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What is this underbody part called?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by f1.2, Aug 30, 2012.

  1. f1.2

    f1.2 New Member

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    I accidentally ran over some debris during my commute today and the circled aluminum shield(?) got mangled up in the process :(

    I took a peek under the car and saw that it's currently being held by two of the four clips. It's probably going to rattle when I drive it on the freeway so I wanted to see if there was a specific name for it so I could look up the part number and get a replacement.
     

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    #1 f1.2, Aug 30, 2012
  2. rrg

    rrg Active Member

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    If it were me I would remove it and hammer it out as long as the plastic pin holes are mostly intact.
     
    #2 rrg, Sep 2, 2012
  3. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    It's called the front exhaust heat shield.
     
    #3 Mike500, Sep 2, 2012
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    What is it about the underbody of a Prius that is so incredibly not durable? I mean Toyota makes great cars... But how come such flimsy bellypan work? If someone sold aftermarket bellypan mods that could endure all the hazards of the road and slightly improve MPG at the same time they'd make a fortune!
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Sep 2, 2012
  5. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    They have to be light weight. It usually the plastic push in revets that break.

    You can always replace them with Rivnut or rivet inserts and screws. That's what the do with aircraft, spacecraft and race cars.
     
    #5 Mike500, Sep 2, 2012
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