NFLblitze1

WTF?!?!?!

i recently decided to take off my front license plate, and there are 2 bumper plugs which i assumed would be there but then i see a 3rd hole drilled dead center on my front bumper, is this how things are suppose to be? i am a bit outraged because it is EXTREMELY UNSIGHTLY, i can't stress you enough how pissed off i am, covered by the fear if im not suppose to be pissed at all, i called the acura dealership and they told me that New Jersey State Requires that you have a 3rd screw in to hold it in securely which smells like bullshit to me...can someone please help me out?

260 HP

iTrader: (3)

I don't live in NJ, but I'm pretty sure they're feeding you some BS there....

jhan1102

Oh yeah, did you tell him about the 4th one up their azz if they don't fix it?

Steel

It shouldnt be there, none of them have that, so you tell them they're full of shit.

acuraTL44

A week or so ago I put the license plates on my new TL. I don't recall there being any third screw on that. I don't think the New Jersey State has any say in how your license plates are installed. They just want them to be on there and stay on there.

The dealership is B.S.ing you. I would take it back to the dealer and demand that they put on a new bumber , without a drilled hole in the middle.

Did the third hole screw up any of the "ACURA" lettering underneath the license plate. Is it in the middle of the "U"?

NFLblitze1

not sure if you can see this well but if u look hard enough it was taken in the garage theres this UNSIGHTLY HOLE just dead center in the middle of my bumper

Aegir

The front plate holder has a hole for a third screw. The dealer used it - probably as intended. They could have done you the favor of mounting it less securely using only two screws, but you probably didn't ask for this. Even if they had done this, there's a good chance that the bumper would have been damaged by the frame holder. These things generally do screw up bumpers - which is why cars are delivered without them and they are installed by the dealer in states that require them. I could understand the bitching if the dealer was in a state that didn't require a front plate (and they installed it anyway), but it sounds like that's not the case here. Just get it fixed. A good shop should be able to fill and touch up the hole inexpensively.

Batman-JGII

This is all the website states:

Standard Issue Plates

When you title and register a vehicle, MVC will issue you two license plates, one for the front and one for the rear of the car (or one plate for trailers, motorized bicycles, and motorcycles). Plates must be clean and visible at all times. The rear plate, even if reflectorized, must be lighted so that it shows from 50 feet at night. Using license plate holders that obscure or conceal any lettering on the license plate is a violation subject to a fine.

If they give you a hard time at the dealership, you can always call the MVC to verify.

w1n78

same thing happened to me last year. check out my post #14 from https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=drill

TBone2004

Why you taking off the plate though? In NJ we need 'em so I understand no one wants extra holes in their car etc. but you gotta keep a plate on there anyway - so it really does not impact you.

Or am I missing something here - were you going to do something that now can't be done becasue of this?

Papaman677

The dealer is feeding you a line of BS. When have you ever seen a plate with a hole in the corners and in the center. There's only holes in the corners

TBone2004

He is most likely talking about the license plate holder - maybe that has 3 screws to the bumper. The plate does not screw directly to the bumper.

Maybe Dealer is saying the plate Holder needs 3 screws to be secured to the bumper. Doesn't matter - point is moot - can't drive without front plate anyway in NJ.

TBone2004

sorry, just saw what you wrote. Yep. I agree, but no need to fix unless he is planning on moving out of this wonderful "2 Plate-State"

dman918

Is there a way to fill it and use touch up, or would it look really bad? Same thing happened to me, but I bought mine from the dealership used. This was the same dealership that sold it new to the guy before me a year before.

JDM5lugHatch

While it is illegal to run without a front plate the worst that will happen is a ticket. VA also requires a front plat but there are a lot of us that run without them. In approx. 10 years of driving without a front plate I have gotten a ticket 2 or 3 times. Cop's around here aren't really going to pull you over and just give you a ticket for it. Most of the time they pull you over for something else and just tack that on. Plus if you have lots of free time on your hands you can just go to court tell them the plate is back on and either show them a picture of it or they may want to see the car. Then remove it once you leave court. They usually dismiss it with no fine.

TBone2004

What about inspections? Same thing - stick it on, then take it off?

OK...then I understand his gripe if that is what he is going to do. I'll have to check mine out.

NFLblitze1

the thing is, its my bumper and they drilled a hole into which wasn't neccessary

as for the license plate, the cops can't do anything, if i get pulled over for it, which is most likely not going to happen, then i can just tell them that my front license plate bracket fell off and i am waiting to get a new one, the car looks much better without a front license plate

JDM5lugHatch

You go ahead and believe that. They can give you a ticket for it if they want. Most cops won't bother but if they want to be an ass and since you're 17 they might just prove it. You also have to remember that cops have heard that front bracket excuse a million times over. I mean even I have used it before. It may work the first couple times for different officers but let the first cop see you a couple weeks later and he might just make an example out of you.

TBone2004- In VA a front plate is not a requirement to get a safety inspection sitcker. However, I am unsure of what Jersey laws/requirements are.

NFLblitze1

i know the cops CAN do something but the ticket can't be TOO MUCH and im sure that it won't be too much of a problem, i keep the license plate on the passanger side floor so IF i ever do get pulled over i can make a sappy story out of it.

TBone2004

Me neither - but good to know.

buckeyenut

The third screw is a double edged sword you either have a hole there now , or after a few thousand miles without the screw a nice paint chip from the top edge of the Garnish slapping your bumper over every bump. The dealer did not put my third screw on, I put it on myself to prevent the worse damage without it.

EpiK

So what this really comes down to is that you are bitching because your licence plate bracket was installed with all three screws like it was intended, and you are unhappy about that because it looks ugly when you try to run illegally without it?

Sheesh, what a waste of the thread...

rets

You probably need to show us a pic. It's amazing there is a dealer doing things like this.

NFLblitze1

the car WASN'T INTENDED to have 3 holes drilled into it, thats why there are 2 PLUGS, and what i do with my car is nobody elses buisness but mine, if i choose to take advantage of a way to make my car look more appealing than thats my buisness, not yours. what i am complaining about is how the dealership drilled an UNECCESSARY HOLE in my bumper, maybe it makes it tighter and less rackety, but you could drill 5 more holes in the bumper and say the same thing, and telling me that

thats like telling me not to do tints because its illegal on the front windows, other states legalize tints and not having a front license plate. which isn't that big of a deal, but new jersey chooses to take the precautions of making these laws.

dman918

I took off the front plate and I think I actually like the way the car looks with the plate on more. I have a nice acura plate frame around it, and it just fits the car better. That section of bumper looks too big without the plate on. I think I will stick with it on.

s2kduff

Come on guys...the dealer put a screw in a location w/ no existing hole from the factory, this is unacceptable! NFLblitze1 hasn't been banished to Jersey for the rest of his life...has he? What if he moves to a state that doesn't require front tags? I'd be furious!!!

jhan1102

I had your problem before.

I had my dealer fix the problem.

fast-tl

It's perfectly logical that since the car has TWO plugs with caps available to close up the holes for single plate states, that the dealer should not DRILL into perfectly good bodywork. Sure the plate may rub with only two screws, but that could possibly be polished out; the rough screw hole is altogether different. I'd have them point out the state reg that requires 3 mounting holes, or fix it.

HEK

You know I just posted the same problem or issue on the website of my wife's Ody...they did the same thing on her van and I'm so pissed I didn't catch it when I picked up the van...it's an '05 and I can't belive this is going on ...grrr

2LTL2LT

did you get this car in NJ? if so, what dealership? i'm planning to get a TL in a few months...

NFLblitze1

Acura of Denville...possibly one of the shittiest acura dealerships around, there service department is terrible, im gonna start going to DCH Montclair or Park Avenue

Neorick

tims1448

Just as a heads up, I know that NJ is almost as anal as Mass when it comes to driving laws, and in Mass the cops have the right to impound your car if you do not have both plates on it, are missing your registration or have illegal modifications that impair the safety of other vehicles (blacked headlights, tint, etc). If the cop wants to be a dick, you might end up walking home..

.. for the bumper thing, just get it fixed, unless it is a law, the dealer can't do anything. Just threaten the BBB complaint, that turns things around real quick.

good luck..

NFLblitze1

my uncle is going to write a letter (he's good at that shit) threatening the dealership that if they don't fix it they will sue or some shit like that i don't know what he'll do, but hopefully that will work.

as for the laws in new jersey, i don't think ive met anyone that has ever had there car impounded for not having the license plate, obviously a cop can do whatever is in his jurisdiction but i keep the license plate up in the front so it can make a VERY good argument, as for BOTH of the license plates, i only took the front one off because i like the look of it better

HEK

I have lived in MA and CT most of my life, both are "2 plate States"....I have driven without the front one for most of the time and only putting it back just before my trip for INSPECTION, and have never been stopped by Police for not having one, now I have found that it's a hassle to do this so I have chosen to keep both plates on and the fact that I have "Speedpass" on both rides and don't want to get fined if one scanner doesn't work and a picture shows no plate on the front. Now I've been stopped for speeding while not having the front plate and the cop never made a comment about it...maybe lucky or maybe it's not a big deal in MA.
Getting back to the hole in the bumper, I'm calling the Honda dealer where we bought th Ody and ask to talk to the Manager and ask him to fix this period, maybe they can fill the hole and repaint the bumper...also I'm calling Honda of America "not so much of a help desk"...