BMW E46 Kidney Grills - Hacky fix

I sent the whole hood to a body repair shop. The paint job turned out great, but once I got home I noticed the kidney grilles had some play.

Considering the age of the car, the original grille mounting tabs tend to become very brittle and break easily. The repair shop fixed this by applying automotive silicone directly over the broken tabs. Since silicone is extremely flexible, I wasn’t fully confident in the long-term stability of that solution.

To avoid removing the grilles again, I designed these simple press-fit tabs that can be installed after the grilles are already in place.

Murat’s clip design is definitely a more elegant solution
https://www.printables.com/model/41913-kidney-grill-clip-replacement-for-bmw-vehicle
but this version is extremely quick to install and works perfectly well.

Attention
• You may need to shave off a small amount of the printed tabs for proper fitment. I included several different lengths to help with adjustment.
• This solution requires adhesive. I used two-component epoxy and glued the tabs to the grilles only, NOT to the body panel.
• The robustness of the solution depends heavily on achieving a tight fit, using a strong printing material (I printed mine in ASA), and choosing a high-quality adhesive. Epoxy is strongly recommended.