Gen III - Rodent Damage - $900.00

Hey, Launch Vehicle,

Thanks for thoroughly investigating & finding the source of the soft, white, fluffy stuff. I too found a huge pile of that on top of my cabin air filter in my '05 (3 or 4 years ago) before I had a chance to screen off all 5 cowl openings behind the plastic windshield wiper tray.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

There are some types of insulation and plastics that use a compound in manufacturing that tastes sweet. Don't ask me how I know.

Perhaps the rodents are attracted to this sweet tasting compound and chewing through harnesses and wires.

It would be easily remedied by adding a bitter tasting compound or a hot-tasting compound like capsaicin.

 

Hmmmm, so open the hood of the car and empty a canister of pepper spray in there to keep mice away, perhaps?

 

i take a mouse out every couple days in fall thru early winter. we also have voles and moles. tough to fight mother nature.

 

I too have a rodent issue with my Prius, so I did some digging and learned that the Toyota folks use a soy based wiring coating, which is probably a real treat for rats and mice. So far I've had damage to my cabin air filter housing and my ASB sensor cable in the left rear wheel area. My dealer quoted me a repair price of about $500.00 for the sensor cable so I opted to fix it myself for $10.00. I got lucky this time and I'm declaring war on these varmints.

 

good luck, it's like swatting mosquito's!

 

Class action lawsuits have been filed against certain auto makers for rodent damage to soy based wire insulation. For example:

Honda's Soy-Based Wiring Covers Irresistible to Rodents: Lawsuit - NBC News

 

I think things are gonna come to a head, ln this tug-of-war. Dealership service departments (with the auto manufacturers' complicity) are pricing themselves out of business, and the few remaining victims are being bled dry of bucks to cover losses due to more savvy customers staying away in droves.