Defective Engine Splash Guard

thanks. this has been an issue for 5 years. what about all the people who already paid to have it replaced?

 

I submitted a case there online. Splash guard came off when I was on a gravel road. They referred me to a local dealer where I'm at now.

 

The Owner's Manual has no instruction on how to do an oil change. This was a first for me, coming from Honda. I'm not sure if they're still doing it, but Honda would always include a step-by-step on oil change. Anyway, rambling:

If you have the Repair Manual, the oil change instruction makes no mention of the little flap, instead instructs you to remove the entire panel. Plus the panel in front of it, which is getting extremely silly, but hey. That said, it's very tempting to just bend back that little flap, and unfortunately that's what the time-is-money dealerships and oil change places are doing.

And yeah, the plastic does NOT take kindly to bending, it's a piss-poor spec, thin and brittle. The first time I did an oil change I just bent the flap, well: tried to. It was a bit alarming to see the whole panel protesting/flexing. From there on I always removed the whole panel, takes a few minutes, not that complicated, and allows you to check condition of the CV drive boots, look for oil leaks, whatever.

 

For what it's worth....

If you can find a spare scrap of compatible plastic, you can plastic-weld the broken part back into place or use a pop-rivet tool to use a flexible panel to attach the broken piece back onto the main component.

I've wondered the same thing. I think the panel is intended to bend 90 degrees at max (when in a shop on a lift). All you need is something heavy to keep it clear of your work. In a garage, it's almost bending 170 degrees (and I use 2 zip-ties to hold it in place) so I can get to the filter and drain plug.

 

Actually the flap is intended to be folded right back onto the undercover. There are holes for the push pins to hold it there, and they are labeled. If you notice it is starting to crack you can purchase some "piano hinge" and install it. I know at least one owner has done that (and posted about it).

 

Attached is a pick of my 2015 engine splash guard removed from the car. The bottom is the front. The top left is the oil change flap in the closed position. I'm not sure if I'm missing a small insert panel to the right of the circular jack point hole (those 2 rectangular holes)??

I need to buy some new bolts and fasteners. If you don't take this off every 30k miles and lube the small 10mm bolts/threads they can be tough to remove - I broke 2 bolts. The fasteners come out easy.

A replacement shield is available on Amazon for $55. Probably cheaply made, but better than nothing
Search Prius Engine Splash Shield, Under Cover, Center

And there's a 36 piece hardware set for the splash guard for $10 shipped that looks like it might work, also on Amazon

 

Making it fully removable for oil changes is easier, and doesn't complicate oil changes as much when you can't easily lift the car high enough for the folded-down flap to clear the ground.

 

There is a piece available to cover the two rectangular openings, which may or may not work depending on your year. I “think” it’s compatible with later (3rd gen) years, but not completely sure. For sure doesn’t work with our 2010. No big deal.