I hear your idea and can see what your trying to do ... yeah, it might work.  Seems like an awful big stud for that area of material...

My guess  is  that the Toy Engineers used those cones because it made it stronger / more reliable / dependable / what ever you want to call it.  If you are one of the very few  having this problem then I would say there is something else going on to contribute to the issue.  Compared to most other auto manufactures, Toyota engineered and built a very good rig.  Designed to last and be abused over time.  I don't know if I would rule out using the cones just yet.