Hello Honda Folks,

First off thanks again for all your help in my last posts. I appreciate them.

Recap: 2001 Honda Accord Sedan

I got my license plates today in the mail ( in my state the dealership a person buy a car from does the paper work for the tags (at a cost to you but the trade off is you don't have to deal with the DMV idiots) )

I noticed that my tag bracket in the front bumper was loose and I thought it was broken, but upon a better look at it it appears that the tag is held onto the bumper by way of two clips (with bolts) that are mounted under the bumper and that at some point the bracket was bumped (no pun intended) and the clip came out of its slot (it was still attached to the bracket). The slots themselves look in good condition so it would only be a matter of going to honda for two new clips and two new bolts (all the hardware was rusty) but it seems like this is not a good way to mount a plate because any minor bump (i.e. parking two close to an object or somebody bumping you in a parking lot) would cause the whole bracket to pop off and you would lose the plate and bracket.

Looking closer to the bumper its self, I notice two dimples in it that line up with the mounting holes of the license plate. It looks like it might be for a different bracket or perhaps with the aid of two self tapping screws, could mount the plate right to the bumper with out a bracket (when I worked at a GM dealer on some of the cars there were dimples on the bumper like this and we simply ran self tapping screws in to mount the plate.

Am I able to do this on my accord or will it snag some wire (The screws are the standard tag bolts)?
Has anybody used something other then the bracket to hold the license plate on the front?


As I was looking at my bumper, I noticed that the glass in one of the foglights was cracked. These are Honda OEM fog lights that i guess must have been installed by a dealership.

Can I go to Honda and buy the glass or do I have buy a new unit?

Also I noticed that one of the ribs on my bumper that connects to the upper and lower bumper has broken off of the top (these are the thin ribs you see spaced out under the license plate and in front of the condensor (or is it called an air dam/lower spoiler??) Can I simple glue the part with trim Glue?

I am sorry to be confusing on the third question but it is hard to explain

Thanks

L

 

For the license plate, you probably can get away with using self-tapping screws (some people install it this way on their Hondas) in the bumper; but, I would recommend using the license plate base. The base doesn't come off when it gets bumped lightly, if installed correctly.

The fog light assembly (left or right) can be purchased separately from the dealer, instead of the whole kit.

If the ribs (as you refer to it) portion of the bumper is still there, you may be able to use some epoxy or some other adhesive to glue it back in place.

 

Hello,

Thanks for the heads up. I guess the mounting of the tag bracket will depend on the availability of the new clips and bolts. If they are in stock I will buy them and try them but if not then I can't.

The fog light replacement I will look into also, I assume they are plug and play (i.e. I simply unplug the old one (i.e. remove bulb) and install the new one and stick bulb back in and all is good?

Yes the rib (the things in between the fog lights) is just detached from the top part.

Thanks

L

 

Hello,

Well I got back from the local dealership with parts and info early today.

I bought a new oil drain bolt and washer (I always keep a spare on every car I own)

I got two new clips and bolts for the tag bracket

I got some assorted bolts/clips etc for the car

I also inquired on the fog lights. They sell the light housings separately but want $99 each for them. This is too much for a part I don't use, I only wanted to replace the glass so it does not look like a POS. I guess I will wait until one comes up on eBay.


I reattached the front license plate bracket with the clips and since I discovered that there was a factory made/drilled/molded hole in the center of the bracket and since because the bracket having been loose had wore away a small patch of paint on the bumper exactly where the hole in the bracket lined up, I took a sharp punch and started a small hole in the bumper and screwed a self tapping tag bolt in, thereby adding to the support of the bracket. The bracket covers the bumper hole and the hole is recessed so it is covered by the tag. A nice bit of peace of mind for me.


Now comes the mystery for me. In my Haynes car manual (Honda Accord 98-02) I bought from Autozone, it says that I am supposed to have a small removable door in the splash shield directly under the radiator pet **** that one removes to drain the radiator. Mine is missing, I figured I would buy one from Honda but when they looked at the parts diagram they said there was no door listed. The parts guy at Honda even brought me over and showed me a brand new splash shield in their inventory and it had the place for the door (including a place for placing your finger to pup the door off) but did not come with the door. I had them look at both 4cyl and V6 for the years 98-02 and all did not have the door but had the opening for it.

My questions to you Honda owners of the 98-02 sedan and coupes, do you have a removable door/panel/cover under your radiator pet **** in the splash shield or was Haynes wrong and Honda did not have this?


Also when looking at my drivers side door label, I see this car was made in Japan.I thought the Accord for the American market was made in Ohio. While I believe that a Honda is a Honda whether it is made in Japan or USA, I wonder mine is from Japan? was customer demand so high that the Ohio plant could not keep up with it and Honda had to ship Japanese made Accords to keep up with it?

Thanks

L