hans007

so i was removing my dealer plate (i don't have my real plates yet, but i don't like being basically a dealer ad in my car) and notice that the dealer had mounted it with only 2 screws not 4.


one was in the top right corner and one in the bottom left.

so i remove the 2 screws and notice the upper left metal socket for a screw is completely broken.

then i looked at the entire license plate frame and notice it has 2 screws, with a hex type pattern that mount into the car. i unscrewed these 2, but notice the left one was basically not screwed into anything it basically was scrweed into an empty gap in the car. i didn't remove the license plate bracket as it seems to also have double stick tape on it mounting it to the trunk lid, and i didnt want to break it (or well break it more).

This car is less than a week old. Will a dealer fix this? THey should i'm guessing, I want them to even fix all of it even if they have to open up the inside of the trunk lid. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

HyperS4

These things broke all the time, it was very frustrating. If you torqued the screws just a tad too much they would break and fall down or twist inside the plate frame. There are inserts that we had that would fill the gap. However, if a customer complained enough we would put on a new plate frame mount.

A4Nash

I experience the "stripped" mounts while trying to swap out the dealer frame. As HyperS4 mentions, this appears to be commonplace. I agree it is very frustrating the way it is engineered. The mounts just spin in place with any degree of pressure. I BARELY tightened them on my failed attempt. I took it to the dealership and they ordered a new mount. Two trips to the dealership, but it's fixed for now. Scared to attempt the next I have swap a plate or frame. Be VERY careful with the process

SYMAWD

Where I work we just pop these in if they break.

sandune

Hi everyone,

New to this forum and have had my A4 about a year now and I have to say I really enjoy driving it. I've had very little issue with it so far except the recall for the seat sensor and a light coolant odor on the hotter days and this recent one below.

I just renewed my insurance and had to stick on the new decal. Being a little OCD, I wanted to ensure it perfectly covered the old one which meant I had to loosen the screws to do so. Well to my surprise, two of the screws just freely spin so I am unable to remove them and consequently, the license frame which slightly covers the decal.

What's with the design of the anchor that doesn't hold firm? It's the rear plate holder that I am having this issue with. I'll have to get in there and remove it one day when the stores open back up again. I presume I'll have to either glue the thing down or replace them with the above plastic pieces. Anyone have some great ideas on a simple and easy fix? Or just replace the entire mount?

Thanks,

Anthony Voelker

So I had a similar issue. The mounting plate that's attached to the car has these metal housings where the plate actually screws to. What seems to happen is those metal housing become detached from the plate. So when you attempt to unscrew the plate, those screws just spin. Fortunately, I'm in ohio and only need 1 plate. So I was able to use the currently attached plate as leverage, kind bending it to pull the screw and screw housing forward so it wasn't able to freely spin. Needless to say, that plate was no longer flat anymore. I ended up replacing the stock mount with a generic one and it's much less of a pain, plus cheaper. I'd guess a stock one is $30 or $40 bucks, considering how much the plastic grill license plate delete piece is

sandune

Hi Anthony,

I'll have to decide what I would like to do. The car still has 3 years of warranty and I don't think this should be a wear and tear item. Simply defective from the sounds of it. I may just ask if they'd replace it during the next service. For now, I managed to get enough space to place the new decal. Although it sounds like a universal one to replace it may outlive any new one they put back on there.

Cheers,

sandune

So I brought my car in for annual service and spoke to the advisor about the loose screws. Even though the car is under full warranty and I have Audi Care, they tell me the plate mount won't be covered? I really don't understand why? This is not an adjustment which they claim is only for the first year of service. The part is weak/ cheap and failed. It is not due to any abuse on my part as I have never even touched those screws until I renewed my insurance. The sales person I bought it from, which was in an Audi dealership, installed my plate for me when I took delivery. Any failure due to overtightening should rest solely on their shoulders. Until now, I have never had a license plate mount failure in a single car I've owned in all my years of driving.

I am utterly astounded that Audi would walk away from this garbage part and take no responsibility for it when it is purely a cheaply made part of inferior design that's never been touched by anyone but Audi. I really can't believe that they would turn their back on such a trivial part. Disappointing to say the least.

A4Nash

Anthony, do you have details on your generic replacement?

sandune

I was going to purchase a universal plate mount and after going to several Canadian Tire stores, none had them in stock. In the end, I simply removed my defective piece and then applied some super strong outdoor adhesive to the back of it where the little metal screw anchors are. I reattached my plate to ensure that the anchors line up with the plate holes when the adhesive dried since any movement will now not be possible. After allowing the glue to cure, I was able to reinstall the mounting bracket and screw in the license plate nice and firmly without any issue at all. Note the double sided tape doesn't make it that difficult to remove the bracket. It was really a simple fix.

As I believe the OEM part is junk I did not want to bother replacing it with another one destined for failure for the next owner.

Audi Canada, you are truly disappointing to make an inferior part and then take no responsibility for it.