Raz0rama

PA is one of the worst states to drive in! Not too long ago I hit a pothole on my way home from work in the rain, didn't see it because it was covered with water and looked like it was the same level as the road. Anyways, i hear a crunch, and a strange hissing type noise, so I drove home slowly since I couldn't see anything in the rain and the handling and feel of the car didn't feel any different.

When I got home, I saw that a piece of the undertray plastic stuff, that wraps around the front of the passenger side wheel well up to the front bumper had been dislodged, and was bent around, rubbing on the tire and the ground. about a third of the piece, including some of the holes for it to clip on appeared to have been scraped off, and the tire had worn a hole in it about 4 inches by 3 inches.

While I see no visible damage to any other panels in the area, I'm supprised at the ease with which this piece came loose. I checked on the other side, and there were several of the little pop rivets missing there as well, it seems these just fall out over time. I was more suprised to see that the little clips with the screws in them just rip loose without tearing out of the plastic, and seem to do so with very little force.

I'm getting a new piece and plan on installing it myself. However, there has been no protection around the wheel well where this piece came loose for over 2 weeks now, and I was wondering if there is any cause for concern or risk to parts that may have been shielded from debris by this piece. I can't see any physical damage, and the handling seems unaffected, should I be worried about any problems down the line?

Just curious if anyone has had this type of thing happen to them, and their experiences. I've seen a couple of threads about damage to the central undertray, which funnels air to the radiator and air conditioner condenser, but haven't seen anything about these side pieces.

Go48

Haven't seen any posts related to losing the pop fasteners or screws dropping out from that area of the undertray. The screws in the area of the front lip were missing in my car when I picked it up and the same was true when a friend picked up his car. I think the people who installed the accessory lip just did not install the screws there. I would suspect that in your case, the fasteners were never installed or not installed correctly at the assembly plant, or if you had work done on the front of your car after purchasing it, they were not reinstalled by a tech.

In any case, that underbody panel is one humongous piece of plastic and it may cost you a few pennies, not to mention the PITA installing it. But if all the fasteners are installed--and installed correctly--you should not have any similar failures.

Raz0rama

Well I got the piece: $85 including 12 new fasteners. Its called a "Mud Flap" on the invoice, and its not a very large piece: overall dimensions about 20 inches by 20 or so if flattened. I asked the tech at the dealers about it and he said that this is the first time anyone has had this problem and the first time he's sold one of those pieces. He said not to worry as most of the debris under there is kicked up by the wheel, and the piece was still covering everything its meant to cover around the wheel well. So this weekend I'm gonna lift my 8 and see if I can't replace this piece myself as I have all the fasteners and know where they all belong. Looks like it can even be installed without removing the wheel, but we'll see.

Go48

Oh, I thought that piece was part of the underbody panel but I see in the parts manual it is not. I would advise you to go aheard and remove the wheel. I think it would be a bear to try to install the guard with the wheel on.

FLybOi drE

OH PLEASE....YOU WANNA HEAR ABOUT A PRETTY BAD POTHOLE??? i was driving on I-80 on one rainy night....hit a HUUGEEEEE pothole that cracked two of my rims....atleast it gave me a real reason to get new rims

lazi

haha makes me realize how much i love so cal down in orange county haha =)

FLybOi drE

yea you should be lucky it doesnt snow and dump loads of salt that just eat up the asphalt

Raz0rama

Update- Did the install last night in about 45 minutes - 30 of which were removing old fasteners. Its a breeze, did not have to take the wheel off at all. i jacked up the side of the car, put in a couple of jack stands, so the wheel was hanging lower, and was able to easily access all the fasteners that hold that piece in place. there's 3 bolts into spring clips and about 10 rivet holes for the little plastic pop fasteners, and once the first two are in place, the rest are a breeze. Glad it wasn't a big deal to replace. I also took the time to look in behind where the mud gard was, and there is virtually nothing in that whole area except a couple of wires to the foglights and marker lights.