A while back, I went to one of those corporate places for an oil change. They fucked up putting the metal thing back on the undercarriage, but a family member told me it would be okay without that. So I’ve been driving without the metal protective layer thing.
This fell off sometime on my drive home from work. We are currently experiencing tornadoes, so I can’t examine it too closely at the moment. It appears that it was just zip tied back on…
I am dead broke - my money this month has to go to car insurance, I can’t even afford registration at this point.
Can I just rip it off? I need an oil change soon, but I’m going to try to stretch it out a month or so.
Generally it’s fine to remove those but I would consider having it put back on if you live anywhere that gets snow. Reason being is that this plate protects undercarriage parts from excessive corrosion as a result of salt on the roads. So your car isn’t going to break down if you remove it, but if you plan to keep the car long-term, it can extend the life of those parts. As someone who works on my own car and has also had several 15+ year old vehicles, I can attest that this plate does indeed reduce corrosion in those areas.
Zipties, thread, scrap wire… I would try to put it back on, even badly if necessary.
No it is not necessary for your car to work. However…
It helps improve the fuel economy of your vehicle, which will save you money. It will reduce rust and wear on your vehicle, which will save you money. It costs a ridiculous amount of money to replace that piece of plastic. Typically, those pieces are layered on, and the the piece behind it may rely on the one in front to stay attached correctly.
If you plan to have the car for more than a year or two, I would recommend finding a way to remove it properly, or re-fasten it to the car.
Depends where it came from. It’s worth going down to take a peak. You do not want water splashing against your belts. As others have said, if you live in Salt brine weather, you really don’t want that stuff anywhere near stuff that isn’t protected.
This person is pushing off their oil change a month or two. The ground is wet and they don’t know what underside sheeting and guards are. They aren’t going to take a peek. They’re asking if they have to care or not.
For the record, they don’t…
Seems to be about money. Belts, rust damage, and engine internals cost more in the long run. Do they have to pay their credit card bill? “For the record, they don’t…” Zip ties must be expensive now days… damn tariffs.
Yes, it is all about money. I have negative 100,000 dollars, because my dumbass thought supporting my trust fund husband through his schooling would mean something, and instead got tortured and shackled with hell credit card debt. I don’t get an oil changed because I am terrified when I do they will say something is even more fucked withi and it will be 10 billion dollars please. I am getting a second job. I need to be able to make it to the first job.
I fucking hate the car. I want to drive it into the surface of the sun. The ac has never worked.
At one point I knew how to do an oil change. I could do it on my Corolla, because that was designed in a way that a human being can interact with. The 2018 Honda Civic is designed in such a way to obstruct the fact that it is fundamentally a broken vehicle.
Understandable. Civics are quite well made, so I wouldn’t expect it to immediately become a rust trap from some short term splashes. Generally, mechanics will tell you other stuff is wrong, but it only matters if it’s adjacent to what they’re working on for liability. They may find some problems like a glazed dipstick from going too long between changes, but it’s just informational.
If you’re interested in putting that plate back on, my guess is that they used plastic zip ties on a metal shield. Usually, manufacturers will only use more expensive metal guards if it gets hot in that location. You can buy metal cable ties real cheap that will hold up much better. Fasteners are also cheap if you can figure out which one, but I dunno if I’d bother on a car that’s on its way out in my mind.
Recommendation is just to prioritize it before Winter weather.
Sorry your money situation is so dire. Credit can be the hell that keeps on giving.
