[leeb18c]

Hi, I want to remove the front plate holder but when I try to unscrew(with special bit), the bolt just spins and never become loose. Is it push pin type lock/bolt? How do I remove it? Thanks.

 

[Steverino]

A picture of the fastener would help...

 

[El Dobro]

Mine was riveted on by the dealer.

 

[Steverino]

Mine was push-pinned in by me.

 

[leeb18c]

Here is the picture. The thing is metal/alloy and not sure if it it push pin locking thing.

 

[Carlysle]

That is a pop rivet. You have to drill it out.
I did that with my 2017 Volt and it leaves a hole so I bought some aluminum barrel rivets and glued them into the holes. The aluminum
caps blend in well with the face of the car.

 

[Steverino]

I used plastic push pin "rivets" to make taking it off a simple pull of the pin.

 

[hellsop]

Hi, I want to remove the front plate holder but when I try to unscrew(with special bit), the bolt just spins and never become loose. Is it push pin type lock/bolt? How do I remove it? Thanks.

You DO realize that California requires two plates to be displayed on passenger cars, yes?

 

[Mr X]

All the rivets are unnecessary.


All you need is the 2 screws in the bottom grill and that keeps it on.


Looks 1000000x better off though.

 

[Steverino]

All you need is the 2 screws in the bottom grill and that keeps it on.

Why use two when you can use one? lol

 

[leeb18c]

Thanks, all. I'll try to remove it on the weekend.

 

[I'mElectric]

That is a pop rivet. You have to drill it out.
I did that with my 2017 Volt and it leaves a hole so I bought some aluminum barrel rivets and glued them into the holes. The aluminum
caps blend in well with the face of the car.

A picture of your solution would be nice.

 

[Guest]

From the factory, the plate holder is riveted on with 4 aluminum rivets - If a dealer installed it, they probably used the same thing because the factory kit comes with the rivets and the installation instructions are on the bracket. The heads of the rivets are HUGE, but the holes in the front fascia are actually quite small - 5.5 mm (7/32nds) is the size they tell you to drill if you're installing the factory part yourself . . . . and just the top two holes would be plenty - 4 rivets is way over-kill, IMO

The 'secret' to removing Pop rivets is to carefully drill with a larger drill bit (3/8ths or so works well for these) just enough to get the head of the rivet to come off the shank and then you can push the remainder of it through the hole so it will fall out the back. It's pretty likely that the rivet will begin to spin before the head falls off, but you don't actually need to drill it all the way off - You can pop the head off with a small flat screwdriver if you've drilled it deeply enough. If not, use the screwdriver to keep it from spinning so you can drill just a little deeper. The aluminum is very soft and drills easily - Just be careful to stop when the head comes off

This method will leave you with a hole no larger than the original one drilled in the car. I did this yesterday and the holes aren't really noticeable at all. I am eventually going to fill them, likely with a bit of epoxy and then paint it to match the silver of the fascia, but for now it looks OK with just the holes

Don

 

[btown]

A picture of your solution would be nice.

I'll 2nd that. I've got 4 plugs in my front bumper that look okay but would definitely like something that looks better.

 

[Todlay]

Nope it’s a #1 triangle security screw which you can buy from grainger for $2.00 but you half to deal with the plastic square plug on back side which likes to spin

 

[Steverino]

Nope it’s a #1 triangle security screw which you can buy from grainger for $2.00 but you half to deal with the plastic square plug on back side which likes to spin

Picture?

 

[Todlay]

 

[Steverino]

Thanks. Maybe it depends on what the dealer used. Because front license plates are not a national requirement (some states require them, some don't) the front license plate brackets come in a plastic bag and are mounted by the dealer to the bumper using metal pop rivets after drilling holes. But since I wanted to install it (not the dealer), I used plastic body panel connectors instead. Like a removable plastic pop rivet. Sounds like your dealer used security screws for some weird reason.