Avensis Under tray

[bigeyerex]

Hi people getting fed up with my under tray keep dropping down at the front, its going to need lots  of repairs to make it fit properly it again. I know that on a lot of cars they can just be removed without any problems. Just wanted to know if anyone has already done it and what you found ?

[Phil T]

Is it the lock causing problems. On one of my older cars the lock would let the tray drop, I fitted a little flat magnet on the body side and a thin metal strip on the door tray, similar to those now found on cabinets. Held on with Araldite. Worked well, no further trouble.

[bigeyerex]

No its all of the front mountings,  they have all been worn off from when it has previously dropped down . i have previously pushed it back into place but on a run it drops down and needs some work or removal. As i said i have removed the under trays from many cars, Capri, cavalier mk1 & 2  Nissan and VW  with no adverse effects. My local garage even said to just take it off.

[Byzii]

Hey Phil,

I think bigey was talking about the plastic covers that are under the car and are meant to protect the oil pan and to keep water out of the engine bay.

Bigey, I think you can remove the understrays (I know how poorly they're fitted, mine are holding on screws and a few cleverly-placed zip-ties) but you should also keep in mind that your oil pan won't be protected and there might be some water ingress in the engine bay so if you like to keep it looking clean and tidy, this isn't the way to achieve it.

I don't know about safety of this though, as in - how safe is it to let water enter the engine bay. Generally speaking they're meant to be quite water-proof but things like alternator could get damaged if you happen to drive through a particularly large puddle.

Also I think you'll notice road noise/wind noise differences since the plastic is designed in a way to guide the winds in a particular way.

[Phil T]

Ah, that thing flapping away at the front grinding away over speed humps.

Zip ties or larger plastic poppers. fleabay have a large selection, length and diameter. Or metal screw clips. Or rip it off.

Back in the good old days there wasn’t any under engine protection. Alternators and electrics were all exposed to the elements, with better waterproof connectors probably the main reason for the cover is to smooth the air flow and improve the drag factor. A big puddle would get into the engine bay fairly easily whatever the cover. You only have to look at all the salt that covers the engin bay after winter.

[Regressor]

Had the same problem, until last week when it had come about 40mm snow in the night. The whole lot of plastic got stuck on some ice under the large amount of snow in about 80km/h. So now there is no more plastic under the car 😂😂 i looked on eBay and some other sites, the undertray for left and right go for about 30$ for the both of them and about 10$ for a pack of clips/screws. My car has 260k km on the dail so idk if it is any point in putting the platic back, as we all know it will drop down sooner or later..

[Byzii]

Magnus,

You can always secure the new plastic trays with screws and zip ties which should hold it far better than the damn clips (don't know what Toyota were thinking).

Without the trays there's always an increased risk of having a bad time, from the water ingress in engine bay to the arguably most important part — oil pan — being without protection. I know my oil pan is rusted to hell and I'll be replacing it at next oil change since a good knock from a rock could potentially lead to some pain.

[Longcock]

Yes I've had the same trouble drill holes and self taper screws or cable ties or were the poper plugs go you can use wall plugs and screws . I wouldn't remove it as sumps are pretty thin compared to what they were years ago and do rot