Hi guys,

Yesterday, someone backed into my 2012 G37 Journey sedan while it was parked and took out the piece protecting the radiator, the one under the license plate.

1. I can't figure out the proper name for this piece, which makes searching for solutions hard. I tried radiator protector, radiator cover, grille, etc, but they all reference different parts.

2. The plastic piece itself seems to be relatively intact - it fell inside and stayed there. What I can't figure out is how to pop it back in correctly.

Specifically, there are several places where it looks like it'd be screwed on, but no corresponding parts on the bumper to screw it in - plus, there's no way I'd be able to do it without taking the whole bumper off.

Second, those white tabs you see in the photo. If I try to pop the black tabs on the plastic cover over the white tabs, it just doesn't align right and ends up being way higher at the top and on one of the sides.

I'm at a loss as to how to correctly assemble it back, or whether I might be missing more ingredients that snapped off.

Any help please?

P.S. Out of curiosity, what is the giant screw hole on the left side for? The plastic radiator cover even has an opening for it.

 

screw hole - tow hook

 

You gotta take your whole bumper off and push the lower grill in. If you've never done it before it can be tedious but once you know which screws and bolts to remove it's a breeze

 

What you can also do is remove the engine under tray. Just the front half of it. Then you can access the bumper to push back the lower grille back in.
Without having to take the entire bumper off.

I had to push my lower grille in back that way, you don't have the radar system, so its even easier to get it to clip back in.

 

Ended up going to a local corner gas station garage who had no idea how to fix it exactly until they opened it up and wanted about $350 to attempt to do it. I then went to a proper shop and they knew immediately (Faxon Garage in San Francisco, highly recommend them). They only wanted half an hour of labor, that's it. I think it cost me $50-75 to get it fixed.

 

True, a half hour is all it takes. Can't believe how some shops just throw a number like that out there. What's worse is that some people pay it.

 

I can vouch for that. Faxon is a great place to get work done. Went to their shop many times when I was driving my '03 G for coilovers and exhaust work. They are fast too if you make an appointment.