7AT question

Originally Posted by Land Cruiser

Yesterday I was out on a drive and ran over a small branch. It got kicked up into the undercarriage and got caught on some part of the transmission. ... I think it somehow also got caught in the gear shift linkages, as I couldn't move the shifter from where it was in manual mode. I put the parking brake on, fought with the branch a little bit and got it free. Afterwards, the shifter works normally and the transmission shifts fine.

My question is, is it normal for something to be able get kicked up and disable the car like that? Shouldn't there be a protective plate/shield?