Is there a way to remove the exterior license plate panel? It seems to be its own plastic panel. Is there some way to remove the rear interior door panel to access the back of the screw? Hold the screw ends from the inside of the liftgate with vice grips or pliers and turn the screws on the outside with a screwdriver. Now, you will be able to see the rear gate latch assembly and the back ends of the screws. If a plate/panel is covering the rear side of the screws and their latch assembly, just pull it with your hand and it will pop right out. I have started the process and now have a hole in the screw.įor drilling this out, do I just continue with larger bits until I remove all of the old screw material? Open the liftgate to check out the rear side of the license plate and screw endings. I didin't work, and just left a hole in the screw head.ĭrilling - I've never drilled a screw out before.

Grabbit bit - this was a reverse threaded screw removal tool. Vice Grip pliers - the head of the screw is really flat and there is just not enough sticking up to grab. Hack saw blade to cut a better slot in the top of the screw. WD-40 - hard to get into the screw because the license plate is in the way. I managed to get one screw out, but the other would not budge. I decided I would change them to stainless (I'm due for new tags in February). This got me to thinking about the rusted screws on the back of my 2008 Rav4.

His new license plate is currently held on by 1 screw. The screws were rusted and we snapped off 3 of the 4 screws. Last week I was helping a friend remove the license plate screws from his car.

Honda license plate screws are stuck