careful driver

I have pored over pretty much all the posts in this particular forum, wondering if anyone has the same problem as I do. I have a 00ML430 and apart from the SA telling me that the next brake job will be rotors I have one little thing that they have not even mentioned about repairing.

My rear license plate is held by TWO screws, the left side ones. The one on the right are attached to the plate, but not exactly to the car.

I think there must be a missing bolt at the other side of the metal sheet. The screws are there, attached to a coupling that they screw into. The thing is, these two right side things (they seem to act much like a wall anchor does) are able to freely come in and out of the basic hole they are supposed to be anchored to.

My thought was to attempt to open the rear hatch door and take a look-see and maybe figure this one out. It seems like an easy enough task. My husband is telling me to have it fixed at the dealership, but I know that their labor will be the most expensive part of the job. Last time on his Pacifica I paid $24 to have the back-up lightbulb replaced. This is a piece that should have been under three dollars.

Anyway. Has anyone had any experience with a loose license plate before? If so, how did they fix it. It used to be that only one anchor was loose. Now I can hear the plate rattling when I'm driving on the freeway. I'm afraid it will come loose for good. I also think that someone may have tinkered with the car as I can't imagine that the original bend on the plate happened just by accident. This car was a used car, I don't know much about it. Hasn't given me much trouble, just a top up with oil once. I used Mobil1 synthetic.

Thanks

azinn

See http://forums.mbnz.org/forums/forums...98556&posts=11

careful driver

That was interesting. I will try to see what the anchor looks like if I take the screw off. I might come up with another interesting way of solving this problem. Paying $120 labor to install two little screws seems like a lot of money to pay. I'll try to get creative

waybomb

I had to do this both on my 129 and my 163. Take the tailgate panel off, use a dremel to grind the back side of the riv-nut off. Then insert the new riv-nut. To set it, I held the back with a socket, and, using a short screw and washer, tightened the screw until the rivet part crushed and grabbed the metal. Worked just fine on both cars.

dlafever

Same story here, I have replaced the Rivnuts on three cars now. I have found that installing the nut, then the license plate, then the screws and tightening the screws works best. The license plate acts as the washer in this case and I did not need access to the back of the plate area. Good luck!

careful driver

Where can I get these?

I will need to set aside one afternoon to get the job done. My husband has messed up both of his elbows (maybe tendonitis) and it doesn't look like a short term thing. I may have him around to give some insight and maybe as a sounding board, but I know he's not mechanically inclined.

I have a Dremel and all the accessories, but I don't think I need it in this case. Both the top and bottom screws come out from the body of the car...but they come out with the stuff they are screwed into still attached. Just like it would if you pulled a wall screw out and the wall anchor came out with it. It all goes in fine, but then it springs back. The license plate itself has been bent a little (beats me how THAT happened).

If the rivnut is what holds the screws in place, then I need a couple and I need to somehow attach them to the inside part of the body of the car. I have a cold soldering gun, maybe that may help me to secure it properly without resorting to any type of glue/bonding agent that may come lose again.

Now I also need to book an appointment for service. My engine light is showing me two wrenches and numbers that continue to dwindle. Began at 22 and it's now at 16. I'm booking it today.

Thanks so much to all who have responded and graciously given of your time. Much appreciated!!

dlafever

Hey!

Your countdown is miles to oil change most likely, not sure though. For the rivnuts, you need either:

201 990 05 58 (There is a special code with this one, 498, can't remember what that means)
201 990 04 58

These are likely a dealer-only item.

Since these should cost less than $10 for a set of four, you may just want to get two of each and see what fits.

When you remove the old rivnut, it will leave a hexagonal hole in the rear door. put the new rivnut in, then the license plate and the screw for the license plate. Tighten the screw while maintaining pressure on it and the rivnut should expand behind the metal and lock itself in place.

careful driver

I just spoke with the dealership. Alicia in the parts department ordered the navigation disk for me, and while on the phone with her I asked about the rivnuts. She said they would be $2/piece and that they stock them...no special order.

I then was put through to Jeff, then to the other Jeff and then to Chad. First Jeff to connect me to the Service Dept. Second Jeff to take my call and book the appointment and tell me that I need to go talk to Chad about the price estimate and this last one was a winner.

Chad tells me that the rivnuts are about $9/piece and that the price doesn't include labor. Then he tells me that from his personal experience the entire procedure takes about an hour to an hour and half and this charges would be on top of the $440 they plan on charging me for the B service. He also told me that the numbers next to the double wrench symbol mean that I am OVERDUE for an oil change...and that those are the miles I am overdue by.

Well, if he had only known that I've been watching those numbers...and they are going down. Started at "22 d" and is now currently at "16 d". He can't possibly be right. The B Service is supposed to happen around 60k-65k? I'm around 55k or so.

I told him that the price I was quoted on those rivnuts wasn't nearly as high and that I was game to trying to install them myself as I thought I was rather handy and was looking forward to getting my hands dirty getting to know my car. He was speechless for a minute, then said that if I had been quoted that price that we'd go with that one. HE asked if I wanted to be put through to the Parts Dept. to enquire about the rivnuts. I think he wanted to get rid of me.

I am nice until I feel that someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes...I already had paid a ridiculous amount of money last month having the dealership replace the reverse signal light bulb on my husband's car...won't be doing that one again.

My beef is with small things like these. Can't they just sow the seeds of good will by doing these minor changes at cost? Understanding that it didn't take them 5 minutes to change the bulb is what makes paying an exhorbitant price hard to take.

I can pay the repairs/service, what I don't like is being taken for a ride.

Thanks for letting me vent!

dlafever

No.

No worries, the truth is the dealer has to make money on everything they sell, service, parts, floor mats, coffee cups. When you are at the dealer's parts counter, look at the nice rack of lovely shirts they have for sale. Some very nice polo shirts, worth about $65 retail, but since they have $1 worth of embroidering on them they now cost $89.

The main reason their service estimates seem inflated is that every car has a different story. I would rather have them estimate high and be surprised by a low charge than vice versa. It could conceivably take an hour to replace the rivnuts, but not likely and they normally have a 1 hour minimum charge.