Hey,

When you guys purchased your car, did it already come with holes pre-drilled in the front, for the license plate? Or did you guys have to tell the dealership not to drill the holes before you came and picked it up?..I'd like to know..Im from the bay area and plan to buy one soon.

Any feedback would be great!

Thanks! :clown:

 

I believe the holes already exist. If you don't use them they are covered with body colored plugs.

 

I bought in the bay area and the dealer told me that law requires them to put the plate bracket in the front and that is the case is many states. So I think the holes comes pre-drilled from the factory.

 

The holes are there, but the dealer usually puts his advertising plate on the front, and they put the little body colored plugs in the glove box. Make sure the plugs are there when you pick up the car so you can remove their plate and fill in the holes.

 

The care comes with pre-drilled holes. I took off my front plates and used the body plugs to cover the holes.

 

Thx for the feedback..i didn't know these "body colored plugs existed" Pretty nifty stuff.

 

yeah, wanna know what really sucks.. i got mine from Keyes, and they all had those damn front plates on the front... I'm scared to see if they are drilled right into the front bumper... or if they have those caps that are colormatched to cover those holes... I hope i dont have to take it to a body shop to have it painted ,.... anyone else know?

 

There are 2 wholes that are covered by color-matched round cover which came directly from factory (near the "ACURA" sign on front bumper). My dealer gave me the plate holder so that I could put the license plate later on.

 

Don't get out much, eh?

 

They are pre-drilled. I took my front license frame off the first day I got it. You should have the body plugs, I found mine in the glove compartment.

 

Call me a coward...In CA it's illegal not to have a front plate.
I'll keep my front plate on thankyou.
Just a nother reason for the man to pull you over if you don't have it.

 

They are not pre-drilled, there are no holes behind the plugs. The holes are added when the bracket is attached. If you take the bracket off, the plugs should hide the holes.

 

sux your 04's come with holes in teh bumper, the 03 I have came with soles underneith the bumper so that a bracket could be screwed in, but no holes drilled into teh front of teh bumper, takee it back and as for a bumper with no holes in it

 

Damn, well no luck... there weren't any in there. But i'll call Keyes and hopefully they can mail me mine... LOL I hope!!!!

 

The car does not come from the factory with pre-drilled holes. I negotiated with the car dealership to prevent them from doing so. Best luck.

 

Mine came with dealer plates on it, so I have never seen my cars naked bumper :p

 

in maryland its illegal to not have a front license plate but i dont anyway. cops around here dont really care on a luxury car like an Acura, but cheap cars they'll get people for it. but if ur really unlucky (rarely) cops actually pull u over juss for not havin da front license plate even if its a luxury car. one good example is when my couzin, who has a G35 w/ 10% tints (also illegal) drove to a stoplight where there were a couple state troopers checkin people's speeds, but at the light the trooper went over to my couzins car n juss said, "Nice car. This is something i would like to get." Then went back to his patrol car.

 

I've driven for the past 6 years with no front plate, stopped once but was only given a reminder to put it back on. Screw the wood, I'm not knocking on it cause I already threw it away.

 

I had posted similar thread few weeks ago when I received my plates. The plate holder was provided, but not installed when I got the car. I am from the bay area also, and have put the front plate/holder. Though I still think without the plate/holder, the car will look sharper, it is not really that bad when comparing this holder with other cars. It is really well fit to the front, it looks quite clean, it's not that ugly like you just hang the plate there. Think I am getting used to it already.

 

Have you received your car yet? If so, are there no holes in the bumper covered with plastic plugs?

If you examine any front bumper with holes in it closely, you will see that the hole is finished around the edge, not like it would look if it were drilled out by the dealer.

Look at the inside of the bumper. You will see that it has a molded place where the mounting bolts would go.

Acura furnishes the body colored plastic plugs with each car. These plugs fit into the molded area, held in place by two clips which fit exactly and precisely so the plugs look good when they are inserted. If the holes were not molded in the bumper, why would Acura furnish the plugs, and how would they fit so well if the holes were drilled by the dealer?

I am asking these questions because I believe the holes are there, that they are already tapped for the mounting screws (metric threads), and the plugs are designed to go in the holes when the license plate holder is not used.

It would be good if I was wrong and the holes are not in the bumper when the dealer gets the car. This would mean that people reading this forum wouldbe informed, and have the option of negotiating with the dealer, as you did, to prevent their bumpers from being defaced if they did not need or want a front license plate.

 

I think we're getting mixed up here. The car comes with plugs covering the mounting points. If you remove the plugs, there are no screw holes behind the plugs. In order to attach the bracket, the holes must be drilled by hand.

 

Ok, I just got off the phone with my sales guy (de shawn). Very helpful! He was able to get me those front bumper caps for my TL and is mailing them to me today! No more nasty ghetto front lic plate for me! If anyone is in the so cal area looking to buy, i would send them their way! Keyes Acura...

 

i unscrewed the front plate today and noticed that the top middle screw cannot be covered

the bottom 2 can but i didn't get the covers for them. did anyone else have the top middle screwed? and how can i cover that hole up?

 

lol i really want to take mine off but like him im kinda scared. i already have a pretty dark tint in the front. but dang... it looks so much better,,,,

 

You've been screwed. If you have a hole in the bumper for a top middle screw then someone drilled it because it is not supposed to be there. I would say the only way would be for a body shop to fill it and paint the bumper, which might be expensive.

As said above, get your saleman or the service manager to get you the covers for the bottom two holes because they came with the car when shipped from the factory and you are entitled to them.

 

see this thread
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...6&page=1&pp=25

 

:smackhead

oh well it's a small "doh!". the car still looks amazing w/ or w/o the plate in the front

 

How ridiculous that they drilled an extra hole. Not only do they require you to put the stupid plate on but they deface your bumper doing so!! Two screws is all it takes. I guess the person who did it likes using power tools.

My condolences for your bumper.

 

thx obiedi

 

went to the dealer to check up on a brake pedal clicking and at the same time asked about why they put the middle top screw when the bottom 2 can hold up the front plate just fine. The guy says that it helped hold up the plate. I started laugh and asked them if he can see what he could do for it.

As I waited for my car I walked around the lot and 3 of 7 had that stupid screw. I told the guy that if that screw's purpose was to hold up the plate then 90% of TL sold would have falling front plates. This guys straight pulls out a diagram that that particular dealer uses to prep cars and BAM, the diagram shows to put a freaking screw there . I asked if they can get rid of it, he says they could but I would have to pay since it's part of their prep-ing. I'll try again but this time I'll ask the guy who sold me the car. If not, no biggie, I might get a bra for it and hope it will cover that hole if I take the plate off w/ the bra on. Either way I still enjoy traffic/commute a lot more than a week ago

 

so... is your brake pedal clicking being fixed? My TL has the same noise.

 

here's the thread

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75683

 

i take it that the small round spots on either side of the "ACURA" are the plugs/mounts for the plate?

 

yup, unless you were as "lucky" as me where you have an extra one right above the "Acura" :banghead: :lol2:

 

dude that sounds F*&KIN stupid...i know it's no biggie but it's one of them irritating little things that linger in the back of your head forever....i hope your going to the meet..i want to see how it looks... ...heheh jk...

 

I would get Acura on this big time. There is no way the dealer should be able to deface the bumper. You should get a new bumper from Acura. Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

I agree with Ron. No way that should be there! Make them fix it.

 

dude i'll be at the meet no doubt.

ron and dave
after reading your post, i will contact acura directly. they called me already about my rating/satisfaction during my purchase and let them know already but i will call just to see what they can do. i did ask for a bumper swap at the dealer today but no go hehe