2000 Rx300 Front License Plate Bracket

[ajvenuto]

Has anyone had any experience dealing with a stripped front license plate bracket in a 2000 RX300. I can't get one bolt to release from the front bumper. It just turns freely but won't unscrew.

BTW I've thought about cutting the bolt off and drilling out the hole but the bolt is stainless steel. I replaced the original rusted bolts with SS so they would not rust or bind in the future. I may have screwed MYSELF !!!

I hope this doesn't cost me $500 to correct this issue at my local Lexus dealer !

[Ericok]

Yep, sure do. Had exactly the same problem. There is a very small metal backing plate behind the bumper cover that the bolts screw into. Once you REMOVE THE BUMPER COVER, you'll be able to remove the bolt. You'll probably need a new backing plate from Lexus. If you use stainless in the future, MAKE SURE you use anti-seize on the threads or they'll be hard to get off. (There's a reason people use plastic bolts for this.) It takes less than an hour to remove the bumper cover but, at least, two of the retaining screws are behind the front wheel well arch protectors. You don't have to completely remove the wheel well arch protectors to get at them. You can "peel back the arch protector" a little and get at them from the wheel well.

Has anyone had any experience dealing with a stripped front license plate bracket in a 2000 RX300. I can't get one bolt to release from the front bumper. It just turns freely but won't unscrew.

BTW I've thought about cutting the bolt off and drilling out the hole but the bolt is stainless steel. I replaced the original rusted bolts with SS so they would not rust or bind in the future. I may have screwed MYSELF !!!

I hope this doesn't cost me $500 to correct this issue at my local Lexus dealer !

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[ajvenuto]

Yep, sure do.  Had exactly the same problem.  There is a very small metal backing plate behind the bumper cover that the bolts screw into.  Once you REMOVE THE BUMPER COVER, you'll be able to remove the bolt. You'll probably need a new backing plate from Lexus.  If you use stainless in the future, MAKE SURE you use anti-seize on the threads or they'll be hard to get off.  (There's a reason people use plastic bolts for this.)  It takes less than an hour to remove the bumper cover but, at least, two of the retaining screws are behind the front wheel well arch protectors.  You don't have to completely remove the wheel well arch protectors to get at them.  You can "peel back the arch protector" a little and get at them from the wheel well.

Has anyone had any experience dealing with a stripped front license plate bracket in a 2000 RX300. I can't get one bolt to release from the front bumper. It just turns freely but won't unscrew.

BTW I've thought about cutting the bolt off and drilling out the hole but the bolt is stainless steel. I replaced the original rusted bolts with SS so they would not rust or bind in the future. I may have screwed MYSELF !!!

I hope this doesn't cost me $500 to correct this issue at my local Lexus dealer !

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TO ERICOK,

Thanks so much for the reply. I really had no idea about the SS seizing issue. In fact, I put SS license plate bolts on my last car. After 16 years I removed the stainless steel bolts with no problem!!! Thinking back however, I believe the bolts were screwed into plastic nuts. Hence I gained a truly false sense of security using SS bolts.

Are plastic bolts easy to get or are they a specialty item. I honestly have never heard of them. I would love to replace all my SS bolts with plastic ones.

One other thing if you don't mind..... On a difficulty scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult, what would you say the difficulty level of removing the front bumber cover to be?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. Your great insight and advice with this touchy problem is greatly appreciated.

ajvenuto

[SKperformance]

wal mart or any parts store like UAP , pep boys or napa will have the plastic ones.

[ajvenuto]

wal mart or any parts store like UAP , pep boys or napa will have the plastic ones.

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Thanks SK. I feel kind of silly not knowing about such a handy item. I sure wish I would have know about the plastic bolts before I went to stainless steel and got myself into a bit of a jam!!!

Regards....

[Ericok]

If you're mechanically inclined, removing the bumper cover is a 5 (average job). If I remember correctly, the bumper cover is held on with a total of 17 bolts. Eight are on the underside, one each are hidden behind each wheel well cover (total two), seven hold the lower grille on (which also has to be removed). Except for the two "hidden" bolts securing the top corners of the cover, there's nothing particularly tricky about the job. Technically, you don't have to completely remove the bumper cover from the vehicle. Once all the bolts are removed, you can pull the cover clear far enough to reach behind with your hand to remove the backing plate. My Lexus dealer's labor rate is $90/hr so you can judge whether this is worth it.

[ajvenuto]

If you're mechanically inclined, removing the bumper cover is a 5 (average job). If I remember correctly, the bumper cover is held on with a total of 17 bolts.  Eight are on the underside, one each are hidden behind each wheel well cover (total two), seven hold the lower grille on (which also has to be removed).  Except for the two "hidden" bolts securing the top corners of the cover, there's nothing particularly tricky about the job.  Technically, you don't have to completely remove the bumper cover from the vehicle.  Once all the bolts are removed, you can pull the cover clear far enough to reach behind with your hand to remove the backing plate.  My Lexus dealer's labor rate is $90/hr so you can judge whether this is worth it.

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Ericok,

Thanks very much for the very detailed instructions. I plan on trying this as soon as I can. Your time and help are greatly appreciated.

Regards,

ajvenuto