Inside the left rear fender well of my ' 02 Maxima SE there is a support bar with a 2-holed bracket mounted to it. It doesn't look like anything was ever mounted to this bracket. Can somebody tell me what this mystery bracket is for ?

THANKS.

 

Well that would be the bar that the splash guard is supposed to be mounted on. The splash guard is mounted on the '00 and some of the '01's but then Nissan stopped for some reason. I have an '01 SE and am also missing the splash guard. Some people have got Nissan to install the part under warranty and some paid for the part. I just never got around to getting one.

 

Yup, its for the fuel splash guard that does not seem to come on the cars anymore. Do a search for the Fuel splash guard and determine if you want to fight to have it put on your car.

 

Thanks for the input. Correct me if I'm wrong but upon closer inspection it looks like the support bar that the bracket in question attaches to is not a support bar at all. It looks like it's the neck of the gas tank. And, what is the splash guard suppose to protect ? If I correctly recall earlier discussions on this subject the guard is suppose to prevent road debri from splashing up around the gas cap area ? It looks as though that area is sealed off on my Maxima. Please clarify the purpose of this fuel splash guard.

THANKS.

 

That bar that you see is the fuel line..runnig up to the neck. The guard is supposed to be mounted there so debris doesnt hit the line and damage it, I would imagine. Around my gas cap area, there are a number of holes that causes sand to collect around that area. The fuel splash guard would block it off..so no sand or dirt could get up there.

 

Everyone is right, it is for the splash guards. The part actually is no longer listed for the 02 model, but it is for 01 so I ordered it from courtesyparts.com. It just pops right in. It keeps dirt and stuff from getting into the fuel fill area. It was about $13. Well worth it, to me.

srm