Front License Plate Bracket

New cars rarely come with accommodations for a license plate in the front of the vehicle. It's usually either a bracket or pre-drilled holes to install the plate. The former isn't pre-installed because many states do not require front plates. California, where I live, does require it.

In the past, the dealership has always installed the bracket as part of the new car handover. I've even been asked if they wanted me to do it prior to delivery. However, I purchased my Leaf very late in the day - by the time all the paperwork was done it was two hours past closing time. Thus, the bracket wasn't installed, and it seems silly to drive 45 miles to the dealership for something so easy.

... or so I thought. . If anyone of you have done this themselves, the manual's instructions are both obtuse and inaccurate. At one point, it says to drill a couple of 40mm holes in the front bumper. That's over 1.5 inches. I don't think so!

Here's the question: There are two ways to go about this. 1) use the supplied bracket. Drill a couple of 10mm holes and install a screw grommet, screw in the plate holder and then find a couple of bolts for the license plate. That works, but it's still a sizable hole and adds a plastic bracket that may not be necessary. 2) ditch the bracket, line up the plate with a nice frame and secure it to the front bumper with couple of wood screws (being careful not to strip the resulting threads). The bumper should be thick enough to keep the plate firmly on the bumper. This is the way my Venza had it done six months ago at the dealership.

So, anyone, how is your front bumper installed? Using the bracket, or simply attached directly?

It requires large holes for the screw inserts to clear. I used a 1 inch hole saw and it cleared OK. I actually drilled 4 holes since I did not realize the bracket could have US or Europe spacing. The wrong holes are fully covered up.

Personally, I'd make the drive and have the dealer do it. If they screw it up, they assume the liability.

It's not at all a difficult thing to do. I just used a couple of wood screws and a washer. I saw no point in drilling huge holes into the bumper if they weren't necessary. Jobs done, and the plate is very solidly installed.

My Leaf is a lease in a state that requires a front plate. If the future owner hates the holes then tough!

I just could not bring myself to drill holes in my new Leaf's bumper. I went with this:
http://gominigo.com/Nissan.html
No holes and I think it looks cool.

I used the two supplied plastic "molly" inserts, in relatively
small holes, spaced to match the two plate-mounting holes.

No big holes.

I did need to get longer machine screws to use
the bracket behind the plate (and a frame).

I searched the archives and found this old thread.

I am in need of a no-drill license plate bracket that would fit the Leaf. The one product mentioned by Turbofroggy (gominigo.com/Nissan.html) costs $90 ! Plus, I don't understand what it means that the Leaf NHLPB Kit comes with the 27.5* OFFSET Bracket as the standard bracket.

Does anyone know of something cheaper and utilizes the Leaf's towing hook ? Is there a hardware piece which I can buy off Homedepot which can securely fasten to the towing hook? Maybe I could make one of these no drill plates myself.

Also, I found a cheaper alternative:
Skene Designs http://www.skenedesign.com/FPBracket/index.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
but, it still requires drilling. Anyone here tried this?

I have the Skene design bracket. Been on the car for 3+ years now.

Works great. You do have to be accurate when attaching the bracket to get the optimal position.

Oklahoma doesn't require a front plate, Since I specifically said I didn't want holes in my front bumper or a front plate they had to give me 250.00 off per HOLE and I ordered some bumper plugs that are paint matched since My Leaf was sourced from Texas.

/b

drees said:

I have the Skene design bracket. Been on the car for 3+ years now.

Works great. You do have to be accurate when attaching the bracket to get the optimal position.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback on the Skene design bracket. I just PMed you as well...

When ordering, there are 5 Bracket options = extra short, short, medium, long, extra long.

Can you remember which bracket did you select for your Leaf ? Thanks.

I'm in California and I was kind of annoyed every single vehicle on the lot already had the plates installed so I had no choice but to pick one of them. The first thing I did when I got home was remove the dealer decal and front plate bracket. The decal left a small bit of residue--no big deal. The license plate bracket left two holes--fixable with some bumper plugs. What irked me was the two screws that held the plate to the bracket ALSO made holes in the bumper. What's the point of the bracket if the screws are just going to make holes as well? They holes aren't big enough to put bumper plugs in so now it looks terrible :roll:

gshoq said:

I'm in California and I was kind of annoyed every single vehicle on the lot already had the plates installed so I had no choice but to pick one of them. The first thing I did when I got home was remove the dealer decal and front plate bracket. The decal left a small bit of residue--no big deal. The license plate bracket left two holes--fixable with some bumper plugs. What irked me was the two screws that held the plate to the bracket ALSO made holes in the bumper. What's the point of the bracket if the screws are just going to make holes as well? They holes aren't big enough to put bumper plugs in so now it looks terrible :roll:

Click to expand...

Oh and the bumper plastic is deformed due to the tension created by the mounting screws. Fantastic...

My front plate is still not mounted. I suppose I will have to put it on someday when I get a fix-it ticket.

Here's a pic of how my plate is mounted with the Skene bracket. I opted to mount the plate low. You can easily mount the plate up higher in a stock like position in front of the bumper instead of in front of the grill like I did.

This is the 2.5" "long" bracket. Not sure why they suggest using the medium 2" bracket on 2012+ LEAFs? The extra long bracket would even fit and possibly provide an even sturdier mount.

Telling you the truth, there are so many variants of the front license plate brackets on the market (like this: https://www.carid.com/license-plate-brackets/). And many of them do not require drilling and have just clamps to hold the plate itself in place. So I would recommend simply checking for an option, which will not ruin your investment. They are not expensive and again, you may choose exactly what you need. :idea: :idea: :idea: