Front License Plate Bracket
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
From: Taxachusetts
Front License Plate Bracket
So who out there has lost their front license plate when the entire bracket fell off?
I did not notice it until I dropped off my truck for an inspection and they called me asking where my from plate is. I said "Well, if it is not on the front of the truck then I have no idea." After a trip to the Registry and the Station, I finally got my sticker. 3 months later, the new plate shows up so I got the new bracket and the dealer installs it with these plastic pop rivets.
Ok so now a month goes by and I am walking towards my truck in the parking lot and I see the front plate bracket dangling... I grab it and pull and presto... It comes off in my hand.
I guess I will have to bolt that thing on and do it right.
Plastic Pop Rivets - my got what else can they cheap out on?!?!?!?
I did not notice it until I dropped off my truck for an inspection and they called me asking where my from plate is. I said "Well, if it is not on the front of the truck then I have no idea." After a trip to the Registry and the Station, I finally got my sticker. 3 months later, the new plate shows up so I got the new bracket and the dealer installs it with these plastic pop rivets.
Ok so now a month goes by and I am walking towards my truck in the parking lot and I see the front plate bracket dangling... I grab it and pull and presto... It comes off in my hand.
I guess I will have to bolt that thing on and do it right.
Plastic Pop Rivets - my got what else can they cheap out on?!?!?!?
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 394
Likes: 0
From: s.f. bay area
Well, mine fell off too, but only after it had a run in with a fire hydrant in front of my house 
My bumper now has a nice dent at the bottom which means the license plate bracket doesn't fit properly. I used bolts/nuts to hold on the new one so I could get it adjusted to look "normal" on the tweaked bumper.
My bumper now has a nice dent at the bottom which means the license plate bracket doesn't fit properly. I used bolts/nuts to hold on the new one so I could get it adjusted to look "normal" on the tweaked bumper.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 441
Likes: 0
From: Cave Springs, AR
My plate fell off of my '99 E350 van. I never bothered to replace the bracket, the plate is on the floor under the driver's seat.
Good call though, I'll have to go put some bolts on the truck so I don't loose it.
-Jay
Good call though, I'll have to go put some bolts on the truck so I don't loose it.
-Jay
Junior User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
I lost mine at the deer lease. It was just plain luck that i found it. Didn't find any deer though that day.
i used some bolts and large washers to put the bracket back on. it will have to break something substantial to come off again.
i used some bolts and large washers to put the bracket back on. it will have to break something substantial to come off again.
New User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Lost my front plate when a girl in a Chevy Cavalier broadsided me while I was stopped. She hit me hard enough to knock the front plate and bracket about 50' away. The cop and I were laughing about how fast she must have been going to knock it that far. There were sideways skidmarks under my front tires showing she moved me 3' sideways. I hadda get a new bumper ( was a little dinged). Her Cavalier had a really bent front clip AND the A-Pillar was bent, her roof was sagging on the passenger side....
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 256
Likes: 0
From: Denver, CO
Broke mine off wheelin in the snow. Put some 1/4" bolts and lock washers on it and it's good as new now. Yeah I am a little worried about what else is that cheap. You see, it's easier to setup a machine to put in rivets than it is to have one thread bolts. Or have a person (God forbid) do it.
I guess I am a little worried about what OTHER car makers are doing...you know the disposable cars...
I guess I am a little worried about what OTHER car makers are doing...you know the disposable cars...
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,314
Likes: 4
I had to move mine when I put on the westin bull bar that blocked it...
just moved it up... marked and drilled some pilot holes in the facia and used sheet metal screws....
if the plate is knocked off now though... there's some serious damage already done by the bull bar and all the lights I have mounted up there !!!!
just moved it up... marked and drilled some pilot holes in the facia and used sheet metal screws....
if the plate is knocked off now though... there's some serious damage already done by the bull bar and all the lights I have mounted up there !!!!
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 475
Likes: 1
From: La Habra, CA
I broke mine off on purpose, to get replacement bulbs in the fog lights. I think it looks better this way. I guess that's one good thing about driving in California, no inspections to bother with.
Eric
Eric
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: Bronx & Queensbury NY
a similar thing happened to me. i pulled off from my home and after gassing up i look at the front end of my truck and the license plate and bracket is gone. i just returned from DMV fighting them for passenger plates instead of commercial plates for my superduty so i didnt want to return there and wait for another set of plates.
i back tracked my route all the way back home and the license plate was sitting right there on the street where the truck was parked. 20 minutes later i was laying under the truck in home depots parking lot installing new bolts.
i was very lucky
i back tracked my route all the way back home and the license plate was sitting right there on the street where the truck was parked. 20 minutes later i was laying under the truck in home depots parking lot installing new bolts.
i was very lucky
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 3
From: Valdez, Alaska
Cheap little plastic rivits. I to have joined the ranks of having a handful of bolts and washers in the middle of a parking lot. Wouldnt worry but they love to give tickest for missing front license plates.
