Mouse ate my wires!

I noticed 1 of my headlights was out, so I bought a replacement lamp. When I went to go put it in I noticed the wire was cut.
Long story short, I bring it to the dealer, and they tell me it’s the main cable wiring harness that’s been cut. And mice are probably the culprits. Only thing I noticed not working was my low beam passenger and washer fluid spray. Anyway, dealer says it will cost $6,000 to fix, take about a week to repair. And it’s not covered under my warranty but insurance will try to cover most/all of the cost. Any of you had this issue? I park my truck outside because I have to. But I’ll look into any and all solutions to try to keep them from coming back. I Had the truck only 3 months and this shit happens.

 

There are other threads. One practice is to spray underside/ wheel wells/ skid plate with Pinesol. I do this whenever I park at trailheads.

 

Unless you can patch her up, you’ll most likely need to make a claim. Some jobs can be patched, it’s very common for dealers to only replace due to liability and likely hood of problems down the road.

 

6k just for the headlight wiring, or did the mice chew more than what's in the photo? That seems real steep

 

Sorry for your troubles OP, that’s a hell of a bummer man.

 

the headlight wiring is all I can see, but the mechanic said it’s the main engine wiring harness and the whole thing has to be replaced. And he’s surprised I haven’t Had any more issues. So maybe theirs more
Chewed up that I didint see

 

Field mouse chewed through one of my wireharness two to three months after I first purchased my Tacoma...had to have been the new car smell was too good to pass up...haha. I have insurace coverage for act of nature damages and just paid my deductible.

 

CEL and Cruise Control error lights were the electronics affected... at the time, the repair estimate was +$2100.

 

we both have magnetic gray tacos. Maybe that’s what mice like hahaha. Yeah luckily I’ll only pay $500. But I get to pick up my Toyota Camry dealer courtesy car tomorrow! Yippee

 

Get a 2nd opinion at another shop?

 

I just had this issue… Brand new TRD Pro with 8,000kms on it. Part is back ordered, sitting at dealer for 5 weeks now. Was told weeks or months. Dealer quoted repair at $6,000CAD, insurance will pay and settled it to $5,000CAD.

Mine showed up as a check engine light (code was for knock sensor). They had to remove the air intake manifold to get to the main power harness part that was chewed on. It would have been impossible for me to see that happening. Oh well…

 

I think I read on TW that Toyota uses soy or something delicious in the wiring insulation.

I started using this (based on a TW tip) when I heard critters chewing on mine.

https://exterminatorschoice.com/products/rodent-defense-vehicle-protection-1-gallon-128-oz

 

If my insurance won’t pay as much I will. I just figured I want Toyota mechanics working on my truck vs a random shop who may cut unnecessary corners.

 

Yep, I have heard of too many unfortunate stores where having full insurace coverage could have saved some people the damages headache... I am all, hell I will pay the ins. premium of it means NOT fronting a large sum of monies for unexpected damages.

 

Sorry OP

 

Not in the 3rd Gen Tacoma.

 

I park my 72 corvette in the garage but there have been a mouse turd or two show up from time to time.....They don't chew on older wiring as bad as new cars but they really like to make nest in anything that doesn't move often. I put the old timey urinal cakes under the car on the garage floor. Knock-on-wood I have never had a mouse inside the car or even turds under the car.

 

I’m pretty sure an insurance adjuster will need to see the main harness has been compromised, if it differs from the headlight harness, who knows it might all be one.

and yes, soy based is often used, my buddy is a Honda tech and this is a very common and real problem.

 

That’s terrible! Hope you get it back up and running asap

 

Another good reason to rustproof your taco yearly. They don't want to go near that oil.