[joker96]

I hate the front license plate thing and when I tried removing it I found out its riveted to the bumper so there's no way of removing it without leaving 2 holes in the bumper. Now I'm angry. So I guess a body shop could fix this?

 

[rutabix]

I have the same madness as you. Bought the car here in North Carolina where only rear plates are needed. Thought it obvious that the plate bracket could be removed by the dealer or even me....such a stupid situation. it was a beautiful front end until they strapped that plastic wart onto the bumper!

 

[Vwguy86]

Lucky, front plate is required here.

 

[laebshade]

Bought my car with no front plate holder. Kind of wish it had one so I could have a front custom plate.

 

[ThePhillyFiestaGuy]

I live in PA and mine had a front license plate on it. It had a stupid dealership plate on it. The night i bought it, I immediately drilled out the rivets. Lucky for me, i bought a black st and you cant barely notice the holes

 

[rutabix]

Just ordered tuxedo black bumper plugs from bumperplugs.com. Hope to repeat what you did but fit these into the holes...sounds like these were designed for Ford bumper holes too...color matched.

 

[Wheelhopper]

I removed my tag today. Now I have 2 small holes in the bumper. I am going to try to plug them as well.

 

[rutabix]

Did you drill out the rivet?

 

[94Gt5.0]

Same problem here. Took delivery of my car and blew a gasket when I saw the plate on it..apparently they come from the factory like that, so it got drilled off within 5 mins lol.

 

[Wheelhopper]

Yep, I drilled it out. I started with a small bit and went a few sizes each pass until it came out. I must have used 6-7 different size bits. Unfortunately bumperplugs.com only has Orange Crush Metallic. Not sure how close that will be. I am going to get some MO touch up from Ford to make all turns out well.

 

[laebshade]

Same problem here. Took delivery of my car and blew a gasket when I saw the plate on it..apparently they come from the factory like that, so it got drilled off within 5 mins lol.

My dealer took delivery of my ST straight from the factory, yet it doesn't have a front plate mount.

 

[94Gt5.0]

My dealer took delivery of my ST straight from the factory, yet it doesn't have a front plate mount.

That's strange, I special ordered mine and had to of said 20 times NOT to install a plate, hell I didn't even have them wash the car or do anything and it rolled up to the lot with the bracket on it..

 

[laebshade]

That's strange, I special ordered mine and had to of said 20 times NOT to install a plate, hell I didn't even have them wash the car or do anything and it rolled up to the lot with the bracket on it..

Here's the part you're going to hate: I went in there and bought it straight from their stock; I mean, I knew it was coming in, but I had no control or requests for the features. It just happened to be the color I wanted, Race Red.

 

[Clamp]

This seems to be a quirk with the way Fords are ordered.

I work at a dealer in Missouri and sometimes I'm in charge of ordering vehicles. When entering codes to add to a vehicle, an available code is a front license plate bracket. This code is automatically added to orders for units going to a state where a front plate is required at no cost. Due to MO requiring front plates, most of our vehicles come in with a bracket and rivets in a plastic bag in the trunk and are installed before delivery. Some specialty vehicles (like the Focus ST and Mustang) we ask the customer before installing them. However, we've only had one Fiesta ST come in so far and as far as I could tell, it has the bracket on from the moment it got off the truck. There was a day between when I first noticed it arriving and when it was prepared for inventory, but I feel like I remember the bracket already being there (which is strange).

We have a couple more Fiesta STs on their way in so I'm going to keep an eye out and see if they're all coming from the factory with a front bracket installed or not.

 

[Pelotonracer2]

As soon as I buy a drill, mine is coming off too. Anyone know the correct drill bit size?

 

[Pelotonracer2]

Oh and with that said, we are supposed to run a front plate in Texas, but I haven't in years and have never gotten a ticket. This particular plate "holder" is an annoying eye sore and must come off. I will find some plugs and paint them body color.

 

[joker96]

Yeah am doing the same thing tomorrow when I give it a nice wash and wax.

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[rutabix]

Beware it isn't for faint of heart... Once the rivet spins is tough to keep drilling. Rotating will eat through the soft plastic bracket and the bumper is thin.

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[rutabix]

If I had to do it again I would take it to a body shop.

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[was-an-M]

I love bumper plugs but sadly they don't offer performance blue yet. Guess I'll throw on the front plate. Or what about swapping out for a euro plate holder and getting one of those fake euro tags?