Toyota RAV4 Aux Rear Number Plate Light

[mrbluesky]

Wonder whether any one can help my 2008 RAV went in for its MOT there was an issue with one of the rear aux number plate lights not working but they passed it as the other one worked? They couldn't change the faulty one as the screw was rusted and the Philips screw was chewed, I decided to have a go at trying to remove the screw however had to drill it out. Unfortunately the piece of plastic that the screw locates into has broken away and now I need to screw in the glass housing with replacement bulb. Not sure where the plastic was attached to but it was a flimsy fitting?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Moved to the Rav4 club.

[crofter]

Have you thought to visit an auto spares shop,you may find that they stock a filler suitable for this

Del

[mrbluesky]

Many thanks Crofter for the suggestion I thought I would go to Toyota Spares and see if the newer clip in lens would fit if not I there is the possibility of buying the whole panel with lighting included as below. 

[alan333]

Could you make a suitable bracket out of something and screw it (or adhere it) to the backing, then screw the cover to the new bracket?

[mrbluesky]

Hi Alan thanks for your suggestion I have made a temporary bracket with nut and bolt but I cant get to the nut to tighten its okay as a temporary solution. Ideally if I can get something solid in the gap and then screw into it with a self tapping screw would be ideal.

I would advise anybody with a RAV with this type of fitting to replace the screws on their lenses with stainless steel to avoid this situation. I'm not sure what year Toyota changed this method to the clip in version?

[corradovr6]

We have the same issue with the screws. They're at such an angle that you cant get and bolt extractors or anything to get a purchase on the head. 

I'm loathe to grind the heads off due to potential damage to the plastic surround. Tried access from inside by removing the panel but that didn't work either.

Any other solutions that worked?

[bobby boy]

I had this problem some time ago,removed the housing from the door which allowed better access to the screws, made sure theads were well greased when replaced, problem solved.

[corradovr6]

On 11/28/2021 at 1:44 PM, bobby boy said:

I had this problem some time ago,removed the housing from the door which allowed better access to the screws, made sure theads were well greased when replaced, problem solved.

Thanks for that Bobby. Any pointers or pics on how you did this?  I removed the inside panel from the tailgate but that didnt really help, unless i missed an obvious step!

[bobby boy]

Some time ago that I did this, but if I remember correctly, after removing the inner panel of the rear door,found the number plate housing held on by two or three nuts. Undid these which allowed the housing to come away from the door. A word  of caution, make sure you do not allow the housing to fall down the door, the threads of the retaining bolts are long and can damage your paintwork. The improved access enabled me to remove the screws.

[corradovr6]

Many thanks, i'll give it  go again