Those dang plastic fasteners (minor rant) (archive)

The front grill fasteners come in two varieties. One kind has a plastic screw, which is molded-in, and broken off when you start to screw it in. The other kind has a small rectangular plunger which you push in to lock the fastener.

How do you remove them? The screw-in kind you just unscrew, assuming you don't snap the plastic screw or chew its head up with the screwdriver. With the plastic plunger variety, you have to shove the plunger out from the outside, and you'll probably lose it in the metalwork somewhere. I think the idea is you get new ones.

Now lets talk about the fasteners that hold the floppy glove-box cover.

These have push-in plungers which lock the fasteners. Again, to remove them, you have to push the plastic pins through, which makes it very likely that you'll lose them.

Would it have broken the bank to put a head on the plungers to let you pry them out with a fingernail? Or is it part of the grand plan that you're SUPPOSED to replace the fasteners every time you replace a headlight? Of course you'll have the foresight to keep a stock of fasteners on hand. Perhaps I'm laboring under a delusion- maybe the DEALER is supposed to replace the fasteners every time THEY replace your headlight. That explains everything!

Be careful with the plastic fasteners that hold the grill on. Put plenty of pressure on them and back 'em out slowly.

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