Finally a warm day here in the northeast so I washed my Defender after 7 weeks of winter driving. (Not a fan of automatic car washes so only hand washing for me)
When I got around to the rear, I noticed the rear license plate was loose and just hanging from the top 2 screws. No lower screws were installed. I'm thinking I want to secure the plate with 4 screws which would require drilling 2 small pilot holes in the rear bumper. Anyone else do that? If our bumpers are like most vehicles, they probably have styrofoam inside so adding 2 more screws should be easy, unless the trailer wiring runs right behind the plate mounting area.

 

I’m a big fan of automatic car washes but noticed the exact same thing today when going over it with a drying towel ... thought the rear license plate seemed a little loose held (2 screws at top only).

 

Two screws for rear plate, I believe, are standard across all new LR products in the US.

 

Something I’ve noticed on a lot of new cars. Two screws are the new four screws, apparently.

I’ve found that if the vehicle has two proper threaded inserts like the Defender does (rather than just holes drilled into the plastic by the dealership), then a plate can be held quite securely... assuming one affixes a strip of adhesive-backed foam to the bottom portion of the plate. Without the foam strip, the bottom of the plate hangs closer to the bumper body than the top, which leads to movement. Over time, this movement will back out the screws, culminating in a loose license plate.

Many nicer license plate frames (including the OEM Land Rover frames) include a strip of foam for this very purpose.

 

Thank you for the replies. Now I'm thinking a piece of double-sided carpet tape will secure the plate without any additional drilling.