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Removing Safety Inspection from bumper

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Old 12-23-11, 06:41 PM
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dl83
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Default Removing Safety Inspection from bumper

Hi guys. I was just wondering if any of you had suggestions on how to remove a safety inspection from the bumper without damaging the paint? I had asked the dealer to install a safety inspection plate when they got my car from the dock, but that never happened and they slapped the sticker on my bumper =/ They just did it yesterday, so I'm assuming it should come off fairly easily.
Old 12-23-11, 07:56 PM
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Heat gun or blow dryer. Make sure that when you heat up where your sticker is placed, you dont heat it up to much. Too much heat will cause your bumper and paint to bubble. Also dont use a razor blade. Try removing it with your fingernail, once you get the corners started, pull it back slowly, you dont want to pull it fast. It will cause the sticker to stretch. It is possible it might rip because the sticker is made so that thieves wont be able to obtain it for there vehicles. Hope the lexus dealership didnt slash the sticker. If they did then your SOL. Hope this helps.
Old 12-23-11, 10:37 PM
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PHML
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since this is a new vehicle....your safety inspection is good for 2 yrs...so take care when removing. I'd remove asap...before the adhesive sets in....I usually do the slow peel back method...no heat gun or hair dryer...good luck.
Old 12-24-11, 11:42 AM
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96817isf
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i used a razor but u just gotta be real careful....if u take it to somewhere that does the safety checks u might get lucky and one of the guys there know how to do it and will usually do it for free just tip the guy for his hard work... it ain't easy..
Old 12-24-11, 02:30 PM
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Revive
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Where can I get one of those sticker plates? I need
Old 12-24-11, 03:23 PM
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96732IS350
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Originally Posted by Revive
Where can I get one of those sticker plates? I need
I got mine from PHML a few years back. its the one with the word "LEXUS" cut out. hit him up to see if he still have some left.
Old 12-25-11, 04:34 AM
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Originally Posted by 96732IS350
I got mine from PHML a few years back. its the one with the word "LEXUS" cut out. hit him up to see if he still have some left.
Sorry...none available.
Old 12-26-11, 01:26 AM
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Thank you everyone for your feedback! I haven't attempted to do anything yet since I didn't want to be driving around without a safety for days, but will try tomorrow. We'll see how that goes D:

Originally Posted by VIP LXS
Heat gun or blow dryer. Make sure that when you heat up where your sticker is placed, you dont heat it up to much. Too much heat will cause your bumper and paint to bubble. Also dont use a razor blade. Try removing it with your fingernail, once you get the corners started, pull it back slowly, you dont want to pull it fast. It will cause the sticker to stretch. It is possible it might rip because the sticker is made so that thieves wont be able to obtain it for there vehicles. Hope the lexus dealership didnt slash the sticker. If they did then your SOL. Hope this helps.
Thanks, that's what the sales person suggested also. Thank goodness they didn't slash the sticker, so hopefully it will come off in one piece.

Originally Posted by PHML
since this is a new vehicle....your safety inspection is good for 2 yrs...so take care when removing. I'd remove asap...before the adhesive sets in....I usually do the slow peel back method...no heat gun or hair dryer...good luck.
I know =/ I asked my sales person about that, and he will speak to his service department about putting another 2 year sticker on and get back to me about that tomorrow. If not, they better give me a complimentary sticker next year since I asked for the plate to be done prior to them prepping the car for delivery

Originally Posted by 96817isf
i used a razor but u just gotta be real careful....if u take it to somewhere that does the safety checks u might get lucky and one of the guys there know how to do it and will usually do it for free just tip the guy for his hard work... it ain't easy..
I think I'd just leave it on rather than taking a razor to it. The risk is just not worth it, lol. That's a good idea regarding hitting up some safety inspection stations. That will probably be my last resort.

Originally Posted by Revive
Where can I get one of those sticker plates? I need
They sell them at the dealership I work at (Acura), and I'm assuming they sell it at Lexus too. You can also check out Razor in Pearlridge, last I checked they had it.
Old 12-26-11, 07:31 AM
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revision audio has them last i remember..
Old 12-29-11, 12:00 AM
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I don't think its a good idea to take off the stickers. The year sticker is hard to come off in one piece. The manufacturer of the sticker change the material that they use. I would just go back to the dealer and redo the safety check.
Old 12-29-11, 12:16 AM
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Originally Posted by ISBU
I don't think its a good idea to take off the stickers. The year sticker is hard to come off in one piece. The manufacturer of the sticker change the material that they use. I would just go back to the dealer and redo the safety check.
Lol too late. The year sticker was a pain in the a**!! They made it so that if you take off the sticker, some of the sticky part peels off and leaves a bunch of "C's", "D's" and "V's" on your bumper, then shows on the sticker where those letters are missing (if that made sense). I just put some white paper on the parts where the letters cut out, to make it less obvious looking and put double stick tape. Pretty ghetto, but after two years it will be covered up anyway. I'm just hoping it doesn't fall off before then lol.

I don't know if the service department at Lexus was lying to my sales person, but they told him that it is illegal to have a safety plate (it HAS to be directly on the bumper) and they would not even put a new sticker if I had it installed myself. I told him that we do it all the time at Acura, and as long as it is placed on the right hand side, it's fine, so that can't be true. They insisted they wouldn't redo it though and claimed they would have their safety inspection license revoked if they even put the sticker on the plate if I had the plate installed myself. I'm thinking they didn't want to go through the hassle of having it removed and reinstalled
Old 12-31-11, 02:49 AM
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Originally Posted by dl83
Lol too late. The year sticker was a pain in the a**!! They made it so that if you take off the sticker, some of the sticky part peels off and leaves a bunch of "C's", "D's" and "V's" on your bumper, then shows on the sticker where those letters are missing (if that made sense).
Hi guys!....I no longer have my IS, but was just passing through and saw this thread so I thought I'd comment.

Yes...the material used for the year decal was changed. It's more like a thick mylar or cellophane now. As dl83 mentions, if you try to remove it, it leaves a bunch of letters...they are supposed to spell "VOID." The "C's" that you are seeing are probably "O's" that didn't peel all the way. The color stays stuck to the bumper leaving clear areas on the decal which form the word "VOID." Kind of hard to explain. I found this out because I traded my IS for a new Tacoma...and when I moved the decals from the bumper to the safety check plate...this is what happened. Now I got the words "VOID" on my year decal, hasn't been a problem so far...knock on wood.

By the way...you can get these safety check plates at MatCo...behind Cutter Ford.
Old 01-31-12, 12:23 PM
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Originally Posted by dl83
I don't know if the service department at Lexus was lying to my sales person, but they told him that it is illegal to have a safety plate (it HAS to be directly on the bumper) and they would not even put a new sticker if I had it installed myself. I told him that we do it all the time at Acura, and as long as it is placed on the right hand side, it's fine, so that can't be true. They insisted they wouldn't redo it though and claimed they would have their safety inspection license revoked if they even put the sticker on the plate if I had the plate installed myself. I'm thinking they didn't want to go through the hassle of having it removed and reinstalled
I've been told that by more than one station and finally opted to just slap it on the bumper.
Old 01-31-12, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Dr. Jekyll
I've been told that by more than one station and finally opted to just slap it on the bumper.

I have heard that also. Can anyone confirm if the plates are illegal?
Old 01-31-12, 06:13 PM
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dl83
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Originally Posted by easy
I have heard that also. Can anyone confirm if the plates are illegal?
We still install the plates here at Acura, so I don't believe they are. I've been told that as long as its installed on the bottom right side of the bumper, it's fine. Anywhere else would be considered illegal.


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