"plastic" screws" -- how do they work??

[cyberprius]

You guys know what I mean? They look like phillip-head screws, but they are black plastic...so I try to turn them like you would any other screw, but that does not work....

I do eventually get them out, but I haven't figured out how, or how much damage I am doing to them....Anyone who can give my a "plastic screw 101" course in a paragraph or two????

[hobbit]

You're talking about the little fittings that hold that black
plastic cover down over where the radiator is, right? The "screws"
are just a means to turn a fitting that wedges two or three
plastic ears apart [or not] on the rest of the thing underneath.
If you've gotten one out, examine it closely and you'll see how
it works. There are many other similar fittings around the car
but many of them just pop the center straight out [using a small
screwdriver or the moral equivalent of an old-school chip
extractor] and that releases the spread ears underneath.
.
_H*

[tigerpilot]

Here's what I did. When I got them out, I cut a small 'corner' of the outer edge with a diagonal cutter. That way there is kind of a non tapered edge that is easier to get under.

[cyberprius]

Guess it is just me, but seems that I turn them and turn them and they don't let go. Finally, somehow or other, they do....and I look at them, and it seems as if all they need is a quarter turn or so, but that doesn't seem to work.

I prefer my old Ford design that had the punch-in, pop-out plastic, but honestly, they were cheap and junky too, but easier for ME to operate.

Having said that, I had a world of trouble trying to put the jack back in the Prius yesterday, couldn't seem to get it back into place and the owner's manual was no help...I had left it out of the car for a couple of weeks and forgot how it was placed in the plastic holder thing.

I finally figured it out by looking at the indentations in the felt on the bottom of the tray that rests atop the jack and the spare.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by cyberprius

Guess it is just me, but seems that I turn them and turn them and they don't let go. Finally, somehow or other, they do....and I look at them, and it seems as if all they need is a quarter turn or so, but that doesn't seem to work...

Hi K,

When removing the black plastic cover over the radiator, all that is needed is to twist the plastic "screw" while applying upwards pressure on the cover to pop the screw up.

When replacing the "screw", have the head about 1/8" above the body. Insert the body into the hole, then depress the head to be flush.