I need to remove the reflector attached to the rear hatch, the one which sits between my tail lights. It seems to be attached with six small pins which poke through the metal frame of the hatch. I've messed w many different connectors on this car and I've never seen any like these. They have hex nuts holding them in place on the inside of the hatch but those nuts don't unscrew. They're plastic and the two that I've tried to remove seem to crack and break apart. Help.

 

On my 1990 si the 4 nuts are threaded onto a bolt/screw that has a unique head that slips into slots on the back of the center reflector. Those were easy but there is one plastic clip near the center that was just about impossible to reach.

 

Hmm, yes I have 6 of those, good to know that they're potentially threaded. I'll attempt to see if they can be removed without cracking apart. I've applied release oil to help. Thanks for the response.

 

I tried taking mine off, because I wanted to swap on the reflective one (i think people refer to it as the center garnish??) I broke off 2 of the very small studs with plastic nuts and they snapped, so I never took it off.

 

This is a nightmare, but I got it removed. Normally I bow to Soichiro Honda and the basic wonder of design and ease with which the company has always allowed us to modify or repair its products. They've lost me here as there are multiple points at which this project can fail. The reflector has no surface openings, obviously, for screws to thread through, but the skinny little "t" bolts that hold it in place are set into flimsy plastic recesses on the back of the reflector. These holder slots inevitably crack and fail (the reflector will be hanging loose on one side, etc), why aren't they metal? Ha, right. The "t" bolt itself, as thin as it is, will become fused into the metal body of the lift gate if even the slightest amount of dirt or filth enters this area (it will). This tiny bolt then usually cracks apart before it will come out. And the worst part is that this small bolt isn't threaded so much as it is "capped" w a plastic acorn nut that is mostly irremovable unless it is broken apart rendering it unable to reuse. Have on hand a new reflector w slots intact (I have a spare) or it's game over short of drilling thru the old reflector, and I look fwd to going up to my suburban Honda dealership in an attempt to replace these tiny "t" bolts, or even the part # for online. For a '91? As usual they'll look at me like the stranded lummoxes they are before I walk out empty-handed.

shows intact plastic acorn "nuts" inside lift gate


shows "t" bolts that hold reflector in place

The culprit which spawned this thread, plastic holders which crack apart. Inspected at factory though, (white wax pencil) prob to see if t bolts were inserted!

Intact "t" bolt at top. The others..

Managed to salvage one set. Just one. Pressing on.