6mtV6

Anyone here that has splash guards or doesn't have splash guards have scratches or paint chips behind the tires?

I'm talking about the part of the rear bumper right behind the rear tires and also the part right behind the front tires.

I'm thinking if I should install the splash guards or not. Will it prevent the scratches and paint chips behind the tires? Do you even need the splash guards to prevent this?

neuronbob

I don't have splash guards and don't have any chips (yet).

Yes and yes. I only chose not to install them because on the 2G TL, which I owned, they scratched the paint. Hopefully, that behavior has changed.

HTH

JetJock

I don't have them either and so far...no nicks, but I'm very carefull about loose stones and gravel on the roads...if I see them, I'll steer around, or even turn around and take another road if it's really bad. I almost killed my friend once when I allowed him to drive my car, and he ran over loose cinders from the last snowstorm that hadn't been cleaned up yet...I could just hear them spraying inside the wheelwells, and I was sure I'd have nicks allover the paint..but I was lucky...and so was he...I WOULD have killed him.

SouthernBoy

The splash guards will help a good deal to avoid this problem, but not completely. However, in my opinion, they are worth installing for the reduction in damage they offer. And if your car is one of the darker colors, you won't even notice them. My TL is anthracite and the splash guards blend in very nicely.

While a subjective issue, chips and dings are not. Besides, cars don't heal.. yet.

lflorack

I've had the splash guards on both my 2003 and my current 2004 TL's (both NBP) and have enjoyed both the look and the protection they offer.

Road Rage

I have not installed either front or rear on my 2004 - had them on my 2G cars (I had 3 model years: 200, 2001, 2002). I painted the ones on the 2002 Type-S.

I have not installed them on the 2004 because the tires are almost completely enclosed, esp the rears - on the 2G cars, they were very exposed, and the debris and rocks that kicked up did do a lot of damage. On the 3G cars, the fronts might help a little, but I do not see the rears needing them at all. And since I hate the looks of them, I have not installed either. Also, most everything that kicks up on the fronts hits the plastic lower trim moldings, which are resilient.

If, at the end of a year, the front plastic trim looks speckled, I will consider the mud guards. Another option would be to re-paint using that rubberized paint you sometimes see on lower quarter panels - then i can have the protection without makin my TL look like an Outback.