I removed the hole plugs on the underside of the trunk lid - they were the ones original to the car (49k miles) and they will not go back in, they are larger than the holes they came out of -I bought a set of new plugs, exact same size, exact same problems. I even took them to a body shop thinking there must be a trick to it, they could not get them in. Any suggestions?

 

have tried warming them to make them more flexible?

mybe a hairdryer or heat gun?

 

yes, tried heating them with a hair dryer, tried heating them in very hot water, also lubricated the hole opening with silicone and tried while the plugs were hot, they will not go in.

 

I know it kinda defeats the purpose of getting new plugs but you could try on an old one first. My vert doesn't have any of the plugs so I'm only guessing here. On the side that goes into the hole there should be a shoulder that goes into the hole then a flange that covers the area. Try cutting a small V shaped notch into the shoulder part. This may give you enough "give" to work the plug in. Shouldn't hurt them there mostly for cosmetics anyway.
Oh yea since I don't have any. Where did you get new ones at?

 

I did try the old ones, even though they were in there they do not go back. I also tried trimming them, even cut one down in 4 spots around the edges of the inserted portion so only about 1/2 left and still will not go in.

I found the new ones on EBay. The only reason I bought new ones is one was missing.

 

Wow thats crazy. You would think cutting that much off,they would definately go in, staying in would be the issue then. By this point I would probably sand off the backside flat and glue them on. But that's just me.