2014 S4 Underbody Panel Damage

[pikapika]

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a nice weekend.
I've been visiting this forum for quite a while since I had my S4.

Last night, I was driving in King of Prussia, PA during the heavy snow. There are a lot of "snow balls/ice balls" on the road and I was not able to avoid them. I could hear clearly that they are scratching my car's underbody when the car went above them.

The car did not have any problem when I went home last night. However, when I started to drive my car this morning, there is a huge noise from the car's underbody. I stopped immediately and checked. I found out that a part of the underbody panel went off...


















It is Sunday today, so no Audi Dealer is open around my area. I drove the car to Pep Boys 1/2 miles away from my home at 10mph... They used zip ties to secure the panel back onto the underbody. However, the panel is clearly damaged and needs to be replaced.

I came back and did some research on the internet. So the panel that has been hurt and went off is called Belly Pan?

I will go to the dealer and have this panel replaced. It seems that the repair cost will be pretty high :(

I saw that ECS Tuning also sells this part for $222.69. I'll also need the installation kit for $121.05... So I assume that the dealer would charge me well over $500 T_T...

Anyone here has dealt with this problem before?
I'd really appreciate any advice or suggestions!

Thank you in advance for your help!
I wish everyone of you and your cars all the very best!

[ballinb5]

That looks like the rear belly pan. It looks in tact so there is really no reason to replace it. Its plastic so its not like it protects anything and probably just helps with air flow.

Thats where the alu kreuz stabilizer bar installs:


Either the AK or the stock bar should be able to protect the transmission from damage

[ballinb5]

Please do not replace it for that kind of money!

[pikapika]

That looks like the rear belly pan. It looks in tact so there is really no reason to replace it. Its plastic so its not like it protects anything and probably just helps with air flow.

Hi ballinb5, Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate your help!

I feel like this panel locates in the front part of the car, right beneath the the drive's seat/shift lever.

I assume that if I leave the cracks on the panel, the transmission would be exposed to salt and other contaminants on the road? Isn't the transmission supposed to be sealed with this panel?

Thank you very much!

[SteveYem]

Hi ballinb5, Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate your help!

I feel like this panel locates in the front part of the car, right beneath the the drive's seat/shift lever.

I assume that if I leave the cracks on the panel, the transmission would be exposed to salt and other contaminants on the road? Isn't the transmission supposed to be sealed with this panel?

Thank you very much!

You were down in my neck of the woods. Which road(s) were you on that had such large chunks of ice on it?

Hard to tell from your photos, but I think I agree with ballinb5 that the part you damaged is indeed the one that goes under the drivetrain stabilizer and transmission. As far as I can tell these belly pans are for aerodynamics and for protecting the engine & transmission from any foreign objects on the road. If the zip ties are holding the piece in place securely, then I do not see a reason to spend a bunch of money for a brand new one which will be prone to the same type of damage.

I've been thinking about this a lot because my car is lowered and I've been absorbing all sorts of impacts with these belly pans over the past few weeks. If it's more than ~3" high I hear (and feel) it hit the pan. When the weather warms up and I get back under the car again I'm expecting to find some battle damage!

[lenf]

I've been thinking about this a lot because my car is lowered and I've been absorbing all sorts of impacts with these belly pans over the past few weeks. If it's more than ~3" high I hear (and feel) it hit the pan. When the weather warms up and I get back under the car again I'm expecting to find some battle damage!

Then what's the benefit to lower the car?

[pikapika]

You were down in my neck of the woods. Which road(s) were you on that had such large chunks of ice on it?

Hi Steve, many thanks to your suggestions!

I think this may be the reason that my underbody is hurt sooo much...



The snow is super high in the middle, and I feel like I am driving a snow plow...

So my question is: there is not gonna be a perfect seal for the transmission if I do not get a new panel. If any salt get onto the transmission and some other pipes through the cracks, the metal will corrode, right? Or they won't because they are made of Aluminum?

[santos.]

Hard to tell for sure from the photos, could it be the felt lining that runs along both sides? If so these were damaged on my car while loading it onto a trailer. Here is my thread with some photos and part numbers, give it a quick scroll and see if it helps!

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=605772

[ballinb5]

Hi ballinb5, Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate your help!

I feel like this panel locates in the front part of the car, right beneath the the drive's seat/shift lever.

I assume that if I leave the cracks on the panel, the transmission would be exposed to salt and other contaminants on the road? Isn't the transmission supposed to be sealed with this panel?

Thank you very much!

You're welcome.

You're right about contamination potentially getting there, but even with a new panel, there are vanes (i believe) that are cut into to channel airflow to cool motor/tranny so debris will still prob get in there.

Either way, the transmission is sealed itself with a plug so this panel piece doesn't actually protect the mechanics of the transmission, just the outside casing of it.

[SteveYem]

Then what's the benefit to lower the car?

Better appearance and lower center of gravity to achieve decreased body roll.

[GTItoS4]

I just installed the ECS shield last week because of similar damage from ski mountain roads. So far, so good.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-Shield-Review

[pikapika]

Hard to tell for sure from the photos, could it be the felt lining that runs along both sides?

Hey Santos, I am really thankful for your willingness to help!

I think the part that's damaged on my car locates in the front-middle of the car. Not beneath the engine, but beneath the shift lever.

The material is pretty much the same as the part that came off from you car. Not really plastic, right?




How much did you pay to fix that?

Thanks :)

[GTItoS4]

Yeah, that part in the square is like felt lined cardboard. Not plastic like the front "belly pan".

[chaos2984]

Hi Steve, many thanks to your suggestions!

I think this may be the reason that my underbody is hurt sooo much...



The snow is super high in the middle, and I feel like I am driving a snow plow...

So my question is: there is not gonna be a perfect seal for the transmission if I do not get a new panel. If any salt get onto the transmission and some other pipes through the cracks, the metal will corrode, right? Or they won't because they are made of Aluminum?

Yep thats exactly the problem. I had this same issue with my B7 s4 and tore up the belly pan under the engine. I drove and i shouldn't. The car drove fine but the damage not so much lol. Yea you can't drive audi's in rutted tracks. It will build up on the under body panels and it will separate or crack them. The only way to avoid it is not to drive. My New S doesn't go out when it snows. I have another vehicle for this.

But as far as the salt on everything. I wouldn't worry about it to much. I would just get under there with a hose and wash everything off really well. But i would replace the panels on the car. It helps with aero and keeping the engine and trans and such cleaner. But it won't corrode to much with aluminum. Aluminum doesn't corrode. it will only corrode with a dissimilar metal.

[drewspeed]

I know the pain you're going through. Had to replace practically every plastic piece under my s4 2 winters ago. I had actually beached the car on top of the hard packing snow. (I live in farm country) and when finally got free the damage was done. Good luck with whatever route you choose to replace the panels. Not cheap....since I was good with the certain dealership they gave me a bit of a discount.

[DGVR6]

Did the panel tear off its securing screws? A large washer will cure that.

[pikapika]

I just installed the ECS shield last week because of similar damage from ski mountain roads. So far, so good.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-Shield-Review

Hello GTItoS4, thank you for your suggestions!

This ECS shield is the part that I need to replace!!! It would be definitely stronger than felt lined cardboard. I'll consider getting this instead of the stock one.

BTW, any chance you know the "official name" of this panel? Is it called Skid Plate?

Thank you and have a nice evening!

[AKPS4]

I was just out yesterday in the snow and i could feel all the snow scraping agains the bottom of my car... it was brutal and i hope i have no damage either. i certainly would not pay that much either and would look for a wrecked S4 to grab that part off of if possible.

[pikapika]

I know the pain you're going through. Had to replace practically every plastic piece under my s4 2 winters ago. I had actually beached the car on top of the hard packing snow. (I live in farm country) and when finally got free the damage was done. Good luck with whatever route you choose to replace the panels. Not cheap....since I was good with the certain dealership they gave me a bit of a discount.

Hi Drewspeed, many thanks to your information.

I am going to the dealer tomorrow morning and get the car checked.

Do you think the dealer would have the part in stock? It would be painful if I have to wait when they order the parts from warehouse...

Also, does it take a lot of labor hours to do this repair?

Thank you very much!

[pikapika]

I was just out yesterday in the snow and i could feel all the snow scraping agains the bottom of my car... it was brutal and i hope i have no damage either. i certainly would not pay that much either and would look for a wrecked S4 to grab that part off of if possible.

When I went out last night, I thought nothing could defeat me, because I have Quattro and a new set of winter tires. I totally didn't see that coming... lol

I have OCD and I really can't let that panel missing/damaged on my car's underbody. I just feel like I'm walking with my pant's zipper down and wide open!!!

I hope all is well for your S4!!

[littleredwagen]

Personally I would replace it. They are a pain, but they help clean the air under the car and help keep road debris out of the undercarriage. You could also encounter me re wind noise been known to happen on other cars, not sure about this though

[pikapika]

But as far as the salt on everything. I wouldn't worry about it to much. I would just get under there with a hose and wash everything off really well. But i would replace the panels on the car. It helps with aero and keeping the engine and trans and such cleaner. But it won't corrode to much with aluminum. Aluminum doesn't corrode. it will only corrode with a dissimilar metal.

Hi Chaos2984, thank you very much for your advice!

I thought there must be plenty of snow plows on the street, but there isn't...

I'm gonna ask a pretty stupid question here:

Can I use a pressure washer to rinse the car's underbody? So even there are pipes and other stuff exposed in the underbody, there is no way that water will get into car's inner system, right?

Thank you and have a good evening :)

[pikapika]

Personally I would replace it. They are a pain, but they help clean the air under the car and help keep road debris out of the undercarriage. You could also encounter me re wind noise been known to happen on other cars, not sure about this though

Hello littleredwagen,

I totally agree with you. The damaged panel has been zip tied back to the undercarriage. However, I can clearly feel a rattling noise from the car's underbody.

Thanks for your suggestions!!!

[GTItoS4]

Hello GTItoS4, thank you for your suggestions!

This ECS shield is the part that I need to replace!!! It would be definitely stronger than felt lined cardboard. I'll consider getting this instead of the stock one.

BTW, any chance you know the "official name" of this panel? Is it called Skid Plate?

Thank you and have a nice evening!

There's two panels under the front of the car.

The front-most panel is pretty hard plastic, and it's what the ECS shield replaces.

The felt/cardboard panel is the next panel towards the rear. It covers the area shown in the picture above with the red square, closer to the middle of the car.

[eurotic]

Do you have all the pieces of the pan? If you do I would drill holes in the pieces and zip tie them together. Then use some race tape to further seal it or cover small bits that might be missing. Yeah it's a little ghetto but I sure can think of much better ways to spend the money especially as it's likely something that will happen again.

Coincidently I had a similar experience yesterday while exiting a car wash. Thought the scrapping was the chunks of snow/ice on the rockers behind the front wheels rubbing off but when I finally got out I saw a very tall ice spire sticking out of the ground. I took a quick look and didn't see any real damage but I suspect I did something.

[santos.]

Hey Santos, I am really thankful for your willingness to help!

I think the part that's damaged on my car locates in the front-middle of the car. Not beneath the engine, but beneath the shift lever.

The material is pretty much the same as the part that came off from you car. Not really plastic, right?




How much did you pay to fix that?

Thanks :)

Yeah it was definitely the parts you identified as the underbody liners for me, they are a felt-covered bendable cardboard that "smell like burning" when you drive around with them hanging down ;)

The parts and labor for replacing both sides came to about $700 from the stealership, but it was covered by the Uhaul insurance thankfully. If I were in your situation I would definitely want to replace it somehow, not only for protection from road grime but also aerodynamics/sound dampening at higher speeds. The ECS street shield seems like a good option...

PS- took a photo of mine on the lift after replacements installed, may help visualize what you damaged better:

[focusaudi]

Then what's the benefit to lower the car?

THIS. That SICK STANCE isn't worth it when you're using your 50k German sports car as a snow plow.

[KRp220]

went through this same exact thing on friday. There is snow in every nook and cranny under the car, and it has frozen and expanded in multiple spots. my belly pan will most likely need to be replaced, along with some other areas. i was told by my tech that it should be and we can address it in the spring.

[EHesh14]

anyone replace their passenger and driver side underbody panel linings that make contact with jacks and jack stands? If so could you tell me where you got them and the part numbers please? Mine are all very damaged from not using a jackpad adapter

[14S4GWM]

anyone replace their passenger and driver side underbody panel linings that make contact with jacks and jack stands? If so could you tell me where you got them and the part numbers please? Mine are all very damaged from not using a jackpad adapter

Check out the description, lol

https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B8_S4...ngine/Covers/2

[EHesh14]

Check out the description, lol

https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B8_S4...ngine/Covers/2

damnit lol that was easy enough! I appreciate it

[darkstarghost]

I fabed up my own Steel pan using a street sign i had lying around and some drilling. Worked pretty good and my old car was about 2" off the ground at its lowest point.