Check your license plate fasteners

danham

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Location
Cape Cod, MA
TDI
2010 JSW
At a Boston area GTG this morning, several of us were shocked and appalled to find that our dealers screwed our rear license plates on with self-tapping screws so long that I'm surprised tightening them didn't shorten the car's wheelbase.

The immediate downside of this bonehead maneuver is that it puts four little dings in the paint, caused by the plate flexing when you close the lid or hit a bump and the tip of the screw hits the body. This is where the hatch or trunk lid will begin to rust.

I just touched mine up and put some temporary rubber spacers between the plastic plate mount and the body until I can get proper fasteners on there that do not dig into the body. Sheesh.

-dan
 

Car901

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Location
Avon, MA
TDI
2010 JSW 6spd, Black, in and out - traded for '17 Alltrack
Dan - look at the bright side - they didn't use 1 5/8" sheetrock screws. I think the lag bolts they used on mine keep the plate from rattling!! Great to meet & greet everyone today!
 

mysql

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Location
United States
TDI
Jetta wagon
my dealer installed it with what looks like wood screws. There are holes in the paint from it.
 

dpg

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Location
Chi-Town
TDI
2013 JSW TDI, 2010 JSW - retired
lol you should have seen the porter monkeys trying to remove my old plate from my trade in. they bent the plate because they didnt feel like getting the right screw driver so they thought trying to rip it off was a good idea
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
I had the exact same thing happen with my 2009 JSW. I went back and complained to the GM at the dealer (I just happened to catch him putting a rear plate on a JSW - he was using shorter screws, BTW). Anyway, the end of the story is that I got the dealer to give me a free touch up paint kit. It consisted of a color paint "pen" and a clearcoat "pen". I probably could have made them fix it themselves, but I would rather have the touch-up kit around.

In other words - They caused the damage, they should pay to fix it! Either get them to touch-up the paint or get some free paint out of them. (just my opinion)

Have Fun!

Don
 

sportwagen rick

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Location
CA
TDI
2010 SportWagen
Pics? Sorry, I'm having trouble picturing what you mean, and since I don't actually have my JSW yet I can't just go out and take a look.

So if I am understanding you right, your license plate is screwed to the hatch where the plate is supposed to be, so that means there are holes in the body/paint right? So you are saying that in other places it's dinging into the paint? I'm guessing maybe the edges of the plate itself are gouging the paint because it is mounted tightly and flexing?

Geez, whats with the poor plate mounting on these things? I hear its not uncommon for front and rear plates to be mounted unevenly too. That sort of thing would bother me to no end. I really hope my dealer takes some care when mounting the rear plate and will respect my request to not mount the front plate. In CA the front is required, but if I have to have it mounted, I would prefer to do it myself, the way I want, considering they have no correct procedure or method.
 

mysql

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Location
United States
TDI
Jetta wagon
there is a plastic mounting bracket on the back of the car. It's attached to the vehicle in the center area. On each of the four edges of the plastic rectangle are holes for mounting a plate. The dealer is using screws longer than the distance from the car to the front of the mounting bracket. The result is that the screws end up being tightened into the body of the vehicle instead of just holding the plate to the bracket.

So as they tighten the screws, it's turning and getting closer and closer to the car till it's turning into the paint!
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
I don't have any pics, but here's the deal. There is a plastic license plate "bracket" that is firmly bolted to the rear hatch. This is not the problem. The problem is that this plastic piece is less than 1/2' away from the car's body where the mounting screws go in. When you use 5/8" long sheet metal screws the point digs into the paint on the rear hatch. I noticed this the first day I got the car home because I tried to remove the dealer installed advertising license plate frame. It digs into the paint even worse with no frame (it acts as a spacer).

My "fix" has two parts:
1) Buy a TDIClub license plate frame (and support this site).
2) Grind about 1/4" off the length of the screws, you don't need that sharp point on the end (you could also go buy shorter screws, but I'm cheap).

Have Fun!

Don
 

Car901

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Location
Avon, MA
TDI
2010 JSW 6spd, Black, in and out - traded for '17 Alltrack
Don't let the dealer specialists do this to you...

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StoBro2

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Location
Lindenhurst IL USA
TDI
2010 Jetta Sportwagen
One of the first things I did when I got my JSW was to get rid of the dealer supplied screws and replace them with some stainless steel ones from the hardware store. Not only were the dealer's screws too long, they were two or three different sizes and plain old zinc plated steel. At least now mine won't rust away within a year.
 

Marcb

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2000
Location
Centralia, Washington USA
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
Thanks for the heads-up on this... my JSW also had the screws that were just too long. Thank goodness the indent was very minor. I'll grind a bit off and use some washers with my club frame to take up the difference.
 

Marcb

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2000
Location
Centralia, Washington USA
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
Thanks for the heads-up on this... my JSW also had the screws that were just too long. Thank goodness the indent was very minor. I'll grind a bit off and use some washers with my club frame to take up the difference. At least they didn't screw on the front plate.. I will zip tie the mount on later and avoid the holes.
 

UberVW_TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Location
Austin, TX
TDI
2010 Golf Variant TDI
Yes, I found two small scratches in the paint behind the rear plate too. Found the issue when removing the temporary plate. I'm continously suprised by the lack of attention to detail on things like this. They are either not real bright, or they just don't care.
 

Ol'Rattler

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Location
PNA
TDI
2006 BRM Jetta
The correct screws are metric machine screws, not "self tapping" or sheet rock screws. On my 06 I figured out the correct pitch, diameter and length and got some SS screws from a hardware supply house. My dealer did at least use the right diameter and pitch although they used plain steel screws.
 
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danham

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Location
Cape Cod, MA
TDI
2010 JSW
The machine screw mounting setup is correct for older VWs. But see higher up in this topic for the 2010 JSW/sedan mount, which does use self-tapping threads into a plastic plate secured to the hatch/trunk by two T30 cap screws.

I left the sharp ends on the self-tapping screws but used them to secure some rubber spacers that now prevent the whole mess from vibrating.

-dan
 

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
UberVW_TDI said:
Yes, I found two small scratches in the paint behind the rear plate too. Found the issue when removing the temporary plate. I'm continously suprised by the lack of attention to detail on things like this. They are either not real bright, or they just don't care.
Or both!
 

Elides

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 24, 2010
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2010 GOLF WAGON TDI/ Sold. 2014 Golf Wagon Wolfsburg Edition TDI
Thanks for the heads up Danham,
Just check mine and my dealer did the same as your.
I have two small scratches as well and the screws are already rusted on a 3 months old car!!:mad:
 

Ram.Vasu

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2010
Location
NC
TDI
2010 JSW (Past)
Dan: Thank you for the post, Today I removed the plats - there it is - all the four screws had dots :mad:. (I was to be in the GTG - missed it !)

This is what I did,

Removed the plates, Removed the mounting, Fixed the plated on the mounting plate (out side of the car), Cut the extra tips that was on the back of the mounting, got some vinyl bumpers from home depot (the one used for the cupboards) and put them on the place where the dots are, removed the plates from the mounting bracket, fixed the mounting brackets on the car and put the plate back - took an hour or so - irrr. - feel worth it.

Thanks again..
 

meknc

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Location
Hickory, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI
My dealer did the same thing and it bugged be even before I got the car because I knew that's what they'd probably do. Another fix (though I'm sure it's illegal) is to 1) put some little rubber/silicone spacers (~1/4" thick circular pads available from lowes) behind the plate AND 2) remove black plastic plate holder, use it as a template and drill your license plate, then mount your plate directly to the car using the 2 screws formerly holding on the license plate holder. Super secure, no rattling of the plate, and no paint scratches.
oh, and 3) touch up the scratches before reinstalling your plate!
 

Krfar

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2010
Location
Dallas, TX
TDI
2010 CandyWhite JSW TDI DSG, NAV & Pano
I never let the dealer install the license plates on any car that I buy for one main reason. They tend to put their cheesy plastic frames with their propaganda on my car. My attitude has always been that if you sell me a car with your name on it, then you're going to pay me to use my car as a billboard for advertising and unless you're willing to knock off 3-4k of the sticker price, then don't bother.
Anyhow, I noticed the the factory installed brackets that the dealer used to mount the purchaser certificate on the car. They did use short screws, but they were self tapping nevertheless. So while waiting for the plates to show up, I went to the local pepboys and bought a mounting plate that is 1/2" thick and a black SS frame with the proper screws and screw covers.
The other thing that is bad about the frame dealers use is that most of them have two tabs on the bottom and two screws on the top. And so when close the gate you hear the plate hitting the frame.
 

meknc

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Location
Hickory, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI
+1 for no dealer advertising w/o compensation. I promptly removed all dealer references from my car when I fixed my license plate.
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
meknc said:
+1 for no dealer advertising w/o compensation. I promptly removed all dealer references from my car when I fixed my license plate.
+2 - I told my dealer that I would refuse delivery if they dared to put a sticker/decal/badge on my car. I told the salesman that I would be willing to negotiate a contract for advertising space - I told him that I was considerably cheaper than the city buses (he declined). I did tell them they could put on a license plate frame if they wanted - because I already had a TDI Club to replace it with. :D

Have Fun!

Don
 

martytdi

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 13, 2000
Location
Central connecticut
TDI
2010 jetta tdi sport wagon
I am supposed to pick my JSW tdi tuesday.. I questioned the dealer and they said they use 4 self tapping screws. I will now make sure they don't do that...Thanks for the info..
Update, used plastic backer as a template to drill the 2 lateral holes in the plate. Used backer and plate with the 2 existing screws and it is heald tight.
 
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frugality

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Location
Spring Lake, Michigan
TDI
none, 2016 GTI
I was lucky because my salesman was trying to install mine with a dealer license plate frame. The frame was thick enough that the 1/2" long washer-head screws would barely grab into the plastic bracket. So I was spared the damage. Though, when I tried installing it myself without the frame, then I found that the point hit the sheet metal. So I have one tiny mark from the tip of the screw that I don't think went into primer, but I will touch it up anyway.

I was thinking along the lines of someone else above -- shim the whole bracket away from the car by using some rubber plumbing washers, if the 2 torx screws are long enough to accommodate that.

How 'bout this for an idea:
Take the bracket off the car. Get some short machine screws that will thread into the 4 license plate holes. Install them from the back, with the threads coming out the front. Basically you're adding them as studs. Install the bracket on the car, then install the plate by using 4 acorn nuts. Ideally stainless would be nice. Marine shops like West Marine often carry oddball stainless hardware.
 

ToeBall

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2010
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
2010 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
Got my plates today. Had them hand me the plates and screws and I installed it myself. The hardware provided was very nicely trimmed out and not too long. Glad I saw this thread since I wouldn't have paid much attention to it otherwise. Thanks for the heads up!
 

zenfrizbee

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2010
Location
Portland
TDI
Shark Blue 2010 Golf 2dr DSG; sunroof; xenon; Dynaudio; cold weather; protection;
i have a Golf MkVI and the dealer screwed the plate directly to the rear bumper, flush with the place. i used roofing washers, rubber backed, to pull the plate off the paint. on my old bug i used stainless allen screws with slim nylock nuts and stainless washers to space the brackt out so that the paint is not rubbed through. the pics here are unbeleivable! so easy to fix and yet so many dont care.
 
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