2011 Highlander LTD, front license plate mount - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

mhcchoi · 05-12-2011, 09:18 AM

Hello eveyone, I'm relatively new to this board but have recently purchased a new 2011 Highlander Ltd 4WD (American Express Auto Purchase Program Pricing is out of this world!!!). I have followed instructions on how to mount the mud guards and roof rack crossbars (great help here!!).. Anyways, I just received my NJ Plates and replaced the dealer 'plates' with real plates. When I did that, I notice that the front plates were mounted DIRECTLY TO THE BUMPER, ie the 'factory' dimples were still intact. The dealer literally put 2 self tapping screws into a brand new bumper!!! .. Is that what you guys experienced!!. OMG, I spend nearly $40 g for a truck and they cannot even supply a proper front licence mounting solution without damaging the front bumper !!.

Thanks

***05Moose*** · 05-12-2011, 09:29 AM

That's how it's done. Toyota puts dimples in the bumper and the dealerships across the country use self-tapping screws. What's worse is that over time it wears the paint off the front bumper where it rubs if you don't put something in between.

On the bright side, Toyota has finally learned to do what we've been doing for years with the rear plate. They're finally putting a piece of padding between the plate and the paint. I used to have to do that myself when they didn't put anything in between.

mhcchoi · 05-12-2011, 09:32 AM

Thanks, thought so, but the Dealer didn't even use the dimple points, the just screwed 2 self tapping screws into the bumper .... I'm kinda pissed about that !!!!

DaMaDo · 05-12-2011, 09:35 AM

That sounds strange to me. My 2011 ltd came with a black plastic frame for the front plate. We don't need them in FL but it's sitting in one of the rear compartments if I want. I'm surprised they didn't use that on yours.

mhcchoi · 05-12-2011, 09:46 AM

Correction, they did use the front license assembly but the top 2 screws were bolted through the license plate, the front assembly and through the front bumper (creating 2 new 'holes').

Thanks

DaMaDo · 05-12-2011, 09:53 AM

Oh wow, I thought the purpose of the frame was to go into the dimples, eliminating the need to drill through the bumper.

Apparently though, drilling through the bumper is the way it's done. Check this thread.

roadrunner117 · 05-12-2011, 10:48 AM

One of the things I was excited about when trading in my '08 Highlander for an '11 is that Toyota now supplies a front license plate frame. When I took delivery, I was watching my salesman as he installed the front license plate. We noticed that there are actually 4 dimples in the front bumper, but weren't sure why. We needed to hold the license plate against the front bumper to see which set of dimples lined up properly to the license plate.

So mhcchoi, if you remove your front license plate and only see 2 dimples in your front bumper, then your dealer used the other 2 dimples when installing your plate. If you remove your front license plate and see 4 dimples, then your dealer installed it incorrectly. Hope this helps.

mhcchoi · 05-12-2011, 11:21 AM

I think you maybe right, I only saw 2 dimples on the lower portion of the bumper. If there are 4 then quite possibly they used the top 2 and I overreacted .. Thanks for you tip ...

***sweeneyp*** · 05-12-2011, 11:31 AM

I picked up my highlander used from a Cadillac dealership here in Tennessee. The front license plate is not required in this state. When I got it, the dealership decided to mount a Cadillac plate (an advertisement basically) in the front screwing those 2 screws right in (where before I bought it, there was no plate). Needless to say I was pissed when I saw it. I always thought there were frames to mount the plates, not screws. Now you basically HAVE to have the screws or plate there, otherwise you have two massive holes in the bumper. Oh well another stupid action by toyota to cheapen their cars haha.

9volt · 05-12-2011, 12:13 PM

These work well and look good

http://www.bumperplugs.com/BPindex.html

DaMaDo · 05-12-2011, 02:01 PM

I don't know what truck I was thinking of, but I thought there were tabs that pulled out for the frame to go in.
I went to look at my front end and saw that there's 4 indentations in the bumper for self-tapping screws. I also saw on a couple of Lexus cars parked by my truck that they have the same deal.

***TrailDust*** · 05-12-2011, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhcchoi

Hello eveyone, I'm relatively new to this board but have recently purchased a new 2011 Highlander Ltd 4WD (American Express Auto Purchase Program Pricing is out of this world!!!). I have followed instructions on how to mount the mud guards and roof rack crossbars (great help here!!).. Anyways, I just received my NJ Plates and replaced the dealer 'plates' with real plates. When I did that, I notice that the front plates were mounted DIRECTLY TO THE BUMPER, ie the 'factory' dimples were still intact. The dealer literally put 2 self tapping screws into a brand new bumper!!! .. Is that what you guys experienced!!. OMG, I spend nearly $40 g for a truck and they cannot even supply a proper front licence mounting solution without damaging the front bumper !!.

Thanks

Those idiots at Toyota still do this on many of their models.

In order to save the front bumper on my Avalon and Highlander I mounted about 1/2-inch adhesive-backed foam on the license plate and then screwed it on. With a generic chrome license plate frame on the front of the plate the entire "assembly" keeps the plate and frame about 1/8 of an inch away from the paint, preserving it from damage and/or rust.

mhcchoi · 05-12-2011, 08:22 PM

Well, I came home and took off the front plate. There are only 2 dimples on the bottom of the front bumper. I placed the plate over the 2 dimples and the dimples were too close together. Also tried putting the plastic license plate 'holder' over the dimples and same thing. So my only conclusion was in order to put on the front plate, you needed to make 2 fresh holes (using self tapping screws) for the license frame holder and license to fit ....

Thanks for everyone's thoughts ...

***sweeneyp*** · 05-12-2011, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhcchoi

Well, I came home and took off the front plate. There are only 2 dimples on the bottom of the front bumper. I placed the plate over the 2 dimples and the dimples were too close together. Also tried putting the plastic license plate 'holder' over the dimples and same thing. So my only conclusion was in order to put on the front plate, you needed to make 2 fresh holes (using self tapping screws) for the license frame holder and license to fit ....

Thanks for everyone's thoughts ...

thats exactly what mine is like. those 2 raised spots are to keep the plate off the whole bumper. The top two screws were just self taping screws put right in the bumper.

Ralph6410 · 05-12-2011, 09:26 PM

I picked up my 2011 HL a few days ago and there was a package with bracket and screws in the back for the front plate. There are 4 dimpled holes and my plate would match two of those. There are instructions on the plastic bag which I scanned ... but it seems I can not add attachments.. which I take to mean pictures. (figured it out... RTFM)