So I noticed my license plate on my new 2015 Blue LX Fit was a bit crooked, so I took it off (the dealer I bought it from put it on initially) and found this:



Anyone know if this is something I should be concerned about? It's essentially an extra hole in the back above the one for the plate, as they missed the guide for the screw...

I'm assuming it shouldn't be a problem and that I should just put the plate on properly and move on? I don't really know much about car panels and the like.

Thanks.

 

I did that same thing by mistake when putting the plate back on. I'm a little disappointed in the cheap fitting, but it's not bothering me. I assume they could be replaced if need be.

 

I'm more worried about rust than anything, but is that something I should be concerned about? The fitting is fine and I put the screw where it's supposed to go, it's the hole in the hatch that concerns me.

 

Oh, they screwed through the steel as well? I just put an extra hole in the plastic fitting on mine, no damage to the hatch skin.

 

Yeah they screwed it in the whole way in the wrong spot. I took some more photos. Might ask a dealer about it since I want to go get some screws for the bottom of the plate anyway.

 

Wouldn't hurt to get touch paint from the dealership and put brush though the hole to add some dab of paint inside there.

I tried using longer screws as the dealership only used two screws instead of four (???) only to start tapping into the steel behind the fitting. Fear of rusting I just use the touch up paint brush to fix it.

 

Looks like somebody screwed up at the Dealership .
Notify the Service Manger and tell him to rectify their mistake .

 

I'd be raising holy heck if a dealership did that to my car! Totally unacceptable.

On closer look, it looks like the hole is mostly in the nylon bushing and just nicked the steel. I'd get a new nylon bushing and touch up the paint on the "nick" while replacing it. That's the best you can hope for now.

 

Take your car back immediately and demand a replacement car!

Good luck with that. The best you can hope for is some paint slapped on the new hole by the same lot boy who couldn't shoot straight in the first place.

Consider the situation: 20 cars come off the truck and the lot boy is told to prep them. He has to wash, adjust tire pressure, take off the plastic protectors, check the fluid levels, and install the dealer frames and advertising plates. Do you think that this minimum-wage worker is going to use any level of care with the process? Nope, he just grabs the Makita, a handful of screws, and has at it!

 

I'm getting a bottle of touch up paint, and am thinking of doing the following:

1) Wash it
2) Paint the hole
3) put some epoxy on it to stop water from getting into the hole behind the grommet.

I don't think the plastic piece will come out very easily, and it's not a big deal I just don't want my rear hatch rusting out on me before I drive the car into the ground. Do y'all think some quick setting epoxy to seal it would work? It's behind the license plate so I don't really care if my sealing job is a bit messy.

 

I second the new fitting and touch up paint idea.

 

I posted something just a second before you did. I'm thinking trying to remove the fitting will do more harm than good (aka I have no idea how to get it out). Then I was thinking of just shoving some epoxy into it after the touch up paint to seal off the hole in the sheet metal.

 

I believe that the "tabs" on the fitting can be compressed from the inside and the fitting then removed, although you probably will have to remove the interior trim panel to reach them. They're sold as a replacement part, so there has to be a way to remove them.