Has anyone removed the cover under their vehicle permanantly ? Any dangers doing this ?

[nitehawk]

My youngest son and I have been discussing this . I know in part it's been done to improve mileage by controlling resistance to air passing under your vehicle but besides being a pain every time you want to do your oil change is it really needed ? He has a 2018 F150 with the 3.5 and a Escape with the 2.0 and AWD .
Thoughts ?

 

[Falcon_LS]

My Mitsubishi has very thick steel plates covering the entire drivetrain; it starts from below the front bumper and stretches right to the back of the transmission, and there's another one for the fuel tank. The plate directly underneath the engine weighs about 20 lbs and is a real pain to pull off and put back on.

Although these plates are there for a different purpose; to protect vital components like the oil pan when offroading, and not for aerodynamics (the thing has the aerodynamics of a block of cement anyway), I removed the skid plate underneath the engine. The only time I put it back on is if I am going offroad.

That said, while the "aesthetics" won't be there, I think you'll be fine pulling it off. That's what a friend of mine did on his '13 F150.

 

[doublebase]

Yes, I’ve taking the covers off of several cars when I was a fleet technician and half of our vehicles had them. No problems with any of them, but it really depends on what type of covers you are removing...if it’s a metal protection plate? I wouldn’t do it, but if it’s just flimsy plastic? And it doesn’t seem to be protecting anything? I don’t think there’s a problem removing them.

 

[Skippy722]

I’d be leery... my 300’s panel had ducts to direct air into the front brakes. Might get some weird wind noise as well depending on the vehicle.

 

[Trav]

My youngest son and I have been discussing this . I know in part it's been done to improve mileage by controlling resistance to air passing under your vehicle but besides being a pain every time you want to do your oil change is it really needed ? He has a 2018 F150 with the 3.5 and a Escape with the 2.0 and AWD .
Thoughts ?

It depends on the vehicle and what they are protecting, I have bought and worked on many vehicle that have had them removed and see all sorts of problems from doing it.
Some are.. Rotted transmission/PS and oil cooler lines, rotted starter terminals, badly rusted crank pulley bolts, corroded wiring connectors, perpetual squealing belts, corroded A/C clutches, corroded steering racks, all sorts of corrosion issues.
On one car I worked on the turbo was front mounted and took a cold water bath with every puddle, after 3 failed units the guy was beside himself, a $30 plastic shield missing was the problem, he figured he didn't need that and tossed it.

They are only plastic but deflect water from sensitive parts, it is not really as much about aerodynamics as it is corrosion protection on many vehicles. I always replace them and if missing install them.
They may also effect the cooling of the engine, again depending on where they are located.

 

[skyactiv]

If I was blessed to have a son, I wouldn't be discussing this nonsense with him on his late model vehicles.
How would you feel if he drove through a deep puddle on the road and water got into the engine bay and screwed something electrically?

 

[ondarvr]

CRVs have a plastic cover that tends to fall off, mines gone, I have no plans to replace it.

 

[Kira]

Consider leaving it because there's no telling what they may have made cheaply because the vehicle has a cover to protect it.

per-edit: I just read Trav's and skyactiv's posts and agree.

 

[PimTac]

I don’t think the automakers would spend the money and time to design and install these covers unless there was a good reason.

 

[Snagglefoot]

My youngest son and I have been discussing this . I know in part it's been done to improve mileage by controlling resistance to air passing under your vehicle but besides being a pain every time you want to do your oil change is it really needed ? He has a 2018 F150 with the 3.5 and a Escape with the 2.0 and AWD .
Thoughts ?

Are the panels held by plastic pins or steel bolts. The pins are a pain. I helped a friend with his MDX and we found you need a sharp tool to pull the inside of each pin assembly. Some broke. If they are bolts, use an impact driver with an adapter to a socket. Your son would probably have some fun zipping off the bolts.

 

[RooflessVW]

I don't consider a few fasteners to be "a pain."

They improve airflow, keep the engine bay cleaner, and in my Touareg's case, it ties the front air dam to the cross member to the mid body cover.

 

[jeepman3071]

How many fasteners are we talking? My BMW has a plastic tray underneath that is usually removed for pretty much any service besides oil changes and brakes. I have a 1/4" Dewalt impact I bought refurbished on ebay. Zips off all the fasteners in a minute.

 

[Jetronic]

There's a middle ground, you can make a hole so you can reach the filter and drainplug without removing the cover completely.

 

[Eddie]

Helps with air flow around the vehicle and keeping to engine bay clean. I always leave them on. If they served no purpose, I think manufactures would save money not having them.

 

[tshephard]

I do as Jet, carefully mark spots on 1st and 2nd change, recheck, small hole, then large hole - so hole is directly under accessible point I want.
I cut a tube (Costco sized JIF for instance) to insert in hole to go 'up' to point - as oil seems to often ignore pure gravity.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I had a laugh changing coolant in a MDX. You had to pull back part of a panel to reach the plug, and then the coolant “ peed “ through a small hole in the remainder of the panel.

 

[Cripes]

Do we think auto manufacturers would put these in if these shields/covers served no purpose? Just a superfluous add-on to raise the cost of the vehicle? It's all guess work on how it's useful or needed, which it most likely is.

 

[4WD]

Our Fusion Hybrid has a large annoying shield but I know it has functions aside from 0.3 mpg.
My solution ? Use better oil & filter … just started a 10k run on them …

 

[surfstar]

Find a convenient work-around:
Fumoto?
Oil extractor?
Strategic hole/panel/etc?

I went out of my way to add these panels on my VW - a full front engine cover (stock was 1/2), an extended exhaust tunnel cover, and two more in the rear from a hybrid model. VW OEM hybrid and Euro pieces. Highway mpg definitely increased.

 

[rob1715]

I don’t think the automakers would spend the money and time to design and install these covers unless there was a good reason.

PIA to remove but probably there for a reason.