Splash Shield...please help

[b88dragon]

Hey all,
fun story, as i was driving up today to my gf house, on the highway doign about 65-70 within the speed limit, i heard a loud thump noise and when i check in my rearview mirror i saw black pieces coming off and flying off onto the highway.

about 5-10mins later i heard another thump and again i see another piece come flying off.

By the tiem i got to my gf house, i looked underneath of the front bumper and i see a giant rip/hole of where the splash shield was and also the who side of the passenger side was gone as well as it also ate a little bit of my tire.

I took off the left over piece of the front splash shield because it was hitting the ground and i didnt want another thump happening on the highway.

So my concern is how important is the splash shield? because on the passenger side the serpintine belt is expose and im wondering if i should have that covered up?

any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated, did some searching but came up with nothing on my own.

Thanks.

[QR25DE]

Havent had mine on in over a year. It got destroyed in the turbo build. Haven't had any problems but it should probably be replaced at some point. It protects the bottom of the engine and trans from anything big and water splashes etc.

It's not necessary, you probably wont have any problems (i havent). I don't think it's too expensive to get it replaced. Are you under warranty? You could see if they'll put it through warranty since it just randomly fell off haha.

[b88dragon]

thanks for the advice, i think i'll wait on it then, dont got the dough to replace it right away. thanks qr25de appreciate it

[DJ_B_Easy]

Having the serpentine belt exposed would worry me. I had mine break on my old truck and that was a domino effect of money loss. Belt breaks, car immediately overheats, cooks multiple sensors, etc. etc. etc. It was not fun, I would not want to have that belt exposed to any elements or additional debris.

[dangeris]

Haven't had mine for almost 3 yrs. It's a cheap piece too! like $20 at the dealership. BUt it's like the elastic band on your underwear..it's there but it's not a necessity!

[wade001]

It's mainly a dress up feature in my mind, but yah, it's nice to have sometimes

[b88dragon]

thanks everyone for their post, it really helped me alot regarding these splash guards, i got the information i want =]. you all are awesome

[elfenlied8]

Mine ripped off last week when i crashed into a dirt mound. I would replace it so I dont get anything caught up in there. It's not to expensive.