Shaving Rear Spare Tire.....what's the vent for????

[ShaunH3]

Well, the H3 has less than 400 miles on it and it's already in the body shop........don't worry....it's for the good though! I am getting the rear spare tire panel shaved and filled for a smooth clean look.

To my surprise, after pulling off the mounting panel for the spare I found a VENT? Anybody have any thoughts on the functionality of this little vent? My only thoughts are to prevent condensation buildup between the panels, but I can't see how that shoul even be an issue.

Anyhow, $600 later and the photoshopped picture of the "after" of what it will be looking like. It goes under the knife next week.....so I'll be posting some pics of the finished product.