The pain of drilling holes in the bumper for the front plate

I live in CA and they require that the front license plate be mounted. Before I drill holes in the beautiful and pristine front bumper, can someone please tell me what is behind the front grill? There appears to be some type of louver and I wonder if it opens and closes for airflow to the battery, or something else?

My thought was to drill some holes in the plastic license plate mounting that came with the car and attach it to the grill cross member with some black wire ties. I am concerned about blocking the airflow and damaging my car. I have a BEV model.

I did see the expensive bracket that mounts to the fitting for the tow hook, but people commented that it interfered with the sensors in the bumper.

Thanks for the information and happy holidays to all.

I would just pay the fixit tickets fine instead. I never ran front plates in California because I refuse to deface my bumper with unsightly holes. Unless it's changed it was a $10 fine. I only got one ticket in 28 years.

I thought of just not putting the plate on the car, but the parking police are very aggressive in my area. I do not know what the fine is for not having a front plate, and I prefer not to find out. I do believe that it gives the police an excuse to pull you over and hassle you.

If you are going to mount the license plate holder and have accepted drilling the front bumper, then why not just use the holder that comes with the car? I watched the dealer install mine. Its straightforward. Drill 2 largish holes in the bumper where the dimples are. The size of the holes should be the size of the protrusions on the back of the holder, probably 1/2" or so. The protrusions are used simply to orient the holder. The holder is then attached to the bumper by 4 screws. The screws to attach the bumper (and the .icense plate) should be in the frunk.

Unless you moved to a state that didn't require a front plate, once it's installed, it really doesn't matter that there are holes there...they'll all be covered by the plate and since the bumper cover won't rust, it shouldn't be a big deal.

I was just trying to avoid drilling the holes and looking for an alternative way of mounting the front plate.

My last car had double-stick tape holding the license plates on it when picked up in Munich. I didn't remove them, they did that at the performance delivery center in SC after the car got shipped back. They held up in rain and 100mph runs on the autobahn. 3M makes some designed to hold on vehicle body trim, so as long as you cleaned things really well first, there are ways if it's really important to you.

Thanks for the suggestion Jim

jadnashuanh said:

My last car had double-stick tape holding the license plates on it when picked up in Munich. I didn't remove them, they did that at the performance delivery center in SC after the car got shipped back. They held up in rain and 100mph runs on the autobahn. 3M makes some designed to hold on vehicle body trim, so as long as you cleaned things really well first, there are ways if it's really important to you.

Click to expand...

Great idea! I used some double-sided Swedish auto trim tape (seemed similar to the 3M trim tape) to hang a pair of daytime running lights from the upper surface of the front air intake on my U.S. model Honda. These lights have been hanging like this for 3 years, ~20,000 km, through rain, at 130 kph, and are attached just as tight as they were 3 years ago which could be a problem if you need to change your license plate. It would be better if you could attach something into which the license plate frame screws would screw so that you could remove the plate without ripping the frame from the tape.

If you use tape, just make sure things are lined up straight when you put it on! You may not get a second chance. Often, though, while a pain, the adhesive actually takes a day or so to reach full strength with most of them. Think of it this way...most logos, model designations, etc., are all held on with similar tapes...they work. They've gotten away from using pins and holes in the car for that sort of stuff for a long time. It's more of an issue with steel panels, but still...

The dealer asked me if I wanted the front plate on or not, and here in Ohio they are required plus the fine in some cities is $75 per occurrence and a required fix if you get caught. I don't like messing with the law or care to give them a reason to stop me, plus my insurance is based on safe driver discounts and no tickets foe a long time. So I am the proud owner of a front plate with a drilled front bumper cover.

Here in Europe a front license plate is a requirement and people don't mess around with not having one. Everyone just gets over the preciousness of drilling a hole and does it. #firstworldproblems

You could always try one of these or something similar:

http://www.usmillworks.com/

Avoids drilling holes and utilizes the front tow hook instead.

mcdonaldta said:

You could always try one of these or something similar:

http://www.usmillworks.com/

Avoids drilling holes and utilizes the front tow hook instead.

Click to expand...

I have noticed that this was a possible alternative, but for me an off center plate arrangement just looks wrong, I mean if it is going to be on the car anyway I don't want it yelling at me as non symmetrical every time I get in the car.

I have read a few times now of people using magnets to hold it on using the holder somehow. I think it might have been on the i3 facebook page. Sorry I can't remember exactly where.

It might sound silly but the magnets from an old hard drive are ridiculously strong and might do a good job.

mcdonaldta said:

You could always try one of these or something similar:

http://www.usmillworks.com/

Avoids drilling holes and utilizes the front tow hook instead.

Click to expand...

Everyone that has tried one on an i3 that I've read about said that it triggered the safety sensors in the bumper. Now, I'm not certain all models have them depending on options.

Slick kit though. Millworks doesn't mention problems with the i3 but does for various other models parking sensors.



I think front and centre looks better though.

jadnashuanh said:

mcdonaldta said:

You could always try one of these or something similar:

http://www.usmillworks.com/

Avoids drilling holes and utilizes the front tow hook instead.

Click to expand...

Everyone that has tried one on an i3 that I've read about said that it triggered the safety sensors in the bumper. Now, I'm not certain all models have them depending on options.

Click to expand...

The website claims to make two versions, with and without the parking sensors. Anyone try this with the sensor version?

Pixelpro said:

I would just pay the fixit tickets fine instead. I never ran front plates in California because I refuse to deface my bumper with unsightly holes. Unless it's changed it was a $10 fine. I only got one ticket in 28 years.

Click to expand...

Friend of mine just got the ticket, now is $40 in California.

I asked my sales guy for a "pouch" like they use for the temporary license plates at the dealership for test drives. I leave my plate in the pouch in the frunk and when I park I take it out and hang it over the front bumper. The strap over the pouch is just long enough that when I close the frunk over it the plate hangs down straight and even, right over the bumper!