from what i hear, the dealers are REQUIRED by law to put the front license plate on the bumper. as far as installing some kind of bracket for the front plate.....why would any dealer (or business) put more money into something where they do not have to?

to be honest with you, i understand ppl's disappointment in that their bumper now has two drill holes in them. but this topic has floated around the forum for as long as i can remember. and since i knew about it, i instructed the dealer to not drill into my bumper. but truly guys, you cannot blame the dealer on this one.

 

Not sure what the laws are in Cali, but in Illinois you have 3 days to turn the car back to them, no questions asked. You may want to check it out and bring the car around, telling them to fix it or you want your money back.

 

No flame or disagreement. My wife ordered her car six weeks ago. We intend to display the required front license plate when she gets her car. The owners manual discribes drilling tow 10mm holes in the front fascia - made of composite materoial that will not rust.

Why would we care if there are two drilled holes concealed behind the front license plate? I can see no harm.

TIA

 

pre 1/05 cars sold by a dealership in CA did not require any front mounting for a license plate. I got mine a week before the end of 04 and they just left the mounting parts in the trunk and told me about it. sorry to hear you got the two holes. the plugs work out really nice... seen it on alot of cars.

 

hey guys, i'm just curious, but doesn't your front bumper have a cover that you remove to install the front plates? i have 2003 sedan with the aero bodykit and there is a cover right in middle/lower of bumper. you just remove the cover and install the plates with no drilling or anything. just use back the original screws. plus i even cut my front plate 2-3" shorter (as in height) and redrill the mounting holes to make it look more flush with the bumper.

 

The 05's do not have the removable plastic piece - the plate goes straight onto the fascia via two holes (or a special plate).

 

Pgs 9-13 & 9-14 for the 2005 show how to position the plate holder and marking the fascia so as to allow you to drill two 10mm holes for the fasteners. Pg 6-14 shows a picture of the composite cover over the front towing eye. I don't know if this was different in earlier models.

 

Pull the license plate holder off and use a couple of color matched plugs to fill the holes. You'll have a couple of little bumps on your bumper but it beats two holes.