Yep,,, keep the pans in place on the HCH.

I made and installed my own engine pan on my 06 Civic EX. I Don't know that it helped with mpg. But the engine compartment stayed near spotless.

 

Steve, good point. When the engine is cold it's cold, but that underpanel has got to reduce convection currents, so the car that's been sitting just an hour or two will stay warmer. Having spent a little time under there now, I would say Honda must have done a fair bit of wind tunnel testing: there are little deflectors at interuptions in the panels, they are very nicely designed and also fit together (and to the car body) perfectly.

Regarding preserving engine heat, Prius' insulated coolant bottle is a bit of brilliance.

 

Actually my wife let it drag a bit before I removed the panel, so one corner has a section missing the size of my fist.... where one of the clips used to go. I suspect the local service place that we bring it didn't put them back on properly.

Does anyone have a source to buy a replacement panel/clips online?

 

There's Bernardi Parts, San Leandro Honda, Majestic Honda, a few I have bookmarked. They all have on-line parts catalogues. It will take a while to find, but you can drill down to what you need. I think it's usually in Chassis section, and the underpanels are in some sub-section. They're there.

I envy you being in the States, the prices for clips and/or panels are much more reasonable. Just verify shipping charges.

Check with your local dealership(s) as well. Your local dealer will very likely have the clips: they're a consumable that's needed regularly. Replacement panels will likely need to be ordered. I ended up purchasing locally. The online dealers I mention above use UPS ground, which incurs "brokerage fees" when crossing international borders. Between that and the exchange rate it wasn't worth the hassle. It might be better for you though, being in the States.


FYI, the clip part number is:

91505-S9A-003

and description:

CLIP A, BUMPER

 

BTW, there's a couple of 10mm bolts holding the front edge, in addition to 2 of the push in clips. Are they there?

 

I have the same problem with my '06. Since the closest Honda dealer is 150 miles away, I just use some bailing wire to connect the panels. It is a hassle to undo them when I need to change the oil but I have no other convenient option. I suppose I could get the clips by mail but I don't know if there is a special tool involved with removing them or not. I would hate to put clips on and then find I need to pry them off and ruin them when I change oil...
This car has had two class action lawsuits that I know about (none of which I took part in). 1. mileage not what was advertised and 2. tires wearing faster than normal.
I think there should be a 3rd one about these panels!