recorded. Hope you get the full story on what happened.

Here is what mine looks like.

 

[buckeyenutbill]

I went out this afternoon and pulled the grill. It hit a deer at some point. White hairs inside the grill. You can see them in the pic I posted. That plastic piece and two of the mounting points on that headlight were broken as well. They are going to replace both and the grill insert. I climbed all over and under and didn’t see anything else. Should be picking it up next Wednesday.

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