2000 outback scraping piece of plastic

I own a 2000 Subaru Outback, and it’s been running fine for a car this old. However, last night, when I started up the car, it gave what I could best describe as a small shudder, and when I started driving, I noticed an intermittent scarping noise. When I check the car, it was some plastic plastic under the car that was scarping the ground.

It hangs down near the front, roughly in the center of the car, between the front wheels (maybe a little bit farther forward). It’s long, stopping about 2 inches from the ground, which is why it’s scraping sometimes but not always, and it’s only a couple inches wide at the most, at least at the end (I think it’s more broad as it gets closer to the car).

It’s attached to the car, so I assume it must be some part. Any idea what it is, and if it’s potentially a major problem or symptom of something else? It hasn’t affected the driving, but it just happened and I only drove a few miles on it.

It’s a splash shield, or maybe part of the front bumper cover, and it’s come loose from one or more of its mounting points. It needs to be reattached before it gets ripped off completely. This is neither a major problem nor a difficult repair, but it should be put back in place.

Thanks for the tip. This puts me at ease, but of course I’ll get it fixed.

I had a similar situation with an '04 Toyota Camry. Many of these covers /shields are attached at the front with bolts and at the rear with plastic fasteners. I purchased a variety of lenghts at a Lowes,( package of 2 @ $.70) and was able to replace 4 out of 6 or 7 on a very cold day without jacking up the car, they have held ever since. Try googeling Subaru engine shield, splash shield etc., finding the name of the part and then a diagram was the hardest part of the fix.