Splash shield on Escape

[Grizzly Adams1]

So my 2013 ford Escape has a silly fiber "splash shield". I want to remove it, many other similar vehicles do fine without it and I've never encountered one before. It's damaged and a pain when it comes to changing the oil, but no one I find on the net seems willing to say it is actually non essential . The usual reason given it protects essential component, it's basically a sheet of card board. Looking for some practical experience here. Thanks

[Desert Eagle]

I had one on the f150, and fought with it for a while. I pitched it soon after.

[hogie]

More about fuel mileage than anything else. Winter time will prevent snow build-up that could cause vibration issues. Turns to ice and lower engine mount is solid.

[beerhunter]

I had mine damaged and come off a few years ago now. No issues whatsoever.

I did put a piece of duct tape over one electrical wire/sensor just for safety sake but no issues. I have went under and checked everything whenever I get my oil changed and every thing is just fine.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by beerhunter

I had mine damaged and come off a few years ago now. No issues whatsoever.

I did put a piece of duct tape over one electrical wire/sensor just for safety sake but no issues. I have went under and checked everything whenever I get my oil changed and every thing is just fine.

X2, the only thing down there I found is an electrical connector to the AC compressor and I can deal with that. It ain't going back on. Thanks guys

[Dean2]

Outside of their primary purpose of reducing drag for better mileage those shields only serve a very useful purpose in rare circustances. IF you are driving on snowy roads and or in heavy snow or rain storms they stop snow/rain from getting sucked up into the engine compartment. Twice in 30 years I have been in cars that had enough snow come up into the engine compartment to literallly form a solid block around the motor. In the old days when cars were carburerated, you also had issues with snow getting sucked or rain getting sucked into the air intake. Heavy rain can still be a problem if it gets sucked up into the electronics but these are pretty rare events.