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Splash guard (plastic protective covering) under car is full of rocks! What to do?
I have a problem with two of the platic protective coverings on the underside of the car. (splash guards?) One plastic covering has the letters "FFR" and the other has "RRAR." They seem to full of small rocks and other debris from the road. They are quite noisy and driving us nuts! Anyone else experienced this problem?
See enclosed pictures. They do not look defective or damaged as far as I can see, but when I tap them with a hammer lots of rocks fall out of the small holes and I can hear many inside.
I assume the coverings can be removed and the rocks as well, with the right tools? However, I've never seen plastic screws like the ones attaching these coverings.
Any suggestions on how to remove the coverings and how to prevent rocks from getting up there again?
Regards and thanks!
Front covering FRR full of rocks and other debris. When I tap it with a hammer, sand and rocks fall out of the small holes... Middle covering RRAR falso ull of rocks and other debris. When I tap it with a hammer, sand and rocks fall out of the small holes... What kind of tool do I need to remove this plastic screw? Any suggestions?
All you need to do is take a larger flat head screwdriver and start turning the plastic fasteners counterclockwise. Those plastic grommets thread onto the threaded metal posts in the center. There is no bolt. Lexus/Toyota has been using this on their cars for some time now. It's better than the stupid plastic pop rivet fasteners as these don't seem to get that affected by dirt and grime unlike the others which when you try and pop to remove, end up snapping/breaking. Keep in mind that the black part will NOT come out like a normal bolt/fastener. It's sandwiched between the plastic piece. Your goal is to get the fastener off the post buy unscrewing it and you should "feel" the difference in tension. If not, you will just keep unscrewing it forever and it won't ever drop/come out.
Put the screwdriver in where I have the red line/arrows pointing to.
The unfortunate part of these panels is that as you drive, they love to accumulate rocks and pebbles. My RCF and wife's NX are the same way with the panels. I tend to remove them at least twice a year to shake out all the rocks/debris that gets collected.
10-29-23, 01:05 PM
Splash guard (plastic protective covering) under car is full of rocks! What to do?
