The plastic splash guard under my car is cracked & drags against the road as I drive. Is this a piece of the car that’s worth getting fixed or should I just remove it altogether? The car is a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid and I want to use this car for many more years and am willing to replace the piece if it’ll help the longevity of the car. Any thoughts on how necessary this protective piece it?
Depends on where you live. If you live in southern California it won’t affect the car’s longevity. If you live in New England it’ll help protect the rocker panels from the mammoth salty, wet accumulations of slush that help destroy rocker panels and the rear portions of fenders.
This piece may be there as a critical splash guard. If it is removed you may come to grief after drving through a major puddle. For that reason alone I’d advise you to replace it.
Yes, this is an important part, and should be replaced. Do you think the Honda engineers just tacked it on for fun? NO. Have the splash guard replaced, and then be more careful of curbs, parking stops, etc.
Ditto all 3 above. Also, on a lot of Volvos there are ram air ducts to cool certain undercarriage components. Could be same w/Honda Civics; more reason to either fix or replace. God, this car is only about a year and a half old- take care of it!