Just had my 2010 Prius in the dealer shop. Found out that the engine shield is broken and torn off. I drive on streets covered in snow and it looks like the design of the shield has cutout sections that allows snow debris to catch and tear off the plastic. Cost to fix is over $400 and is not covered by warranty according to the dealer. Had the car for just over two months. Wouldn't recommend this car if you have to drive in snow.
Oh In that case I think I might be getting an unpleasant surprise at the dealers in 4 weeks when it goes in for its service. I had a horrible scraping noise the other day when I drove down a road made up of two tyre tracks and a pile of deep snow in the middle. Do yo uneed to replace the engine shield? As it'll only get torn off again next year.
The plastic plate under the front bumper on mine is cracked (as is the section of bumper immediatley above it. I have't looked to see whether there is more damage further back. I'm making an appointment to get an estimate and I'll ask to have the entire undercarriage checked.
There is a solution for this problem for the 2004-2009 models. It is: PriusChat Shop : Toyota Prius BT Tech Skid Plate - $299.99 Contact the Priuschat shop and see if they are planning to supply an equivalent unit for the 2010. By the way, I have a 2004 Prius in snow country and have logged 166,000 miles without damaging the plastic panels. JeffD
Do you know if this interferes with oil changes? I am just wondering if this is something I have to explain to the dealer everytime I change the oil. Sound like a good idea.
Toyota is generally very good about customer service. Call Toyota, explain your concerns, and that all you were doing is driving in snow. They should cover it...
This could very well be a Toyota's problem. I know when I did my foglight installation, that cover was loose (the bolts holding it up to the bumper). That left a gap between the bumper and it which could easily have been caught by something. I made sure all the bolts were tight after I put the foglights in. I would suggest everyone check to make sure that piece is not flopping around in the wind.
I believe that the skid plate has a easily removed panel to gain access to the drain plug and oil filter. Our VW Jeta (Not my choice in cars, it was inherited from my daughter) has a plastic panel that needs to be removed (four difficult to remove screws) to do an oil change so it is a common extra task. JeffD
The service guy ripped off the dangling part (approx 4 inch strip). Don't know if it needs to be replaced. The oil pan?? is apparently above this section. I'm not a mechanic so I cannot speculate the consequences of not having the shield replaced. FYI I had the same noise under similar driving conditons which prompted me to look under the car. Hope you don't have the same problem.
NOt much sympathy from the dealer's service manager. Told me that it is similar to having a rock go through your windshield while driving. Seems like a poor analogy as the cut out sections on the engine shield itself appears to allow debris to easily snag and rip off pieces. The equivalent in my opinion would be to install wind deflectors on your car and have it deflect rocks onto your windshield. Seriously though, the service manager was no help whatsoever.
You have to *call* Toyota, and explain you did not hit anything, and were driving in deep snow, and don't feel this is your fault.
Where on the car was this located? I noticed today a big hunk of plastic (maybe a foot from front to back, 4-5 inches across) is hanging down almost to the ground. This is up at the front of the car on the right. Called the dealership I got it from to make a service appointment and they told me to "come whenever," so I hope I'm not sitting there for hours waiting to be told I have to pay for it and that it's some huge thing. The car is months old and I expect it to be covered under warranty.
I looked at a Prius (not my car) that was on a hoist while I was at the dealer's service bay while the service guy was explaining the problem so I had a good look. The engine shield is not a solid piece of plastic, there are a number of holes cut out for whatever reason. In my case the part that ripped off was located approximately midpoint between the two front tires. I was told it was below the oil pan, right where one of the cut out holes was located. The piece that broke off on my car was dangling close to the ground, which was the reason why I heard grinding noises when I drove over snow. The broken piece was also approx 4 inches.
This is not exactly the same thing, but related. When I did my first oil change I discovered the front underside cover was about to fall off (the one just behind the bumper). It is held on by 6 bolts and 5 of them were gone, the sixth was about half way unscrewed. The bolts are on the front end of this cover so if they all come out it could cause problems. I suggest checking them to see they are still tight. I didn't bother going to the dealer I just visited the hardware store and bought some new stainless bolts. Quicker and easier that way.
Just an update after taking it in for service -- they said it must have been torn loose by a chunk of ice or something and they reattached it with "some clips." It was covered by warranty.
