MalibuCANE

Wow, I just saw this. That damn screw fastener has been rattling around under the plate holder on my S6 since I put the plates on and had to replace the fastener with a nylon one. The dealer told me it was factory glued on there and they couldn't take it off so I didn't mess with it. I'm tearing that thing off tonight when I get home.

rone67

I broke one of the four factory metal inserts that accept the bolts that hold the license plate on. A couple of you mentioned replacing the metal inserts with a nylon insert. Does anyone have a source and/or a part number? I bought a new factory metal insert, but it seems to be impossible to install it into the license plate mounting plate. I'd rather not attempt to remove the mounting plate - unless I absolutely have to.

A6ninja

I can't believe how many people this is happening too. I have a 13' a6 prestige and 2 of my 4 brackets stripped the plastic they are attached to and fell into the plate mount. Now they both rattle. I asked my local Audi Dealership to replace it during a recent service - and they said it wasn't covered and would cost $250 to replace!!! They claimed "someone" over-tightened the screws which caused the failure. Clearly not all of us are over-tightening, its a defect in the mounting plates.

No resolution here, just venting. You suck Audi. 65k car and you can't replace a piece of poorly engineered plastic...

rcronin96

Last fall when I pulled the temp tag off I went to install the new tag. I hand threaded them in and when I put the driver on the screw head it pushed the threaded nut into the bracket. Bad bracket design when the nuts aren't pressed in correctly.
That being said, what the hell is with the tape then? Sounds like every one of us is in the same boat. Agreed that we spend a solid amount of money and this BS bracket which probably costs them what, $10 bucks maybe, and it makes us look like some POS Ford rattling every time we lift the boot.

A6ninja

I ended up calling AoA and explained my situation with the plate and how the dealer denied replacing the plate mount. I explained that there are forum topics dedicated to the topic of stripped mounts and how Audi designed a poor plate mount etc. She said that AoA was going to reach out to the management of the dealership and see what she could get done. She said because this new A6 is my 3rd Audi I have a better chance of getting it replaced. Said they would call me with an answer on Friday. Ill update you guys when I hear back.

Nostromo

I just got in two slimline chrome license plate holders. I was going to install this weekend. I just eyeballed it yesterday and noticed the black backing plate extends about 1/2" lower than the bottom of the frame. Making it look sloppy to have the chrome plate and then a black plastic bit.

If I take of the black frame entirely, tape and all, are there mounting holes for a US plate?

EDIT: found this: http://www.audidiy.com/platemod.html

Exactly my problem.... Now I get to dremel my Audi. Great.

A6ninja

Just got the call from my local Audi dealer that AoA sent them an email stating to replace my plate mount under warranty! Just a heads up to any of you that are having the same issue. Call AoA and plead your case, it saved me $250!

69Firebird400

Thanks to those who have posted before me. I just got a CPO 2013 S6 a few weeks ago, and when I swapped the temporary cardboard plate for my permanent one, one of the metal mounts fell into the netherworld behind the plate holder.

I couldn't figure out how to get the bracket off the trunk lid, but after reading this, decided to try prying it out just enough to get the metal mount out of the bottom.

To do this, I put blue painter's tape around the edge of where I would be prying (to protect my car's finish), and used a 2" square plastic scraper (I borrowed it from the kitchen - it is designed for cleaning stoneware things) to separate the bottom a bit.)

I had a hair dryer on hand, but didn't need it. I was fortunate in that as soon as I separated the bottom of the bracket from the trunk lid, I could see the offending mount. I pulled the lid down to nearly closed so gravity could do its job, and pulled it out just a bit more. The broken mount fell to the driveway. Victory was nearly at hand.

The "missing" mount was on the top left corner, and the top right corner was looking loose, so I applied some force to yank that one out from its hole (very slightly damaging the plastic square hole it resides in) and replaced both with cheap plastic screw holders.

Now my plate is attached to the car with four matching screws and there's no rattle. I couldn't be happier (but the mount design is a HORRIBLE piece of engineering).

pprothe

Hi all - saw this thread. Couldn't believe it should be that hard to affix a license plate. My screws rattle and will not tighten / come off. Clearly result of a poor design. Front plate - no problem. Let Audi know in their quality survey and will likely ask the dealer to fix on a trip in. Assuming, though, I need to call AoA first ;-)

surfer349

*bump*

So I've got the same problem, kinda. The little square inserts that the license plate screws into rusted out and stripped. I had to pry off the whole base and use pliers and a lot of strength to unscrew the plate. Now the plastic mold of the base/mount is stripped...

I can't seem to find a replacement part anywhere online specifically for "rear."

Did anyone find a replacement base, bracket, mount,whatever? Some people mentioned nylon fasteners. What kind did you use? Link?

Here's the OEM fasteners on mine that rusted out and are not usable anymore:
Bell/License plate fasteners 00458-8 at AutoZone.com

Will this type of mount/base work?
Cruiser Accessories/License plate mounting bracket 79150 at AutoZone.com - 1 reviews

What about replacing the adhesive strips? What did yall use? Where can I buy these?