I was looking under the hood of my "new" 2006 S40 today, and noticed I could see straight to the ground all around the engine bay... isn't there supposed to be some sort of protective panel under there?

 

like #9 in this diagram? 2006 Volvo S40 Parts - TascaParts.com

 

Probably.

 

this is pretty critical right? without it any random bit of road debris could get into the engine bay and depending on what it is it could get wrapped up into the belts and pulleys, or if it's more solid it could break something or skewer a hose. if it rains all the water spraying off the tires just sprays right into the engine bay.

basically I'm just driving a time bomb?

 

Talked to one of the sales guys who sold me the car, he talked to someone he called their "recon guy" (I guess he's the guy that figures out what work and parts a used car needs before they sell it). He said that under-body panel wasn't required for safety reasons. I wasn't clear though whether he meant "we knew that panel wasn't there but didn't care", or "we didn't notice whether it was there or not, because we didn't care". In any case, he said I really need to talk to the used car manager tomorrow as he's off on Mondays.

I had been hoping maybe the panel had just been removed when they were working on it and they just neglected to put it back and still had it in the shop somewhere.

What do you think, anyone who's reading? Is this missing underbody panel a big deal or should I not be so worried about it?

 

I would ask for a replacement. Volvo put it there for a reason. Cooling, splash and damage protection, whatever. It might be a difficult prospect though unless the car was sold with a warranty or guarantee.

 

I see missing belly pans all the time. Based on my experience, its usually the result of lazy quick lube or independent shops that discard them. I work for a VW/Audi dealership whose cars have the same configuration with the belly pan. The vehicles that are maintained by the dealership, rarely have the pan missing. Whenever I service a European vehicle that was traded in, the first things I look for are the "oil change reminder" sticker on the windshield and whether the belly pan is missing. This tells me a great deal about how the car was treated in its past life. With VW/Audi, only synthetic 5W40 oil is used and it has to be bought from the dealership. A jiffy lube sticker with 5W30 conventional oil 15k miles ago tells me the prior owner didnt give a rat's *** about the car. I realize that Volvo didnt use synthetic oil in the past but the principle still applies. I also realize that not all independents or people who perform their own work are negligent.

Regarding the repairs made prior to the sale of a used car at the dealership level: The tech goes through the car and compiles a list of everything that is broken, worn, leaking or needing repair - regardless of safety. This list is given to the sales managers who determine what if anything will be repaired. Obviously the less they repair, the greater their profit margin however things like tires, suspension, exhaust, brakes, glass, lighting, etc are a liability if they are not repaired. While the belly pan is important, its not going to be classified in the same category. Your complaint should be aimed at the Sales manager as he has the final say on all repair decisions regarding used cars.

That being said, whenever you are looking at a used car, take it to the dealership (not the one selling it) to be evaluated BEFORE you buy it. For the price of an hour's labor, youll have a comprehensive list of all repairs that are needed and what it will cost. You can THEN negotiate with the seller to either deduct the repairs from the price or perform the repairs. Ever heard the term Buyer Beware?

 

Most makes of vehicles have no underpanel guard at all although it is fair to say it may provide some very minimal protection (in plastic) from stones/debris etc. They are a hastle when you need to do quick maintenance from below though.
It is not a critical item at all except if you do a lot of off road or gravel road running.
I removed mine for ease of maintenance reasons and have kept it to refit if I ever wish despite it being a bit damaged and several fastening holes torn out.
If they will give you a new one then go for it otherwise I would not worry about it or look out for one at a car wreckers yard in good condition at a later date.

 

That's what's striking me as odd about this. The CarFax report I have shows that both owners prior to me had the car serviced religiously at a Volvo dealer 10 miles down the road. The last service was just 1000 miles before it was traded in. Seems unlikely they'd leave it off.

But maybe as some are suggesting, it really isn't that big a deal? Maybe it's been gone for years and nobody ever cared? I dunno, it certainly worries me... as Hudini suggested, Volvo didn't put it there just to amuse themselves.

The Volvo dealer quoted me $211 for the parts, $45 for labor to put it in (so obviously it goes in pretty easy). I also got a quote on the parts from Tascaparts at about $130 shipped, including the 5 needed bolts/nuts/washers; it should be pretty easy to install myself, I'm getting a floor jack and some jack stands in order to do some work on my wife's old Corolla to make it easier to sell.

So if the selling dealer won't do anything for me (I have to acknowledge the fact that they don't have to), it won't be too painful to fix myself. I did plan to do some things myself on this car, just figured it'd be months down the road at least.

(oh, thanks everyone for the information and points of view. very valuable.)

 

i would add that if you live or travel in areas subject to significant falls of snow in winter the pans are going to offer protection to your transmission and oil hoses if you encounter deepish snowdrifts.
Her in NZ thats not really an issue unless your into skiing up the mountains.
My V40 rides quite nose down compared to many cars and does not have a great deal of clearance beneath especially with it's 50 profile tyres.
Even driveway crossovers need crossing with some caution along with raised carpark tyre stops in angle park areas where the nose is required to overhang the tyre stops.

 

Yeah you might want to see about getting another one. One of the main problems with that model is the face that the compressor is the lowest part under the engine compartment. So without one there is a chance of damagine the pulley causing the belts to slip off and go into the timing cover and sieze the engine. I've seen it plenty of times so I would not hesitate to get one. If the place that you got it from doesn't want to buy it then I say you spend the money to get it.

 

I've decided I definitely want this replaced ASAP, regardless of who pays for it. If I pay, I'm ordering the parts from Tasca and doing it myself (unless someone can suggest a good OEM parts source on the west coast?).

I had a very short phone call with the sales manager today, I got about halfway through explaining the issue and he said "bring it in so I can get the shop to look at it, thanks!". So at least he's willing to investigate, didn't just give me the "it's your car, your problem" response I half expected. I'm taking it down there tomorrow morning, will report back.

 

The dealer just called, my car now has a belly pan, splash guard, underbody protective panel, whatever you want to call it.

This is the second thing I've gotten them to fix on the car after I signed the purchase paperwork for an "as-is" used car (including one where they had to send it to Volvo and pay them to fix it), overall they've been pretty good about it. The car isn't problem free, but I think at this point the remaining problems are mine.