Ok, so either pep boys or the dealership forgot to put back the plastic shield that goes under the engine...underneath the car. I know it's missing because I myself put some new bolts on it a couple of months ago...now it is gone.

1. Do I really need it? I noticed my car is now louder in the cabin when i accelerate (not so much a "bad" thing)...but i do not want that thing back on there if its serves an important purpose

2. The work I did at pep boys is suspension work, which leads me to believe they wouldn't have needed to take it off. Work I did at the dealership was broken engine mount, oil cooler leak (o ring)...so did they forget to put it back on?

This is kind of aggravating.

 

Yeah man...you need your splash guard...keeps a lot of the crap out of your engine bay.

 

Most cars have it nowadays it keeps your engine bay free of debris and whatnot. They're a pain in the *** when it comes to oil changes, especially the ones on Infinitis and Mazdas. I don't think removing the splash guard would result in a more pronounced engine sound, though; I doubt it has anything to do with it.

 

can anyone tell me the proper name for it so i know how to confront these bastards.

I know that fender splash guard I Just replaced is also called that, but the one underneath the engine is also called splash guard?

**update** just called my last oil change - they say they don't have it, I believe them because the guy there i talk to all the time when I get my oil changed, they also have a place to store materials they forget to put on like these. He says they currently don't have anything in their pile right now

Called pep boys - they confirmed they did not need to take that off for strut work on a 06 Nissan maxima..which i think is true. All they needed to do is take tire off, go on top of the fender in the hood.

Called stealership - I will just quote what he said "Oh those things come off all the time, all you have to do is hit a pot hole...we have them for $90. We will put it on for free, but they're only 90 bucks, thanks."

If this thing fell, I would have heard it. I also bought new bolts for it a couple of months ago to secure it. It is VERY unlikely that a damn pot hole hit it. Bolts that I put on are not even there anymore.

 

It's called a lower engine splash guard, or just engine splash guard. It's especially important to have one if your car is low to the ground, but most if not all of the engine components such as the alternator can withstand a fair amount of abuse so I wouldn't worry about it too much... though it's not like it's broken or anything; it's missing. I'd like to get to the bottom of it too if I were you.

And no you might not have heard it if it fall. Maybe the people at your last oil change broke it and it might've fallen off last time you hit a pothole or whatever. Someone at our shop recently broke one on a VW GTI and the owner came back to us because he noticed it was missing. Turns out it ripped off from the bolts when the guy rolled it into the oil change bay because the car was riding too low for the pneumatic lifts we have under it for whenever we need an extra bay for a tire rotation.

But you said the bolts aren't there anymore so... hrm. Good thing it's not THAT important.

 

Hey Im a new member and a new maxima owner and I gotta say all the posts I have read are making Me wonder if I should have just got that old jeep.I have a question for hmr1979 I saw You have recently had a leaky oil cooler. I think this is my problem. did Yours leak on the oil pan and drip off the bottom of the control arm? I am really wanting to locate the leak and take it to someone other than the dealership(stealership). Im hauling three kids in this max, please help me someone,anyone!