Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen

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Wed 19 May 2021 17:54
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - pete2000

Hi there,

I have a honda civic 2013 and I must've misjudged how high a kerb was. as a result the black thing under the front bumper by the wheel (not sure if it is a flap for mud or something) popped off.

It is a flexible material, and seemed bolted in, but the circular cutouts through which it was bolted to the underside of the car must've flexed under pressure and the thing popped off the bolt.

I tried using whatever I had at home to remove the bolt and feed it through again (I couldn't pop it back on as it just flexes too much). The bolt seemed difficult to remove even after applying wd40 so decided not to force the issue.

Hopefully someone can assist with the following questions?

1) Is this part important? I tried to google and some say it's for dirt protection and some say it's for aerodynamics.

2) Is it ok that I only have 1 on there on one side, rather than 2? Driving seems fine with only one attached.

3) Is it easily put back on next time I get a service or tyre change? It doesn't have any cracks as far as I can see and but I don't know if it's just screwing it on or the bumper needs removal or whatever.

Appreciate any insight and thank you in advance!!

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Wed 19 May 2021 19:01
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - elekie&a/c doctor
I guess it’s part of the lower bumper splash shield protection . Don’t think I’d worry about it , as long as the bumper is secure . Get it checked out next service .
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Wed 19 May 2021 20:45
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - Xileno

My old Focus has those things as well, I often wondered what they were for and have scraped them on a curb many times. They are all part of the wheel arch liner, so no chance of them breaking off.

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Thu 20 May 2021 09:50
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - catsdad

My Civic used to ground the flap on low kerbs when parking at right angles. They make hell of a racket and I wonder if this is deliberate to encourage a stop before you hit anything more vital.
Experience of repairing broken bits like this suggests that if you can’t repair it readily yourself in a few minutes then take it to a good indie for repair. I knocked all the supporting tabs behind my Civic front fog when I hit a pheasant and spent a fruitless hour and skinned knuckles trying to bodge a repair. My indie did it perfectly for half an hours labour. But maybe you are handier than me.

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Thu 20 May 2021 10:51
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - pete2000

Thanks everyone for the responses. I gather it doesn't seem too important.

I also gave a quick call to my nearest Honda garage to see. They suggested it helps with the aerodynamics (didn't seem too sure themselves) but it's something that can likely wait until the next service.

I just stuck it in my boot and will wait till its next dealt with. It's been on the motorway a few times and feels the same. Just hopefully doesn't affect the engine or something. Weird how it doesn't seem to have a name/function that's easy to find!!

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Fri 21 May 2021 11:01
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - Bolt

Thanks everyone for the responses. I gather it doesn't seem too important.

I also gave a quick call to my nearest Honda garage to see. They suggested it helps with the aerodynamics (didn't seem too sure themselves) but it's something that can likely wait until the next service.

I just stuck it in my boot and will wait till its next dealt with. It's been on the motorway a few times and feels the same. Just hopefully doesn't affect the engine or something. Weird how it doesn't seem to have a name/function that's easy to find!!

Its part of the aerodynamics of the bumper as its designed to divert air not only under the car but around the discs as well, I think it comes with the bumper but might be an idea to remove the rest to make it even across the front

I have known the under panels to cause when removed and left off, fuel consumption to drop by up to 5mpg due to drag as the car panels are designed for economy, thats what Honda stated after it was first released to replace 8th gen Civic...

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Fri 21 May 2021 11:45
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - Sprice

These flaps are called "strakes" and serve an aerodynamic purpose allegedly (part number 71115-SMG-E00 for left side and 71110-SMG-E00 for right).

These are also on the 8th gen Civic I currently own, but when I had a 9th gen (63 plate) like yours, one of mine also came loose from a high kerb or something, I'm pretty sure they are just held on with trim clips, Honda reattached mine when it was in for its service.

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Tue 25 May 2021 19:45
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - pete2000

Ah great thanks that's good to know.

I will ask them to put it back on during the service. Seems reassuring enough that it won't cause too much grief.

Fuel consumption sounds like a problem although will probably pay more attention to that as my work shifts back to site rather than home as my driving has been less than 2k miles the past year!!

Cheers everyone.

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Wed 26 May 2021 10:58
Honda Civic - black flap under front bumper of honda civic 9gen - Bolt

Ah great thanks that's good to know.

I will ask them to put it back on during the service. Seems reassuring enough that it won't cause too much grief.

Fuel consumption sounds like a problem although will probably pay more attention to that as my work shifts back to site rather than home as my driving has been less than 2k miles the past year!!

Cheers everyone.

I have them on the rear, they divert the air from the tyre surface to reduce drag, the front apparently does the same thing but is flexible

I didnt notice my rear ones until i noticed they were in front of wheel not like mudflaps behind

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