Muffler heat shield - who needs it?

[NSJ]

Recently the muffler heat shield on my '03 Vibe rattled violently and then fell off into the hands of the garage mechanic. He said 'no problem, no charge, don't worry about it'. I looked around online and found various advice, the most striking being 'don't park in long grass or deep leaves'. Any comments, please?

[bluneon]

the shield is to help reflect exhaust heat away from the passenger compartment. without it the interior will get a little bit warmer than it should. it's entirely up to you if you want to replace the shield. since it's summer now, you might want to get it so the a/c doesn't have to struggle keeping the temps down inside.