Missing mystery piece? (need help to ID)

[donovan]

Hello,

I noticed this plastic piece hanging under my front bumper. Same thing was hanging under both Driver's side and Passenger's side front wheels (Pic 1 and 2)





On the passenger's side, I did this quick fix using office supplies. (Pic 3)




I looked at my coworker's X5 and it looked like there was some plastic skidplate covering it, and there was something else screwed into the hole where my finger is pointing (pic 4). I assume that mine was either stolen or somehow came off.



I have a couple of Q's:
1) Does anyone know what the missing part is? I did a search for "X5 skid plate" and only came up with this decorative add-on: http://bmw.dealerfit.com/store/bmw-x...1389_15838.php

2) Any problems in driving with this as is? My main concern is hitting road debris that might rip it off and cause more damage, or driving in snowy conditions might cause the hanging plastic piece to catch onto snow/ice and also do more damage.

Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions.