Rats Ate through Engine Wires - Take appropriate action to protect your engine

Anyone else see the irony of using soy material on a Japanese car?

Hope this is all fake news...

 

Is it worth looking into an insurance claim?

 

All joking aside, this is the answer. Rodents don't like capsaicin, the hot in peppers. I make my own spray to keep chipmunks out of my engine bay.

10 cut up habanero peppers soaked in 1 pint of 92% rubbing alcohol for 7 days to extract the oil. Strain and pour into a spray bottle and spray the engine down. Handle with nitrile gloves as it will burn the shit out of you.

 

Depends how hungry they are.

 

I'm doing this. Always useful info on TW.

 

This will be my only option I think. The deductible is 1000 and both of the vehicles are on the same insurance so hopefully they will cover the damages as if they were singular. Otherwise, I won't reach my deductible on either one independently.

I told my neighbor and he setup a camera in his garage (he has had no signs of mouse or rat infestation in the house). He captured this one inspecting his rav 4.

 

Looks like you need some cats around that place.

 

Rat cam...that's awesome!

 

I have spools of wire in my garage where I keep my truck and the mice have never gone after those, never.

I don't think it is the soy based material, I think mice are just assholes.

 

As Vin Diesel said "should have taken the money, Holms..."

 

Regardless of whether the wiring is made of soy or not, rats really will gnaw and chew on most anything...they don't have to be attracted to it as a food item. They just find shit incidentally and just chew whatever up. Keeps their incisor teeth from getting too long.

I like watching car shows where they find and rebuild old cars. Everytime they find one in an old garage or barn car find they almost always have rat nests and/or some evidence of rat activity...and I'm sure shit wasn't made of soy back then.

So rats like cars.

 

Hell, I've found evidence of them chewing on 35 year old house wiring that sure as heck had no soy.

 

Yes- TW Turd Gen community is a riot. Toyota really screwed the pooch on this one too.

Mice like dark undistirbed places to nest. If you live anywhere near the woods, your garage is much nicer than anywhere in they would normally go, fewer predators, dry, lots of places to hide.

And like poster above, it ain't food, mice chew to chew on shit.

I had a small infestation in my garage last winter. Wasn't paying attention, they got into my Audi, and wrecked my inflatable slide pool for the kids. That shit wasn't "soy based".

Keep snap traps in your garage. It's that simple guys- nothing to do with Toyota.

 

I hate rats!!!!

 

There is currently a class action suit against Toyota for using soy based wire insulation.

http://www.wthr.com/article/13-inve...icles-attract-rodents-causing-costly-repairs 

 

I second this suggestion. I had rodent issues in the attic and crawlspace even after sealing every possible opening I could with appropriate materials. After I saw one wink at me sitting on top of some ductwork, I called a professional and he recommended this solution as well. It gets restocked with "delicious food" every few months and has worked well. I still keep baited traps where they used to be and haven't caught one since putting the big bait stations around the outside of the house.

 

Doesn't mean it's legit.

They got my MDX, on top of the gas tank too... in 2012. Insurance claim.
People think everything that goes wrong in the world is someone else's fault.
Welcome to our Letigous society- when sometimes, shit happens

 

You gotta remember barn find cars have been sitting for years on end and obviously rodents will find their way into them. This Soy based stuff is actually attracting them to it, manufacturers are becoming aware and look at Honda making wire tape to reject them.

 

Agreed. It's all too common for attorneys to go fishing, hoping the deep-pocket defendant may decide it's cheaper to settle than go through all the time and trouble of a lawsuit with executive depositions, testimony, etc.

http://www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org/2015/12/the-top-ten-most-ridiculous-lawsuits-of-2015/

 

Im not saying it is or is not legitimate. I was merely sharing information. As far as I am concerned, it is a comprehensive claim. If you live in an area that is habitable by rodents, there is risk involved. If you weren't aware of the risk before it became an issue, then it is called a learning experience.