So I had an oil change a month or so ago, and today I popped the hood to check coolant levels and such. Much to my surprise, I discovered that the service facility (British Automotive Repair, in Scottsdale, AZ) neglected to replace the big plastic engine cover! I have no idea how something like that could happen. It's not like a bolt rolled under a workbench. This thing is pretty good size. Anyway, my question is, does the cover serve any purpose, such as heat dispersal or redirection, other than just making the engine look cleaner? Is it a problem driving without this cover in place?

 

That cover is there for 2 reasons. One is for looks. It makes the engine bay look cleaner and you don't have a lot of lumps and holes. You have this nice plate covering everything. The other purpose (while no one will really admit to this) is to intimidate people into thinking that they can't work on their own vehicles and that they must be taken to the dealership to have work done on them since "there is no room to work on anything". I am sure there is a little bit of noise reduction from having the cover on too. So, you could possibly call that reason number 3.

 

All is well. BAR still had the engine cover, "upstairs". I have no idea why they didn't contact me when they found it. It couldn't have been too hard to track down the owner of an XJL with a missing engine cover. Anyway, thanks to BAR for having one of their guys deliver it to me and pop it back on. I really didn't want to make a 50 mile round trip to address someone else's mistake.

 

Just be glad you don't have the CF version like I do on my 2014 XJR.
The replacement cost for that is $2500!
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