2009 XF Luxury (U.S. Spec)- recently took the car to a quick change oil service establishment where they lost some of the screws that secure the under-engine fairing to the car, resulting in the front portion of said piece to flutter and then drag for several miles at highway speeds. The whole shroud itself is intact but scratched up, and the larger openings which have what I assume would be larger bolts and washers in them are damaged. I took off the whole assembly in order to drive normally...my question is what risk am I exposing my car to by having the undercarriage exposed like this and how long can I reasonably go without repairing or replacing this skid plate?

 

Instead of worrying about that I would be on those idiots at the oil change place to replace the under car tray for their screw up!!

What is their excuse?
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The under-tray helps with aerodynamics and helps keep things cleaner and to a small extent, free from road debris causing damage.


You do not need it to drive, but I would not drive for long like that.




And I agree, discuss this issue with the oil change place, they should stand behind their work.

 

why not drive without it? The thing weights like 50 pounds. Mine has been off a year after I bought the car...so two years now...Look at my sig before you tell me something about aerodynamics please cause I haven't noticed a difference, and I have had it north of 170

 

I agree with Cherry, it does bugger all for the aerodynamics (but 50 pounds - no way - I had mine off many times and it weighs 10 pounds max!).
It also doesn't do a helluva lot to protect the undercarriage.
Bottom line - you can run without the undertray forever without any worries.

 

Plus the damn thing can hide leaks until its nearly too late.

 

>Plus the damn thing can hide leaks until its nearly too late.

But it keeps the floor of the garage clean...
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You dreamed of a big star -
He played a mean guitar -
He loved to drive his Jaguar...

So welcome to the machine

 

:icon_bo wrofl:

Oz...I just read your write up on painting the lettering on the fenders .AWESOME!!!!

....but really..we are talking about the XF under-tray not your bikini F-type undertray. Recall from your XF days that it comes in two pieces and stretches all the way back to the middle of the car

One added benefit I found to having the undertray off...I change the oil the old fashioned way now. ALL of it comes out from the drain plug. Don't even use the oil evacuator pump anymore cause the oil evacuator always left some oil in the sump. Now I get all of the old fluid out and I fell better being able to pan it and check for dreaded sparkling metal shavings..lol..don't know how much more the little 3.0L can go under the loads I am exposing her to. ...hahaha

 

I've ran over crap too many times (Including tonight) to leave mine off.

 

I agree!

This past winter, I couldn't avoid what I thought was a lump of snow, in the middle of the road (cars on both sides, so I couldn't swerve, and somebody right on my tail, so I couldn't brake sharply). Turned out it was more ice than snow, and I hit it with a loud whack. Put a couple of cracks in it. A new one is pretty pricey, I think, so I'm going to look for a good used one....