This is exactly why I'm purchasing a new plateThese brackets are notorious for the little metal nuts to EASILY rotate out of position to render this plate useless as you are prolly aware. They do NOT need to be torqued in like a wheel nut ...
So here is what I'm doing...
I'm going to purchase a new plate mount and remove the four metal threads that are there and replace them with these from Autozone...
Yes!! Why are there screws when the double-sided tape they used is strong enough to tow my car with?
As for the Autozone fasteners, that may be cool - just be sure they're NOT too long or they will hit the body panel behind the plate holder before getting snug. btw, THIS is the most common reason why these get FUBAR'd - too long screws hit the body before snugging up the plate, and then extra tightening commences in order to fix that, then the nut does tighten against the screw whilst the plate is still loose, then more tightening results in the nut rotating out of the plastic never to be useful again. Now you have a screw that is tight to the nut, loose to the back plate, a scratched body panel (fortunately hidden to all but rust) AND STILL a loose plate - sheesh.
Luckily the 2017s have a new backing plate design that improves on this but is still not immune to the wrong hardware. The REAL problem is that the sales folks who usually hand over the screws (if they don't put them on and screw this up for you in the first place) - also usually don't pay much attention (cuz they just grab them from a big bin) to giving you the right length for YOUR car as there are about 3 different sizes across the brand...
Sorry Andy - this is absolute rubbish. The cars DO come with them (btw, they are zinc plated too) although it is common practice to just toss them all into a big bin in service/parts and then take from the bin which/whatever they need without seeking proper lengths. These are easy to supply and we stock three lengths typically marked by model. My Tech's 8 year old daughter does the sorting and bin arrangements for these on Saturday mornings - so it shouldn't be beyond them. Tell them to call me (864-517-4728) and I'll be happy to straighten them out...... The explanation was that Audi doesn't provide the screws or the specs for the right screws so they honestly didn't know what to use or where to get them. ...BTW, this was a dealer under new ownership. I now have no idea where I'm going to get service.
-Andy
Sorry Andy - this is absolute rubbish. The cars DO come with them (btw, they are zinc plated too) although it is common practice to just toss them all into a big bin in service/parts and then take from the bin which/whatever they need without seeking proper lengths. These are easy to supply and we stock three lengths typically marked by model. My Tech's 8 year old daughter does the sorting and bin arrangements for these on Saturday mornings - so it shouldn't be beyond them. Tell them to call me (864-517-4728) and I'll be happy to straighten them out...
Even having the correct length DOES NOT fix the over-zealous screw driver though and there IS a design flaw in the bracket plastic and lock nut in the first place - but THAT is an Audi problem. That CAN be however made good by reasonable and prudent care in screwing (couldn't help myself) >![]()
So here is what I'm doing...
I'm going to purchase a new plate mount and remove the four metal threads that are there and replace them with these from Autozone...
Yes!! Why are there screws when the double-sided tape they used is strong enough to tow my car with?