Tailgate Plate Bolts - Flush or not?

I removed my tailgate plate and installed a power tailgate lock. When I put everything together, I noticed that the bolts in the picture had a smooth part on the shaft and that this part was wider than the hole in the plastic on the tailgate plate. This causes the bolts to be raised off the tailgate plate a bit. I thought maybe this was intentional and there was something you could hook on the bolts.

I just saw a friend's 3rd gen and his bolts were flush.

Are they supposed to be flush or raised?

 

Flush, they shouldn't stick up that much.

 

You reassembled it in the wrong order. The tailgate cap goes on top of the inner skin.

 

Awesome. This explains why the holes were too small.

 

I’m admiring how well this thread exchange worked. Question, with picture. Answer. Then a pic and explanation. Problem solved. Well done team.

 

Not even enough time for someone to tell OP to trade his Taco in for a Ridgeline.