Just had one of our cars into local garage for welding to exhaust brackets, when picking car up the mechanic uttered those immortal words "I removed your heat shield it's not needed". I've come across this before and know there have been discussions about it eg: "if not needed why fit in first place" etc.

I would like to ask:

1) Has anyone ever known of problems caused by heat shield removal, especially to a C-max 54reg?

2) If they're are so critical and are prone to dropping off etc, why aren't they covered by a recall?

3) Why do Independent garages seem to do this instead of refitting, which would only take 10 mins if up on a lift and with a few pop rivets?

Really just looking for reassurance the car's not going to ignite on a hot day.

Thanks