subframe will rust. it’s normal. they only make those things to last 7-8 yrs (as in meet structural integrity specs) under the worst conduction like no wash the entire life of vehicle in a snow belt state. . if no salt and washed regularly it should last a very long time.

 

I agree. Take your car through a touchless wash throughout the winter to make sure you get the underbody sprayed (which is common at least here in the midwest) and you will not see any issues.

 

I've seen these dragging under fits on the highway frequently. Everytime i change my oil i just ziptie the damn thing back on. Those "professional" buttons it comes with are worthless. For science i've only replaced the ones that have fallen off- so far i'm up to 3 zip ties per oil change.

i dont want to do away with it entirely because a part of me believes it helps avoid random pockets of air at highwayspeeds. Which allows for better aero and all the goodness that brings. On that note, most of my miles are highway miles.

 

We bought ours a couple years ago CPO, and I guess the Honda dealer never saw fit to replace the missing piece, as mine came without one when I got it. Doesn't sound like I want it. Stupid design...and car is fine without it. Gas mileage is fine, and here in east TN, we don't get bad winters like up north - Lord, the Detroit are uses TONS of salt on the roads during the winter, it's no wonder cars rust out up there. Am not concerned with road salt rust, am not concerned with splashing, have no intention of replacing it.

 

For that much, I'd just leave it off.

The only time I've had problems was when I let the dealership do the first oil change since it was "free". Since I've been doing it myself, it's been fine. Takes all of a minute to take it off and put it back.

 

i think it depends on where you live, i kept mine on for ontario salty winters. I think you just gotta becareful with taking those out. Might also wanna check the condition of the metal clip that 6 other metal screws screw into.

 

Unfortunately, mine got bent so badly, I don't think the screws will hold up the right side. I will have to duct tape that side every time. I found one on E-bay I could buy for $94. It comes with the other plastic pieces too. I might just buy it and put in on myself. I'm definitely not gonna buy one from the dealer!

 

it really does nothing from preventing salt entry. i’m in a salt belt state. u have to take the cover off to throughly wash the undercarriage anyway. thing is mostly useless.

 

As far as I know these types of bottom covers which are common on many cars are simply designed to smooth out the air flow under the car to slightly improve gas mileage. I can't think of any other purpose they would serve.

 

on some cars ive had and seen, they provided structural support for the front bumper but those used like 12 screws to mount onto the bottom of the chassis vs like the 4-5 for the GK.

the cover is imho useless on the GK.. if something happened to mine, id just toss it.

 

I think that one lesson here is that a dealership that tells you that it's $300 in labor for what took me under five minutes is shady as hell.

 

like the Geico commercial. ure a stealership, ripping people off is wat u do.

 

I did my car's second oil change yesterday and found three compromised connectors. The back two shield connectors had fallen out. Plus, the part that surrounds the shield had pulled out of its front fastener. Everything "Fit" together securely with wire-ties. Based on the scrape marks, I think parking lot bumpers hit those plastic pieces. We try to avoid making contact with parking lot bumpers, but sometimes we are not successful.

 

yah, those tire stops are pretty tall and some lots place them too shallow.

mine didnt hit anything yet those plastic tabs on the rear of the shroud were gone.. just deteriorated and part of it fell off somewhere.

 

+1 on original post, very useful.

Our 2018 Fit EX dropped its splash shield while my wife was going through carpool pickup. No bumps or protrusions are on that route, so it seems like the shield just worked its connectors loose and came down. Fortunately our shield fell down around the corner from home and I was able to stuff the front lip back to get it into the driveway before the part was damaged or torn off. I hope I can keep this piece intact and never need to buy a replacement.

I put the car on jackstands and found the screws in front were missing completely, one of the rear plastic push pins was jarred loose, and the other was wobbly. The car has had one free oil change from the dealer, and I suspect they did not tighten or left out the front screws (figuring the plastic tabs would hold it), and they reused the plastic clamps.

I replaced the two aft push connectors and threaded a through holes in the front to secure the panel until I can get . I will leave the ties in as an extra measure of support. No one will be changing oil on this car now except me.

After 30 years of flapping loose trunk liners and underbody plastic on various Hondas, I am done with reusing those plastic push connectors. I bought (now showing "unavailable" but others are available) for much less than Honda parts.

It does appear that the panel itself (No. 27 in the Honda parts diagrams) is not available directly but only as part of a larger assembly that includes fenderwell portions. Honda assembly part number ( 74110-T5R-A10 ), which is $141 online but also $120 to ship to my locale.

There are aftermarket panels sold by Wal Mart ($175), and

This is a disappointment from Honda for its design. No love for the dealer, either, for what was probably shoddy work on putting the panel back after an oil change. I want the panel in place not only for aerodynamics, but also to keep road spray and grit out of the engine compartment.

 

Re-using the plastic fasteners is probably the main reason there are so many subsequent failures. If ever they are taken off when removing that cover they should always be thrown away and replaced with brand new ones every single time. These do not stand up to re-use.

 

Hahaha I've reused mine several times. The only time I've had to replace it was when I let the dealership do the first oil change since it was free. Guess who didn't put them back correctly and they fell off? Since I've been doing the oil changes myself, I've reused the plastic pushpin/screws 4-5 times now.

 

ONe other incident in the past week may be relevant here. We had one of the new-normal 6" of rain in one hour events last week that flooded local streets (these used to make national news, but after a half-dozen incidents with thousands of drowned cars, it's no longer covered),. My wife had to drive through some water to get to high ground. I see other posts here where the shield was affected by high water.

That plastic cover without its forward edge screws, as I discovered mine was, is easy to push back so the forward lip falls out. That may have nudged the panel to the precipice and it fell down shortly after. In any event, my zip ties+replaced screws+never used plastic push-screws hopefully will hold up next time.

 

How was your MPG hit after removing the shield?

 

Update:

I had secured my engine cover with zip ties, but I was missing the front two screws and those turn out to be critical. Even with the sides and back secured with ties, the cover bends back at highway speeds, the forward lip pops out, and the cover will start flapping in the breeze—loudly. One of my on the trailing edge of the cover went missing from the violent flailing.

After I got my bag o'screws, I discovered that one of the absurdly expensive 90308-SB2-013 "Nut, Suspension (5MM) - Honda" ($4.96 each, wholesale) was missing. That connector, the forward-most on the driver side of the cover, is easy to zip-tie through the hole. I have ordered some replacement nuts on eBay at about a buck each and will replace the zip tie during my next oil change.

This cover is ridiculously vulnerable, but it seems also to be designed not to take out other components if it's snagged or torn off. This issue has taken up far too much time. (Not very Honda-like of you, Honda.) I would store the thing it in the attic except I do find that missing shields in a rainy clime do seem to cause accelerated corrosion and wear, especially alternators. So it stays on, for now.

After this experience I cannot imagine taking the car to anyone for an oil change, as dealing with the cover takes as much or more time than actually draining the oil and changing the filter. Even the dealer with its free oil change couldn't be bothered to get it back on correctly.