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License plate screw doesn't go all the way in?

32K views 64 replies 11 participants last post by  Tiger-Heli 
#1 ·
Hi!

I bought a 2017 Elantra GL Saturday and I took possession of it Tuesday.

There were a few things wrong (accessories which were not installed and crappy winter tires instead of what I asked for) but hopefully this will soon get fixed by the dealership.

I noticed that I have a small problem with the licence plate screws, the left most one does not go all the way in.

I tried swapping the screws around and the problem seems to be with the screw hole itself and not the screw because the other screw cannot go further.

Is there anything on the left side of the licence plate which could prevent the screw from going all the way in? The hole thread "seems" to be ok so I don't understand why it would do that.

The dealership installed their own "branded" licence plate holder (which I intend to remove) but I assume the screws were originals from Hyundai (or at least their recommended length).

Any ideas?

Thank you and have a nice day!

Nick
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Can't tell from here what kind of screw hole you have
Whether it is in the metal itself or a plastic nut or some other thing
Maybe a picture would help?

You can try using a flashlight and looking into the hole
See if there is anything which is blocking the screw
If it is just metal and the screw threads don't go far enough then a thread tap can help
Or using and impact driver ... but there are risk with that
If it is a plastic nut then you will need to replace the nut (not easy to re-thread the hole)

Oh, yeah, you could cut the screw shorter??
Thanks Reus49

Good luck with that
 
#7 ·
In agreement with the above.

I was looking at the whole remote license plate thing for the front plate when I came across the following video. It's BS the toll cost she claims in the video. They're more than that here in Cali. For a brief moment I thought about this tricky device until I heard the words 'it's a felony to use one'...um, huh..really? So a thief can break into a car which is a misdemeanor (not a felony) but covering a license plate is supposedly a felony. Which monkey wrote this into law....geeez

 
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#9 ·
Hi!

Thank you guys (and gals if there are any) for your replies...

I removed the licence plate and tried to screw the same screw in both holes:

In the rightmost hole, it screws fully, (I wanted to post direct links but cannot with my post count...)

In the leftmost hole however, this is the best I can do:
(I wanted to post direct links but cannot with my post count...)

As you can see on the other picture I can fit my finger between the screw head (and washer) and the car.

When the licence plate was still there I didn't realize how bad the problem was...

Avisitor, it's metal and the threads seem to go all the way so it looks like

If it's the back, the hole might be cross threaded from careless techs
It was cross threaded as Scoobaru suggested except that it wasn't done by a tech but by the person who takes care of completing the purchase when you go get the car...

It's that person who installed the licence plate...

reus49, I guess I could do that but there is actually less of the screw that goes in than I initially thought so I am afraid there might be a risk of losing the licence plate..

Tiger-Heli and Freeway Surfer, both screw are identical and are not self threading... Now that I have seen how bad the problem actually is I think Scoobaru is right about cross threading...

OkieRich, we only have a licence plate in the back in my province and until I read your post I wondered what that weird piece of plastic I had seen in the trunk was... ;-)

If the problem is a damaged thread, can a thread tap fix the problem without the need to make the hole bigger and does anyone know for sure the size of the current hole (is Tiger-Heli right about it being M8x1.0?).

Thank you all and have a nice day!

Nick
 

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#6 · (Edited)
If front, Hyundai has a license plate mounting bracket that you attach to the bumper. Then, the license plate attaches to it. It comes with the needed hardware. I found one in my 2017's trunk.

We are a single-plate state. Thank God.
 
#10 ·
Don't know the bolt size

But, you should be able to re-tap the hole and fix the cross thread problem without making the hole bigger
Just use oil while chasing the threads and take your time. Forward and back then forward a little.
Spray more oil to keep tap clean.
There is nothing worst than a broken tap stuck in the screw hole.

Or you can use heli-coils to fix the threads.
That requires drilling out the hole and tapping new threads in
Then inserting and gluing a coil in place
It will then seem like the exact same thread as before.
I try to avoid this method if possible
 
#11 · (Edited)
Or you can use heli-coils to fix the threads.
That requires drilling out the hole and tapping new threads in
Then inserting and gluing a coil in place. It will then seem like the exact same thread as before.

I try to avoid this method if possible
Very familiar with heli-cool process but never resorted to attempt trying it. Somehow, my comfort index shrinks at the thought of enlarging a hole just to turn around and reduce it. Nothing against the concept. And all the respect to you for doing it.

Heli-coil has obviously proven itself a viable fix alternative over the years. I just haven't proven myself as viable to that process.

Where you "try" to avoid the method...I DO avoid it. At all costs.
 
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#17 ·
Technically, this isn't warranty.

The trunk lid screw hole did not fail, so warranty doesn't apply. OTOH, you bought a new car and expect it to be delivered in new condition and in this case it wasn't.

Point is the dealer might have to eat the cost of fixing this and not get re-imbursed from HMA, but you as the buyer shouldn't have to pay anything.
 
#19 ·
When the dealership lady put my Temp Tags under the frame for the license plate she used a screw gun. The thing it is was more like a small impact gun. She had it in forward and stripped the first screw. I used glue when putting my license plate on so it would hold.

My guess is user error at dealership is the cause of your screw problem.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Hi!

When the dealership lady put my Temp Tags under the frame for the license plate she used a screw gun. The thing it is was more like a small impact gun. She had it in forward and stripped the first screw. I used glue when putting my license plate on so it would hold.
This is, more or less, what happened to me with the only difference is that she used a drill (not even a lower powered screwdriver).

When she said she needed to get her drill before we went outside I was puzzled, that's when she explained it was for the license plate... Personally I would never use a drill for that but I figured she was used to do it that way so I didn't say anything...

My guess is user error at dealership is the cause of your screw problem.
I know it is, I was there looking at the rest of the car when she was installing the license plate...

I even know she noticed something was wrong because there are only 2 screws and I heard her screw the same screw twice...

I didn't realize at the time she had messed up the thread though...

But then, it's not the only thing I did not realize, more on that later...

Thank you and have a nice day!

Nick
 
#35 ·
Hi!

Yeah.. I'd take it up with the manager and get them to fix it.
I had contacted the sales manager about multiple other problems earlier and he had what I believe to be the service manager call me...

I told him about the problem...

I am tempted to let the sales manager know about the problem too since it was essentially sales staff who messed up the thread and I want to make sure everything is fixed correctly...

Hand threading before power tools, ALWAYS
Honestly, a good old screwdriver and only a few turns is enough so as far as I am concerned they should not have used power tools (or maybe a low power electric screwdriver if they really have to...

Thank you and have a nice day!

Nick
 
#24 ·
So much discussion on a tag screw.....lol


Personally I would have just grabbed my dremel and hacked on the end of the screw and put it back in. Over in 2 minutes.....
 
#36 ·
Hi!

If the shop messes up my brand new car, I expect them to make it right and if it takes a while, they can put me in a rental car.
My thought exactly...

I would assume they would chase the threads
That's what I want them to do...

their "fix" could well make it worse.
That's what I am very much afraid of...

I want them to chase the thread or, if that doesn't work, retap it and put an heli-coil in it.. to make the hole the right size and thread again...

I don't want them to use a screw that makes its own thread, that I could do myself and would most likely do if the care wasn't NEW...

I have quite a few reasons not to trust them fully...

When I went there to get the car there were quite a few things wrong with it...

- Windows deflectors were not present.
- Hood deflector was not present.

and, last but not least,

- My contract with them specifically said that they were supposed to provide me with good quality (not Chinese low grade) Winter tires...

Guess what they provided me with?

You guessed it, low quality Chinese tires with a name that seemed to come out directly from a video game, Cratos.

(Kratos is the main character in the God of War video games...:wink: )

The thread destroyer :surprise: lady is apparently supposed to be told when there are things missing on the car but she was not, it was just a bad surprise I had when I looked for them...

There are supposed to fix all of those things when I go there next week but I am a little afraid they will manage to do something wrong again...

Have a nice day!

Nick
 
#29 · (Edited)
I have no business adding to this post. Can't help myself. Besides, I also can't help but wonder what the dealer's guys would've done to fix this problem? Dremel it, as above? Chase the threads, mentioned also? Find a shorter screw? Fill the hole with some caulking, or worse yet: JB WELD? :eek: Anyone's guess. :puzzled: Given this scenario over 3 different service departments, I'd wager there would be 3 different solutions. And, after all, it's only a screw. But that's not the point. it's the principle of the thing. :rolleyes:

Only recourse is to ding the dealer on the customer satisfaction survey.
 
#38 ·
The moral of the story is start the screws by hand first and THEN use the power drill if you want to.

Again, the sales lady might not have been properly trained, but I've seen and worked with tire mechanics that just load the lug nuts into the impact socket and zip them on with the gun ...
 
#39 ·
Like the lazy bum that put my dad's oil plug back in on his old Kia Rio with an impact. Drip! But it turned out fine. Dad blew up that motor so we put in another one. End of problem. :rolleyes:

BTW: Blown motor was dad's fault, not the fault of the drain plug. Dad forgot to change the timing belt at the recommended service interval. Need I explain further? I didn't think so. LOL
 
#42 ·
You're overthinking it. After all, aren't these types of things the bases for the threads like the one listed below?

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/ad-2017-elantra/571329-fumoto-vs-ez-oil-drain-valve.html

If a dealership ever screwed me over with simplistic concepts with a screw fitment, I'll take things into my own hands knowing it was done right.

~No offense to the OP~

I suggest supervising whatever the dealership intends to do as a fix.
 
#43 ·
No - I get exactly where you are coming from ...

Sales at the dealership told me I would void my warranty if I did my own oil changes, and I didn't want to tell them that I had no intention of EVER bringing it into the dealer for service unless there was a recall, a TSB, a warranty issue, or maybe for the ATF flush at 75K miles or so.

But I wouldn't have expected them to screw up a license plate install, and on my car they didn't.

My point is OP didn't have many options - don't let them put the plate on, or be careful and watch when they did ...

And now that's it's messed up, the options are fix it himself or hope the dealer fixes it correctly.
 
#44 ·
No - I get exactly where you are coming from ...

Sales at the dealership told me I would void my warranty if I did my own oil changes, and I didn't want to tell them that I had no intention of EVER bringing it into the dealer for service unless there was a recall, a TSB, a warranty issue, or maybe for the ATF flush at 75K miles or so.
Yet, here we go again with...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act

...we're going in circles this morning/afternoon with all these public displays. I get it. Case closed :wink:
 
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