MAXIMA SV '18. I was surprised that on a normal drive I heard a scraping sound underneath. I stopped the car and looked under and what has happened was the front part of the splash guard has come off, has bent downward and was scraping the floor. When looking closer, I realized that all 4, ALL 4, of the O rings that are part of the underside of the bumper cover have snapped. When I touched the O rings protruding from the underside of the bumper cover they were brittled, almost like they were weak from the very beginning. It would not have taken much force to break them. I am wondering how these were designed like this to begin with. Using a pocket tool knife I had I made two holes on the underside of the bumper cover close to the edge and since the screws were still on the bumper cover, I pulled it and fastened it to these two holes. I understand this fix wont hold for that long. The solution would require a new bumper cover which is expensive (especially with labor costs).My question is, what are the negative of removing the engine splash guard altogether? What other solutions, if any, are there to fasten the engine splash guard to the underneath of the bumper cover?

 

You'll be fine. People tear off shields all the time and don't replace them. Your engine will get dustier faster though. Also i found a couple for like $50 unless that is still steep for your budget..

 

Please explain those o'ring thingies. I couldn't follow.

 

Same happened to me. I pulled the bumper cover forward enough to move the front of the splash guard ON TOP of the bumper cover. That’s been working for a while. At next service I’ll ask if there’s a better fix.

 

That is what I did. Since all the rings protruding from the bumper edge are broken, I made a hole right on the underside of the bumper itself and screwed the splash guard to it. But it is sad doing this 2 years down the life of the car. The proper solution seems to be getting a new bumper but it costs $$ and it makes no sense as the protruding rings on the bumper underside edge will break anyway. They are flimsy.

 

The bumper cover is OK but the rings protruding from the edge of the underside of the bumper (to which the splash guard is screwed) are all broken because they are flimsy.

 

gotcha, see what you mean now.