No, but they do keep things quieter in the passenger compartment.

 

My engine cover is in the attic, along with both side steps and the rear seats.

I seriously doubt you'll hear more noise in the cabin.

 

More for sound proof and visual appealing

 

Hey how does the LX look without the side steps? Did you put on LC200 rockers? I'd love to see pictures.
AA

 

The 200 series engine is inherently quiet...with or without the cover, the loudest thing I can hear is the engine fan during the warm up cycle.

I do not understand visual "appeal"...you're looking at the top of the engine...who cares? As OP pointed out, it's an extra step to take if you need to work on the truck and therefore a pita, at least imo. Fine with me if you want to leave the cover on or remove it.


Check my sig...our 200 is a Land Cruiser. One of the LC's side steps found it way onto a boulder Luckily it was a small boulder, but it did punch the step in about an inch and it bent two of 3 mounting brackets. So, 'Yota wants ~ $250 for the for the step and ~ $150 each for the brackets. Thats around half of what will get you something a lot more functional from Slee, Budd-Built, White Knuckle, etc. At this time I'm reading reviews on Mud and should get a set in a month or so when it warms up here. Check the photo section at the 200 forum on Mud and you definitely will see a bunch of pictures.

 

The engine cover may also have a tiny incremental effect on highway fuel economy. It has a seal that directs air coming in under the hood lip around the sides of the engine compartment.

I leave mine on because I want things as quiet as possible, but it does mean a few extra minutes if I want to work on anything underhood.

 

I took the entire cover off and it's currently lying on the garage floor. I find it annoying that to check fluids or any part of the engine, I have to one by one pluck off those stupid plastic screws and take off the covers. This way everything is exposed and obvious, and nothing is hidden when the lid is popped open to evaluate the engine by myself or the mechanic.

I personally haven't noticed any increase or decrease in cabin noise with the engine covers off. YMMV,

 

I think it's mainly aesthetic purposes. I took mine off also and didn't notice any difference in cabin noise either.

 

Ah, right, I missed that. They problem is the step and the rocker panel on the LX are one piece. Pull off the step and you also loose about 5 inches of body panel that runs under the doors. Additionally the AHC suspension stuff is attached to the frame rails right behind the step and it becomes exposed. These AHC parts make it hard to fit rock sliders to the frame as the mounting points cannot be the same as the LC200. I hear some are being made, but they are not readily available yet. Still waiting...
Thanks for the details!

 

Actually they're available. You just have to call slee to order them because they're not on the website.

 

I've had my LX underhood trim (not the cover over the engine though) off recently while installing LED lights and I thought I could detect an ever-so-slight increase in engine noise in the cabin. Not a big deal by any means, I certainly wouldn't have thought anything was "wrong" if that was the normal amount of engine noise, but my impression was that it was just barely enough to notice.

That said, I wish they made engines look good without the actual engine cover, but I suppose the giant plastic intake manifolds on most engines these days make that a difficult task. I love raising the hood and seeing a good-looking engine, not something that screams Powered by a Hunk of Plastic!

 

 

Worth keeping on especially in the winter, I think. I would expect the engine to warm up faster and stay cleaner.

On the other hand, it might run cooler without during the summer months. I'd be curious what the difference is.

Between the noise and dirt preventing functions, it would need to be a big difference for me to consider taking them off.

 

I removed my engine covers as soon as the warranty expired and I started doing maintenance myself.

Also, I'm old school (and old as well). I remember the days when new car shopping involved the salesman opening the hood so you could admire the engine.

Today it's checking out the number of cup holders, and the navigation / entertainment systems. My last 6 new vehicles I bought without ever having the hoods opened (Lexus, Mercedes, BMW).. It wasn't until I got them home that I figured out where their hood latches were.