[sajego]

One of my skirts came unfastened at the front end over the weekend and was dragging along by just the rear bolt for a long time (I'm Deaf, I didn't realize it happen!). I still have the skirt, I'm missing the front bolt, but the corner that was dragging is worn down almost an inch on the upper back corner where it meets the body of the car. Leaves a nice gap. Uhg.

I just got off the phone with the dealership and made an appointment for my oil change on Saturday morning. I asked about the skirt being covered under warranty and was basically told that if I'd ever taken the skirt off or anyone else had taken the skirt off then it was no longer covered by the warranty. They'll check for defects that might have caused it to come off on Saturday.

It's ironic because I saw my first Insight "in the wild" only a few hours before. A yellow one going South on Rte 9 near Freehold, NJ... and it was missing a skirt.

I like the skirts, but why couldn't Honda have made the car look a little less silly without them?

 

[Rick]

Well, I've heard they add 3 to 5 mpg just by further reducing wind drag on the car. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you have to get a new one they are pretty expensive.

 

[sajego]

Well, I've heard they add 3 to 5 mpg just by further reducing wind drag on the car. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you have to get a new one they are pretty expensive.

Yeah, I noticed the drop in MPG. Much harder to keep it in lean burn than it was. Price from http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com says $221 list and $165 "Our Price". So yeah, expensive.

 

[Rick]

I think you have to buy the black sticker that goes on the bottom separately in addition to the skirt, probably only a couple bucks though.

I almost lost one too, right after I had first got the car I had them both off to clean the wheels and such. Well I got the drivers side back on ok, but the passengers side one I thought I had screwed in properly, but they wern't. I went for a couple mile ride and when I cam back the screws had fallen off and the skirt was barely hanging there. I got lucky on that one. Good luck.

 

[Will M]

I had a similar problem where the passenger side skirt came loose at the front, hanging out like some sort of pedestrian sweeper. Fortunately, I saw it in the side-view mirror just before pulling out onto a faster road. I took it off (no damage, except the loss of the front fastener) and drove without the skirt for a few weeks waiting for the part. The car is ugly with the skirt removed.

The fastener itself was remarkably expensive, being a specialized screw (~$16). It seemed to be carbon-fiber instead of metal and had a weird, zig-zag thread on it. Basically, to tighten, you push in, turn 1/4 turn and then let it spring back out some. If it doesn't spring back out, it doesn't lock, hence the lost screw.

Don't expect it to act like a normal screw. Just turn it 1/4 turn and let it lock and test to make sure it won't pull out.

It won't help you with this skirt, but it might help you with the NEXT one.

 

[michael wong]

hi, guys
I replaced the OEM skid fasteners by using number plate square plastic nuts and screws they will never getting rust and worked very good.

 

[sajego]

They are "Quarter-turn fastners"
http://www.southco.com/pdf/7-3.pdf is the documentation.
I'm not sure mine has the spring in them! I'll have to check the back one, but I know you can just keep turning it and it doesn't come out until you pull the two pieces away from each other...


I think I might just replace them with washers and normal bolts... We'll see.

I did like the idea of a dab of silicon to keep it from coming out though.

The fastener itself was remarkably expensive, being a specialized screw (~$16). It seemed to be carbon-fiber instead of metal and had a weird, zig-zag thread on it. Basically, to tighten, you push in, turn 1/4 turn and then let it spring back out some. If it doesn't spring back out, it doesn't lock, hence the lost screw.

Don't expect it to act like a normal screw. Just turn it 1/4 turn and let it lock and test to make sure it won't pull out.

 

[Will M]

They are "Quarter-turn fastners"
http://www.southco.com/pdf/7-3.pdf is the documentation.
I'm not sure mine has the spring in them!

Well, the idea is the same, but they don't LOOK the same. This is a challenge to describe. Instead of having a protruding tab that locks into a special spring, as your document reveals, the receptical just has two protrusions in from a circular hole, while Honda's quarter turn fastener has what looks like an oversized roofing nail with a pair of odd-looking, nearly question mark shaped grooves in the sides of the shaft and an oversized flat-head screw slot in the head.

The shaft's grooves start out from the pointy end: straight, parallel with the shaft of the fastener. It then it turns to 45 degrees to the right, like a steep screw thead, then it reverses itself, turning 90 degrees to the right (resulting in it heading back toward the pointy end at 45 degrees), then there's a short segment going parallel to the shaft again, heading back to the pointy end, but stopping.

Basically, you push in and twist until you engage that first straight run, then push in straight until you hit the end of that straight run, then turn 1/8th turn to the right while pushing in for that first 45 degree part, then turn another 1/8th turn to the right while letting it come out some for that 90 degree reversal, then release and the fastener locks in that last straight run.

If it turns more than a quarter turn, then odds are you have not pushed while turning in order to engage that first straight run of the fastener. You need to push in and twist and feel that snag to get the angle right, then push in farther before starting the 1/4 twist.

I hope this helps.

 

[Aaron Cake]

I have also found that while installing the skirts, it is best to hold them in place with my knee. I position the knee in the middle of the skirt and press. I then use my palm to hit the bottom so the skirt slides into place. This method seems to make sure that all the little tabs are engaged.

 

[ron]

Scratched Skirt

Speaking of skirts, Here's a tip for everyone: When you remove them, keep them in your hatch, or in a place where they won't get blown over by the wind or stepped on or ...

I say this because I was washing my baby one time and it was pretty windy. I had the skirts laying on the pavement beside my car when the wind took one up and flipped it right over! They really scrath easy - there were several 1-2 inch scratched on the paint. Too bad I wasn't more careful - but I learned my lesson! Now I wash he car down and remove them and store them in my hatch while I polish up the tires.

Cheers!

Ron

 

[Will M]

Re: Scratched Skirt

Speaking of skirts, Here's a tip for everyone: When you remove them, keep them in your hatch, or in a place where they won't get blown over by the wind or stepped on or ...

I say this because I was washing my baby one time and it was pretty windy. I had the skirts laying on the pavement beside my car when the wind took one up and flipped it right over!

"Flipped right over"? I was changing a tire on Interstate when an 18 wheeler whooshed by. The skirt, perched on the removed trunk well to keep it clean, flew about 15 feet and landed in deep grass. Bye bye $16 fastener, never seen again. Lesson learned.

 

[sajego]

Good news! The dealership ordered me a new skirt under warranty. They didn't ask me too many questions. I told them I felt bad about not hearing it scraping and one woman replied that when she hears a noise she just turns the radio up! At least I have an excuse... I really didn't hear it until it started thumping.

I'm going to be working on some tethers that will keep them off the ground if they slip out again.

 

[Rick]

Just curious, to those of you have had problems with the skirts falling off, how often to you take them off? Because I had my one initial problem, but that was my own fault for not putting them back on properly. Since I have the skirts off once every week, or two at the most to clean and I've always double checked that they are securely fastened. Never had a problem since. Maybe they just need to be checked once a month or so. I can see how the half twist screw could unscrew itself from bumpy roads.

Watch, now I'm going to loose one tomorrow.

 

[Willie Williford]

skirt damage

As long as you make sure you turn a 1/4 turn you will never have skirt problems. Just remember "push, turn, pull". Skirts will not come off under viberation or road inflused problems.