About Rick O. Expertise Classic, aircooled (rear engine) 1949-1979 VW's, specializing in electrical problems, fuel injection, and Type 181 "The Thing".
NOTE: I have limited experience on water-cooled VWs (Rabbit, Golf, Jetta, etc...) but I am glad to help to the extent of my knowledge, due to the fact there are currently no other experts registered for these models.
Experience 15 years of aircooled VW ownership and maintenance.
Publications Wikipedia, VW Beetle
Education/Credentials Retired US military Electronics Tech/Master Training Specialist, Civilian Computer engineer.
Question I have a 2002 New Beetle. It drives just fine, but a plastic piece under the front of the car (stretching from wheel to wheel) has dropped and scrapes the road as I drive. I tried to pop it back into place, and it just won't go. It seems to be a non-essential piece; what is it? Should I just take it off? Should I take the car into a dealer?
This is used for primarily for aero-dynamics, it's not absolutely vital. They often have either clips or screws which hold it on. These can be broken if the front end is bumped hard enough to flex the plastic too far. I recently repaired this on my work van using small metal brackets and drilling sheet metal screws at some appropriate places in the frame. If you jack up the car, get under there and look closely, you may find the places where the fasteners are detached, and perhaps even some of the original ones. These are usually not expensive to replace. However, you may find the plastic ripped and need to be more creative in your repairs. If it were mine and it was not too mangled, I'd fix it.
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