[ethicalpaul]

I hand washed my new Insight last night and I noticed what seemed to be a missing body part.

I was at the license plate area (rear), and looked up from below at the license plate light bulb area, and it was pretty much wide open to the interior of the body.

The plane of the opening is horizontal. The opening is roughly the width of the plate, and a couple inches in the other dimension. There are empty screw holes where it seems a part would want to be fastened to close this opening.

Did someone in Suzuka have a hard night, or is this in fact how everybody's looks? I pray to the good lord that I finally am making a legal photo inclusion:

 

[minako]

Hi ethicalpaul,

Unless the same worker in Suzuka forgot mine, too (five years later), it's normal. I went out and checked the rear license plate area and it is indeed wide open like that. It does appear that something should be there, doesn't it? LOL

 

[Resist]

It's the same on my 2001 as well.

 

[Rick]

That's how it's supposed to be, I know kind of wierd. I helped a friend replace the lower black piece of his rear bumper on his Insight once and this confused us too. Luckily we had mine sitting there to compare it to, and no the license plate light is not backwards, though it may appear to be. I've seen the bumper off and you could spray water in there all day and not hurt anything so don't worry too much about it.

 

[ethicalpaul]

Wow, thanks for checking folks, I can't believe there is this gaping hole and it's on purpose

I wonder what those screw holes are for?

 

[Rick]

European and Japanese size license plates. On almost every other model they have different rear bumpers for the different locations, but the Insight has just one for all worldwide locaitons.

 

[ethicalpaul]

I'm not sure we're talking about the same holes....

I'm thinking of the ones whose centerline (axis of entry?) is vertical. They are visible in my pictures, located to either side of the plate bulb.

 

[Rick]

Yes, those are for the european license plate lights.