My car - a surprisingly durable 1997 Toyota RAV4 - has started to exhibit a vibration at the high end of the gear range (its a stick shift). My mechanic told me it was the exhaust heat shield coming loose and he would be happy to remove it at my next service interval. My question: remove it? Wouldn’t it be something I’d want to replace? Not familiar with this part or the risk in just yanking it out like a bad tooth.
The heat shield fell off my Mustang years ago. I don’t miss it. Just don’t go parking over any piles of leaves or you’ll be in trouble…
Duplicate Post
I Would Reattach It Or Replace It. There’s A Reason The Manfacturer Added The Shield And Its Cost, Probably To Prevent Car Or Ground Fires And / Or Heat In The Cabin.
CSA
Some heat shields can be removed without a problem. Some can be removed safely unless you are likely to park a hot engine on tall dry grass. Some can be re-attached correctly with a hose clamp. Some might even require replacement of the converter to safely take care of the problem.
If you trust your mechanic (if you really did you likely would not have posted the question) then go with his/her idea. If you don’t trust them, I guess you will have to replace or repair it.
I would guess most just fall off are removed. We don’t hear much about grass fires (and even less about smoldering insulation under the floor mats (another possible problem) much any more.
Although Many Exhaust Shields Are Under Exhaust Parts, Some Exhaust Shields Are Above Hot Exhaust Parts And Help Deflect Heat From The Car’s Floor. I Would not remove these.
CSA
Thanks all - this is very helpful. I didn’t trust the response because, at the END of my appointment, they said they couldn’t find a vibration. I then demonstrated it immediately. Oh. Then they checked, etc. But, over-all, I’ve had good experiences with this shop. But you have helped me. On my next visit, I will tell them I want it repaired or replaced.