So backing out of a parking place the front license plate frame caught a mound of snow and was plied off. Now the holes in the bumper are too wide to hold the screws-spikes-posts of the OEM plate holder in place.

There is also a steel bumper embedded behind the bumper cover so it is not accessible from the rear for backing nuts.

What to do? I thought about just mounting the plate with self driving screws but I doubt that would last long.

How about epoxy or Bondo in the screw holes to refasten the plate frame?

Not sure of some knockoff plate frames would fit the curves of the bumper.

All ideas welcome.

Thanks

 

You could remove the front clip. It is really quite easy. Two big bolts under the front bumper, and then just the connectors for the fog lights. Then it just slides of toward the front.

Then you could drill through the aluminum bumper and attach bolts from the back exactly where you want them.

I've taken the front clip off my car more than a dozen times for various nefarious reasons

 

Not going to help you but I have always refused to drill holes in perfectly fine bumpers to make it easier for the police/gvt to give you a ticket.
The few times in my life that i go a ticket for missing the frt license plate, it always has been a few $ "fix-it-ticket

 

Granted, I'm a sneaky one, but here is what I do: See photos

I cut the shank off two large screws and glued them to the plate to look like the plate is screwed into the bumper.

I use a very weak double sided tape on the back side of the plate and pull of the protective covering on the tape just before attaching it to the front of my pristine, has no holes, bumper.

If I get a ticket, I "fix it" on the spot and demand the write off immediately.

There is no California law that says how the plate must be attached, so I force Johnny Law to sign off the ticket on the spot, else I call the watch commander so he can explain how this works to johnny law on the spot. If they waste my time, then I waste theirs. The fix it ticket here only costs $10.


If you do the same you can fill your holes and touch up paint to make the front look as it should again.

 

my plate got ripped out a few years ago, I just got some larger screws and it hasn't been a problem since

@Waterdragon: that's a great system, I'll use that if I ever get a car that doesn't already have a provision for a front plate.

 

I used plastic rivets from an auto parts store to fasten the frame to the bumper cover. They work sort of like a molly.

Dean

 

Thanks all. I abandoned the OEM license plate holder, got a generic replacement and fastened it to existiing holes on the bumper cover with No. 14 and No.16 coated screws. It doesn't look as nice as the factory frame, but that bugger is not going anywhere soon!