Missing plastic caps

Hi,

My Camry 02 has two metal bars underneath in on each side, from back to front. These bars have evenly spaced round holes covered by plastic caps. I noticed that two caps are missing (one from each side), and was wondering if that's something that needs taking care of.. What are these bars and holes for anyway?

I actually noticed that while looking for damage after mistakenly driving the car over a tall pavement (damn that San Diego fog:banghead:), so I guess they could have fallen of then..

Thanks!

I'm going to guess that the bars you are referring to are actually the engine subframe that helpe to hold the engine and connects it to the rest of the unibody structure. This helps to strengthen that area as well as allow some isolation from engine vibration.

The covered and uncovered holes are likely there to access mounting bolts from underneath. Unless you actually see scrape marks where the uncovered holes are, I don't believe that there were any plastic covers to worry about. And besides, some holes are needed to allow water to drain out should it get into those frame pieces. I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks for the answer. I should note that one of the holes has some remains of a plastic cap, and other similar holes have whole caps on. So, it is pretty certain that I'm missing the caps there.. The said bars are stretched (more or less) on each side between the front and the rear wheels (more to the front than to the rear).

Is it still nothing to worry about?

Thanks!

No harm will come from them being missing. Of course you can replace them if you wish, and if the car is leased then it would be wise to do so since the dealers like to find ANYTHING to charge you at the end of it all under "abnormal wear & tear". You can pop one of the good caps out and take it to an auto parts store where they should be able to match it up with some decent replacements. If not, then do the same at the dealership, though they'll cost a bit more. Good luck!

Thanks!