DIY: Engine Grille Block

[dave mac]

When it starts to get cold, I block the upper grill with strips of black electrical tape. You can barely notice that anything is different. Unless you tell someone, they don't even see it. I just cut the strips to the exact length and neatly apply them top to bottom w/a slight overlap. Takes me less than 10 minutes, no tools, no disassembly, and costs pennies. In the Spring I just peel it right off, no harm to the grill or painted surfaces (I make sure it doesn't touch paint when i apply the tape). I live in the Northeast, so it holds up all winter, and yes I drive on the highway. I do this every year. If it's really cold I can also easily block the lower grill too, or just parts of it. See pix:

[komichal]

We did this twenty years ago when we were driving cars made in 1975 and we were too lazy to replace the thermostat.
If this really works then it is a big shame for Toyota that it produces the same crappy cars as the Eastern Europe did in 1975.

[dogsridewith]

I might be inclined to first block the lower grill and little fake grillettes on each side of it on this 07 hatch...for one thing, it is a sticks trap. Note, on the hatchback that all three lower grills can almost be cleanly covered with a single flat ribbon shape.
(Yeah, I know you can put fog or driving lights there...note how much bigger these fake grills have gotten on everything as front end styling has become outlandish in the last decade.)