[bfivelover]

Twice this year the vinyl cover under my car has come loose from the weight of snow accumulating(it makes a horrid noise dragging on the road). There are apparently two or three pieces. The front piece is gone. Has anyone else experienced this problem? The dealership I go to says it won't hurt anything to drive it without the cover and quoted me $400+ to replace them.

 

[joe4ska]

Considering the envrionment I wouldn't replace it unless it dangered your car to not have it. I'm always bumping parking blocks because of mine. I noticed Honda removed their for the auto shows i've been to where it is in attendance. If you hunt hard enough you might find one used.

 

[Jim]

belly pans (plastic things under the car)

bfivelover,

I don't know if you got your car new or used. I got mine used, and have had a heck of a time getting all the proper attaching hardware for the pans. I've got it about 95% figured out - just a couple screws I'm not sure about. These pans get dropped for the oil change, and either the dealer mechanics or the guys at the quick lube places apparently drop some of the hardware, too.

There's an aluminum piece that fits across the front between the two side pans. That aluminum piece sort of interlocks with the side pans and the bottom of the front bumper cover. If someone has dropped that piece and the plastic pans to work on the car, and doesn't put them back on right - you're going to have problems with them.

I find it hard to believe the dealer wants that much for the front pans. They're relatively small pieces of plastic. I just ordered a rear bumper skirt (the black rubber part that goes below the bumper cover) from Hparts - it was only a little over $50 plus shipping - still less than $60 - and a lot larger than one of the belly pans. The dealer wanted $80 plus for it. I think if you had to replace all the pans under the car they might charge $400 - but that still seems high.

The pans are part of what makes the care aerodynamic - they help give it a low cd. When you look under the car, almost the whole bottom is covered except for the center where the exhaust is. Without them you'll likely sacrifice some mileage. With the pans in place, and properly installed, they shouldn't catch snow and get pulled down.

 

[Armin]

which part is missing?

bfivelover,

if the front most of the shields is missing, that would explain the dragging and other issues. The three panels underneath the engine compartment interlock into each other like puzzle pieces. If one is missing, the others will not stay up!

Then there are two more, long plastic panels under the rear of the car, one each on the drivers and passengers side. Those are the ones that easily scoop up snow and sleet and peel off.

As for the price, it does sound high. One of the pieces is metal, that may be more expensive.

I just had one of the rear panels replaced (passenger side). The total came to $267.88 ($184 for parts, $74 for an hour of labor). The panel itself was only $109, but they changed all the fasteners, since a lot of them are plastic clips that break easily.

 

[Aaron Cake]

It has occurred to me that it's probably very easy to make a new cover out of something stronger like Lexan or aluminium (carbon fibre?). But $400 is just plain stupid...dealers should probably be shot.

 

[bfivelover]

I got the car used on EBAY. It was practically new, less than 4000 miles. The front aluminum panel is gone. Don't know when it vanished. :?: I didn't even know there was anything underneath the car till I heard this awful noise one day. Two screws had come loose and the weight of the snow(we had 7 inches and the roads were not plowed particulary well) caused the panels to drag on the road. A garage was kind enough to fix it for me, but one side came loose again. Now I carry a wrench with me in case. The plastic where they screw in is cracked pretty badly, so I will need to replace them at some point, or do without them. The $400+ price was for replacing everything. Maybe that's not bad considering that Armin had one replaced for $267.

 

[Jim]

missing belly pans

Well, in that case, you could go to the parts window at the dealer, get the part #'s, and order them online from one of the Honda dealer websites - and probably save quite a few $'s. They're not that hard to attach, once you get all the hardware right and figure out where everything goes. Getting the hardware right is the hard part - trust me.

 

[Armin]

different panel

Maybe that's not bad considering that Armin had one replaced for $267.

Remember that mine was a different (quite a bit larger) panel under the rear part of the car.