$4k to replace wire harness on 2020 Tacoma?

I've been having a 4-5 week long back and forth with a Toyota dealership over electrical/dashboard light issues.

It all started when my anti collusion system/abs/4wd lights started going off. This happened only on very cold mornings. After the car warmed up, they'd go away. Toyota replaced abs module, wheel speed sensors, and after many rentals/driving back and forth, found that mouse ate through a wire harness that runs the length of the truck, and wants $4k. Apparently insurance can cover this.

This just seems insane to me. The part itself is $112, and there's about 1 cm of damaged wire. Now I'm being asked to cover the rental car use for past few days whilst they investigated, and 2 hours of labor to look into it. This seems like a design flaw to me. The only solution I can find is spraying rodent repellent around the engine/undercarriage every few months. I live in a pretty rural area and mice are everywhere, there's no getting around it. Seems pretty weak for a truck.

/rant

 

Those mice they sure can do alot of damage. Surprised the dealer did not see this from the beginning. Not sure if the insurance covers damage done by mice. Good luck, hope you get this resolved without paying the 4,000.00 out of your pocket.

 

I hate to say it but having a mouse chew your harness has nothing to do with a design flaw. It can happen to any vehicle.

 

Common on a lot of vehicles. Buddies F350 got wires chewed up by a porcupine while hunting remotely up north. After taping it together to get home he shot every porcupine he saw on his way home. Leave your hood up when you park for the night,they like dark warm places. Put a screen on your air intake and the cabin air intake. Check your cabin air filter. The last few years I've trapped at least 10 mice in my wife's FJ, hate rodents.

 

I was reading some toyota dealerships offer a 'mouse proofing' for a few hundred, similar to this: https://www.tundras.com/threads/mouse-rodent-proofing-stage-one.44679/

If you search around the forum/internet, it seems like a major problem with toyotas ... or perhaps toyotas are just popular and thats why there's alot of results on mice eating wires

 

Damage of a similar form is common on every marquee out there that parks where rodents are abundant.

Has nothing to do with being a truck or 'weak'.

 

wow that porcupine must've gotten up there good ... yes, hate rodents too, next time the wife wants me to treat them humanely, well, sorry - they're going into a bucket of water or straight to the glue trap.

 

the weak comment was more out of frustration and the fact that i can't use 4wd because of an electric issue disabling it

 

File with your insurance and be done with it. Should be covered under comprehensive portion.

 

Every car/truck you see on the road has some sort of the harness exposed somewhere. It can happen to any vehicle you see on the road.

 

Get a couple of outside/barn cats and there won't be any more mice

 

I have a friend with a Suburu and she is infested with them. Gets 1 just about everyday in a trap on the floor and she is not sure where they are coming from.
Also read that the wiring on the Toyotas are made with some kind of vegetable oil that attracts mice. Not sure about that.

 

Soy based wire coatings. If it's a concern the hot pepper sprays seem to work.

 

I had a groundhog burrow underneath my shed, making large entrance holes, and bought a few lbs of chili peppers online ... then blended them with some water + vinegar, dumped it around the shed and down the holes, never saw them again

 

Rodents are going to chew.

 

i leave my hood up and use two led work lights, one under the hood shining down the fire wall the other underneath. the bright light deters them. no guarantees though.

hope it works out for you.

 

The question is why do they chew. Is it for food or for nesting or in spite for Tacoma lovers. just wondering

 

I have at least 4 on my property. They regularly bring home gifts. I had roof rats that took up in the barn. Of the 4 cats there is one that loves to climb. She took care of the problem. The others are more ground based and keep the moles away. My neighbor hates them because she says they go after her chickens. My response to her is that it should be much easier to guard against the cats than it would be to have to guard against rats, snakes, racoons, etc. If only there was something that could take care of fire ants.

 

They chew to keep their teeth from getting too long. That's why they often chew on things that they have no intention of swallowing. It wears off excess length.

I once saw where a rat had gnawed on a concrete block.