That actually sounds like a great idea. Interesting that no one thought of this sooner.

It shouldn't change the aerodynamics too much. I can't see it affecting the structural integrity of the shield. I wonder how much more road dirt will get in there.........Hmmm. I'll have to see how big of an access hole is needed to get at both the drain plug and filter (maybe 2 holes will be needed) and it must also be large enough for the oil stream.

 

My brother's '11 Kia Sportage has that from the factory. There's a cover under the engine, and a small access panel that snaps out to reach the drain plug and oil filter. Are you listening, Honda?

 

I had a Panzer Plate on my '00 New Beetle TDI, which is an aftermarket aluminum plate that replaces the flimsy plastic panel (which fell off after a couple years, too, so it's not a Honda problem). The PP was around 3/16" thick and very stout. It had a cutout with a snap-in cover for access to the oil pan drain.

Would buy something similar in an instant if available for the GK. After 219K miles on my NB, that plate was quite scarred up, so it definitely was worth the investment!

es

 

My splash shield came loose while I was driving 60mph. Thought I had a flat, but no light on dash, lol. I had driven through an apartment complex with BIG potholes. My question: How do you reattach the shield? Any diagrams or pics?

 

I'm just here to +1 with OP.
I had my first oil change like 2 month ago and after that i took a highway to a local national forest. on my way back the car had super horrible noise coming from button and that reminded me my old died ford taurus's alternator.
and when I pulled over I found the plastic cover was half falling off. no big deal but pheww.
took it back to the dealer and they fixed that.
but, why.

 

Why??? Because they didn't engineer a proper fastening system that can take the rigors of our deteriorating roads in the USA.

 

Sounds like this deserves a recall. Imagine the splash shield breaking loose from the Fit in front of you on the interstate.

 

Agreed, they need to do something about that before bad things happen.

 

Why shucks, that happened to me already on I-4 going toward Daytona, Florida. I didn't know what the sound was, though it sounded terrible. Did a two lane pull off on to an exit ramp close by which was not fun to do, and found the partially dragging splash shield. Finally pulled the thing off and continued home. Got it replaced the next day at the dealer. This has been the only real negative I've found on the 2015 Fit LX. It makes me think in the back of my mind that I might have been better off with a Civic.

 

Just noticed mine was loose today while going over small bumps in the road...... Sure enough, it's that plastic piece under the front

 

I did my first oil change the other day. When I removed the plastic panel, I found one of the two plastic fasteners at the back was already broken. Fortunately, I had a spare, but I'm pretty sure if the dealer had done my oil change they would have just reused it. I know this because when I wanted to get a couple of spares, they had to special order them for me.


If the panel falls off mine, I've decided I'm just going to leave it off. No other car I've owned (including my '09 Fit) had one of these engine covers, and they never suffered for the lack of it.

 

Agreed, it seems like it could become more of a nuisance after awhile.

 

I have no idea where it is on the civic or other cars, but the FIT's gas tank is underneath the drivers seat - wouldn't removing that shield make it vulnerable to being hit with road debris?

 

Is this the piece you guys are talking about?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-Honda-Fit-OEM-Lower-Center-Engine-Cover-Splash-Shield-Liner-/281809413542?fits=Year%3A2015%7CMake%3AHonda%7CModel%3AFit&hash=item419d2665a6&vxp=mtr

 

Mid week, I found a screw in my driveway... Sad part is I suspected I knew where it came from. Jacked up the car yesterday and sure enough 2 screws missing... When my panel originally drooped, I replaced the missing screws with something close that I had... Wall anchor screws, lol. They were similar thread pitch but a good deal longer so I hoped they would stay in place longer.

Yesterday, I put 2 more in... I think of the 6 screws that hold the panel, I only have 2 of them now and 4 of the wall anchor screws. One thing I noticed yesterday was that the middle set of screws, I could reach up behind the plastic shield and feel the end of the screw. I might just use the plastic wall anchors and place them on the end of the screw to help keep those 2 from backing out.

Otherwise I've been happy with the Fit, this is the only annoyance. I mentioned the panel and screws to the dealer during my oil change 2 weeks ago and they seemed indifferent about it as well as saying they would look at it and let me know the cost of parts needed (!?!?). Of course they also didn't put my Royal Purple synthetic oil in the car even though I showed the advisor the oil on the passenger footwell. (I'm not a RP fan boy, just got it so I could have a way of knowing the dealer did use it, funny how they found a better way to prove they didn't use my oil!)...

The dealer comp'd the oil change and later via mail I got the free key chain seen in other threads here...

Anyways, yes the panel attachment design sucks, and I certainly didn't expect to be lifting up a new car to see if pieces are still attached...

 

I started hearing a weird noise from underneath my Fit earlier this week. Got my boyfriend, who used to work on cars for a living, to give it a look. We thought there might have been some debris caught underneath the car, but didn't see anything. I scheduled a service appointment today, since it was nearly time for my first oil change.

They told me the splash guard had torn on something (possibly a parking berm) and had been dragging on the ground. Quoted me $500 to replace it, stating that it wasn't covered under the warranty since it was damaged. Because they didn't have a new one in stock, and I was kind of stunned at the quoted price, I asked them to reattach the old one until I could get more information. They charged me $38 for that "service."

I've spent the past few hours reading about this issue online. I'm wondering if the reason it got caught on something and/or started dragging was in fact because it had come loose. Why should I have to pay so much to fix something that seems to be such a common problem, especially when many of you folks have been able to get this repaired for much cheaper or free?

Do I need to have this replaced? Could I just buy the part myself and put it back on? Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

 

It is time for affected Fit owners to start writing Honda HQ about the splash shield issue to get refunds, if not a recall. My dad had an expensive repair that the Toyota dealership claimed was not a warranty issue. When he wrote to Toyota HQ they refunded all his costs.


NHTSA Vehicle Complaint Form

 

Looks like the middle section of that to me, at least 120 is cheaper than what people on here are finding, but still with all of these posts it's too bad Honda just did a crappy job for fastening the shield.

 

Mine fell off and I didn't even know it, the bad thing is that you can't just buy the middle portion that you actually need, they stick you with the whole assembly with the sides. I haven't called the dealer yet on it as I assume they won't cover the repair/replacement under warranty.

 

Could someone please document and diagram where these zip ties need to be installed. I cannot quite picture Brian's fix. I know the car has cheap parts and want to not lose the splash panel. I think this would help all of us. This is a factory design defect and winter is coming.