-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Rear license plate screw stripped?
- Thread starter ebmcs03
- Start date
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
I had the same problem I found that if I applied pulling or pushing pressure with the frame or plate it worked better Trying to get it to thread without this additional load wasn't working right unfortunately
Is the screw head actually stripped or is it just spinning without coming out? If the screw head is not stripped then the plastic receiver that the screw goes into is probably spinning. This happened to me, the delivery people attached my license plate frame with the wrong size screws. To get the screws out I was able to get some needle nose pliers behind the screw head to keep the plastic receiver from spinning while unscrewing the screw. Be careful to not scratch the paint around the frame if you do this and put some masking tape around the area to protect the paint. @insaneoctane’s suggestion may work as well for your situation. Good luck.
The screw head is fine. But the white plastic is spinning and not coming out. I tried putting pressure by pushing or pulling what I can while turning. But it still won’t come out. I have a feeling this will be a future issue too even if I can get it out with needle nose pliers.
Boggles my mind why Tesla decided to make the license plate screw with plugs. Every car I’ve seen is a something physically hard where the screw would screw into.
Boggles my mind why Tesla decided to make the license plate screw with plugs. Every car I’ve seen is a something physically hard where the screw would screw into.
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
I, too, was not impressed with the quality of these inserts and think that they would be a problem if used more than just a few times.
TT97
Active Member
Same thing happened to me. It is the plastic nut grommet underneath the plate that spins. I ended up pulling mine out completely and reinstalled the grommet (stupidly, just put the same grommet back in so couldn't screw in the screw). I am waiting for CA vintage plates - when those come in, I will be replacing all the grommets and getting security screws (they are very cheap on Amazon).
Same issue for me. Please let us know where you were able to find new grommets that don' spin.
talkingevs
GO AVS! 2022 CHAMPS!
TT97
Active Member
This is what I am buying for the new plates:
https://www.amazon.com/License-Stai...words=security+screws+for+license+plate&psc=1
I don't like having license plate frames so like the ides of the foam padding so the plate doesn't go straight on to the paint. My plan is to superglue the grommets on to ensure they do not spin.
lairdb
Member
This is one of the very few "why did they choose that part" that I've found. The role is sometimes known as "panel retained nut", and they're typically put into a square hole for exactly that reason:
I'm always hesitant to make a semi-permanent change, but it it becomes annoying, it has crossed my mind to pull the factory inserts and substitute rivnuts or fab-loks:
I'm always hesitant to make a semi-permanent change, but it it becomes annoying, it has crossed my mind to pull the factory inserts and substitute rivnuts or fab-loks:
Sounds like you are 'screw'-ed...
But in all seriousness, if you're not able to unscrew it, it's most likely what others have mentioned and the plastic plug is spinning with the screw. If you can't easily get it out, I would just take it to a service center (of course that can be a huge pain for something so little if you're not close to a service center).
But in all seriousness, if you're not able to unscrew it, it's most likely what others have mentioned and the plastic plug is spinning with the screw. If you can't easily get it out, I would just take it to a service center (of course that can be a huge pain for something so little if you're not close to a service center).
This may be an odd question, but why are you needing to remove the screws more than the one time to get the plate on? When the new registration tag comes, I just put it over last years', or (when the pile gets too tall), use an Xacto knife to remove the pile first. The plate stays on the car. What am I missing?
Not sure which state you're in, but here in NJ you are given temp tags when you pick up the car and get issued your permanent plates about two weeks later. The temp tag in NJ is a flimsy plastic tag which goes where the permanent plate goes and uses the same screws to attach to the car. When I got my permanent plates I needed to unscrew the temp tag to get the new plates on and ran into the same issue others had where some of the plastic receivers for the screws would just keep spinning when trying to remove my temp tag. We're talking about the attaching entire license plate here, not some little registration sticker that some states use.
Ah. No, in California the temporary registration is just the paperwork folded (to obscure sensitive info) and taped to the inside of the passenger side of the windshield. Metal plates come in a month or two, and (at least on my cars) never need to come off once installed.
But, the spinny plastic nuts were certainly a lack of design detail on Tesla's part.
Similar threads
