While driving my 2012 Subaru Legacy the other day on I95 through Connecticut I was trapped in my lane and could not avoid hitting a piece of a truck tire (alligator). I pulled over and looked over the car and thankfully did not see any visible damage; however, since the incident, I have had a rattle.
Being that this is my third Subaru I am assuming the rattle is coming from a loose heat shield. I was going to go ahead and just rip it off, but my wife does not think that is a good idea. Thoughts?
You need to get underneath and take a look. Removing heat shields can result in melted insulation on wiring or other problems depending on location. (I've made replacement heat shields out of scrap metal.)
Thanks . Now I know what those are called. 😆
Drive the car onto some ramps or jack it up and have a good look at everything from underneath. Most importantly make sure there's isn't anything wrapped around the axles. That could be very costly.
Don't rip off heat shields. Usually they can be bent, or pop riveted back into place.
