Hey guys, anyone know how to remove these to get a stuck/broken license plate screw out? I can't tell if they're welded or glued. I could apply some heat if they're glued, but thought I'd ask first. There's not way to safely get the screw out at this point, otherwise. I took the trunk liner out to get access to this.

 

Sorry I don't have the answer on how to remove those but have you tried a screw extractor bit, something like this?




Or a a reverse threaded drill bit?

 

You have to use a reverse screw with a drill or something like that. This happened to me as well. Such a huge nuisance.

 

I used those screw extractors didn’t work for me. An old car that had rusted screw it won’t budge at all tried everything none works. You may have to drill out the screw.

 

I don't find these very effective for seized screws, only stripped. I used a Dremel to get the first one out, by turning the stripped Phillips head into a flat head and using an impact wrench with a large flat-head bit at the end. I also broke the second screw free this way, until I sheared the head off.

Anyway, this is definitely the safe way to go about it: by removing this plastic piece, but I'm not going to just hammer away at it and do damage to the outer body panel. If anyone at all knows how to safely remove this, that would be ideal.

 

I've ground the thing down to a nub - very carefully. I think I need a diamond or carbide grinding bit to finish it off, but this method is tricky because if I slip, it's bye bye paint. My first two are spent and had to check them. Hopefully this method will cause the remnants of the screw to break in place and I can just dig it out.

 

If the head broke off and there is any shoulder or thread showing on the outside, can you grab it with a vise grip and turn it out?
If not you're down to drilling it out.
The threaded insert is basically like a rivet...expect that if you drill it out that at some point the insert will heat up and start spinning...I would try to hold it from the inside while drilling from the outside.

If it does spin it is possible to squash the insert again so it doesn't...I had to do this on my Highlander.

 

Locking grip method is out. I couldn't get enough grip, and I was also scratching the paint.

Of note is that if I want to get aggressive, I can drill it from behind the trunk. Within that plastic piece is the other end of the screw. There's less visibility and of course I'll have to travel the entire distance of that plastic-looking tube, but at least that's less risk of paint damage.

Can you explain your version of "drilling it out"? Links to any tools? I am not having much luck drilling into the screw. It's pretty strong metal... I don't know what the dealership was thinking when they installed these.

Honestly, I would really love to know how to remove that cylindrical piece behind the trunk. I'm certain that's how dealers safely do this. There's no way Lexus engineers permanently welded a screw whole to the most abused part of the exterior panels - seized license plate screws. It has to be replaceable.

 

Here is the inside of the trunk, again, for clarity. You can see the two screw anchors.

 

I just went through this exact same headache...stainless steel, phillips head, license plate screws decided to corrode and seize. Stripped the phillips head so I cut a groove for a flat head screwdriver which also stripped. I then shaved down the round screw head flat on each side to clamp vice grips on it but also just stripped the screw head more. I was trying to avoid drilling and tapping but the screw head was so mangled at this point. I actually got a Dewalt combo drill bit and tap kit from home depot (https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-9...1420/204787310). I drilled from the inside as shown in your last photo and then tapped the threads from both inside and outside.
Just FYI, those insert, "top hot" looking, threaded pieces in your last photo are actually some sort of metal. They act as a good guide when drilling out the seized screw and the process was actually more simple than I thought.
After drilling and tapping, I installed plastic license plate screws with anti-seize (yes, I know it's not needed but doesn't hurt). I am planning to use anti-seize on almost all hardware that has a remote chance of being removed.

 

Thanks.

Just pulverized the screw from the backend using a 3/16 bit. There was so little left of the screw I had to use the other, good screw, screwed in from the backend to get the remnants out. Very poorly engineered, imho, if this is the only option. That anchor behind the trunk should be a less permanent fixture.

Bitter survivor from the battle