Rats can't resist wiring in newer cars

Honda must think it is an issue

 

Rats-R-Us?

 

Hah I read that as Rust-R-Us, another one of my pet peeves. Rust and rats...

Good link. Interesting selection of other products too: in the "Customers who bought this also bought...".

 

I wonder what the "oil-based" wiring insulation is made off? Soy based is not necessarily greener...if it is not robust...not to mention converting food crops to industrial use just because someone has the potentially wrong-headed opinion that it is greener.

 

Government incentives ($) at work?

 

Rodents gnaw; it's what they do. Wire coating, soy or petroleum based, is soft compared to what they can chew through.

Doesn't sound like there is actual evidence that they find the soy based stuff tastier. Being soy based does not mean biogradable. In fact, the properties that make such plastics biodegradable would mean a short life if used as a coating for wiring; engine bays are exposed to high heat and even humidity that break those plastics down. The long life polyurethanes and polyesters derived from soy are likely very close in structure to the petroleum-based. On top of that, the final soy-based products might actually be blended with petroleum-based plastics.

I suspect an escalating rodent issue is actually a case of the internet allowing news to travel further and faster. If more car problems are arising from chewed wires is true, it might have more to do with the increasing integration of electronics into the car systems. This increases the amount of wiring in a car, and its susceptibility to problems by damaged wire.

The soy-based coating could still be tastier, but has anyone actually tested that hypothesis? The rats will be the most expensive materials of any such study.

 

Squirrels (no moose) had chewed halfway thru center wire of electric service from pole to house when we moved in 15 years ago; power company replaced quickly.

Critters also chewed up some wiring on an F-150 truck parked in driveway a few years later, as well as enjoying daylight munchies on carpet bunks on a small boat trailer.

fortunately the Prime stays in garage.

 

How to Protect Your Car From Rodents | Chewing Wires - Consumer Reports

Honda sells an electrical tape that contains hot pepper. Also available from Amazon, eBay, etc.

 

You mean like in post 2?

 

The problem might be that you live where rats are.

 

Unfortunately, they came with the people.

 

Help with Techstream Error Codes on '05 and 192k | PriusChat

 

My friend has his brother’s Porsche in his garage while his brother lives in Costa Rica. Rats lived in the car and ended up with a $4500 bill to fix all the cables and hoses.

 

Found in a motorcycle airbox! Hopefully didn't need to eat any wires or hoses with that food supply.

 

I'd leave rat food out next to the car(s). This is non-toxic. Which would a rat choose? Food level in container goes down, add more food.

Except around here that tends to lure the coyotes. I guess fool proof method in a garage...

 

I have found an effective solution. Amazon sells devices that are battery powered that make different frequencies of high pitch sound. It hurts their ears and they don't hang around. Mine is made by Fillixar Under Hood Animal Repeller. I've been using it now for 4 months and my rodent problems have gone away. The noise is meant not to annoy people or dogs or other pets. $45 investment.

SM-G930V ?

 

There's an abundance of acorns where I live, resulting in an abundance of wood rats, who can cause thousands in wiring damage -- overnight. Our attempts over the years to defeat the rats would make for a dark Caddy Shack comedy. On simpler cars, when defenses failed, one could usually just splice the damaged wires back together, but clearly this approach wasn't going to work for the Prius. Worse, our usual strategy of leaving the hood partly open wouldn't work, because on a Prius this allows rainwater to leak into the spark plug wells.

Yes, I could build a garage, but who has the time. ;-)

I've adopted a multipronged approach, which so far (knock on wood) has worked. Leaving a 60 W lightbulb under the car seems to be one of the most effective (and cost-effective) deterrents. The ultrasonic repellents don't seem to work by themselves, but probably contribute to making the Prius less inviting. Capsaicin is a proven repellent, but can be deployed more cheaply, easily, and thoroughly than the Honda tape by simply spraying capsaicin oil on vulnerable surfaces. We've had success just sprinkling cayenne pepper throughout the engine compartment.

And then for good measure, one can deploy mothballs and peppermint oil – these by themselves haven't proven sufficient, but I'm sure they add to the overall deterrent effect.

Lastly, some people swear by “Amber Rustproofing”, available at Amazon, though, again, it alone wasn't sufficient to deter my little friends. But I sprayed some on the inverter wiring, because I don't even want to imagine what that would cost to replace…

 

It's getting increasingly hard, near impossible, to find such a bulb around here. It was all CFL (Canadian Football League??) for a while; now that's old-hat, and it's all LED.

 

Does that mean we get the NFL version?