I have an 01 v70 XC. An undercarriage plastic panel that runs from behind the front bumper to about two feet behind the front axle pulled of the bolt(s) holding the front end of the panel in place. This caused it to dangle and skip off the road. I put it back in place with some zip ties I had in the car (boy are they great). The panel is cracked and the bolt appears to have pulled through the plastic so I would probably need a new one.

My question is if I need to put a new one on. I will never go off roading so if that is all this is for I will pull it off, however if there is a street function I will replace it. It is very unlikely to hit it on the road as the panel runs between the front wheels so I would have to drive with my wheel on either side of something fairly high.

 

Hi nebsch. You can remove the panel if its damaged. No sense in replacing it if you don't plan on taking it off-pavement. The fact that the panel is made of plastic (and not thick aluminum) should be a clue that it's not structural. Don't feel bad. Most OEMs use thin plastic for their skid plates. Toss it.

 

That's what I figured. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't providing protection to something sensitive that I was unaware of.

Thanks for the help.

 

Its is supposed to provide extra cooling to the turbo. Does it actually make a differance? I'd say no.