Rat ate a wiring harness and it cost me $1k in repairs

[stevehifi]

I'm not sure if any of you have experienced rats getting inside the engine bay or elsewhere in the car but it looks like it happened to me and is now costing me some $$$.

I had a faulty fuel sensor reading, the dealer changed it and the fault never left. After further inspection, it looked like a wiring harness had been chewed up by a rat. The repair is now costing me $996 according to the dealer.

I'm not sure if any of you have encounted this but to make sure this doesn't happen again, can you recommend a deterrent for rats? My car is parked outside in my parking lot, we are in a nice neighborhood. I've trapped a bunch of rats in my backyard but I want to do something to prevent them from coming in my car.

Thanks,
STeve

[JamesGames]

Originally Posted by stevehifi

I'm not sure if any of you have experienced rats getting inside the engine bay or elsewhere in the car but it looks like it happened to me and is now costing me some $$$.

I had a faulty fuel sensor reading, the dealer changed it and the fault never left. After further inspection, it looked like a wiring harness had been chewed up by a rat. The repair is now costing me $996 according to the dealer.

I'm not sure if any of you have encounted this but to make sure this doesn't happen again, can you recommend a deterrent for rats? My car is parked outside in my parking lot, we are in a nice neighborhood. I've trapped a bunch of rats in my backyard but I want to do something to prevent them from coming in my car.

Thanks,
STeve

Living in socal I can tell you these rat f*cks are mutant villains. They will find their way into your engine bay especially the winter time and build homes - eating plastic wires is one thing but pooping and peeing all over your engine bay isn't fun either. The only way you can realistically stop them is to park inside or get a car cover that wraps your tires inside as well. If you can't get a car cover like that then try the dryer sheets and essential oils.

I've tried dryer sheets, essential oils, even honda had a product that I tried. All that good stuff that is supposed to deter rats. Trust me, all that stuff doesn't bother rats more than the cold. The engine bay warmth over night is ultra lavish.

[RickFLM4]

My uncle had the problem with his X3 and there is at least one other thread on the topic from someone else who had the problem. FWIW, should be covered by insurance.

[icegrill]

Sorry to hear this. I had it happen to an Audi once parked in my garage. It's not fun to deal with. After doing a $2k plus insurance claim I researched everything and all that really works is sealing off your parking area from vermin. What's really bad is that they piss in the engine bay and then other rats follow the scent

[Poochie]

Sorry to hear about your rodent issue, sounds annoying..

I feed a bunch of feral cats and I built them a heated house in my garage, for them to stay in the winter..

I would love to see a rat try his luck and mess with my vehicle..

[Humdizzle]

^ what he said. Get some cats or leave some cat food out.

[jmg]

Ugh... socal has been a rat haven lately. I've NEVER had problems with rats until this year. WTF is going on?!!? Rats ate through my string lights and I'm afraid they are going to get into the garage. I checked all the little entrances to the garage that I know of (vents, grates etc), but I know it can't be rat proof. I do let my cat into the garage once and while and I let my car hunt in the back yard where my detached garage is. He has caught several rats, but I kind of worry about disease etc.

Leaving some good ole traps out soon.

[RickFLM4]

Got curious after the last post. Good God:

https://www.latimes.com/local/califo...601-story.html

I think poison in a bait station (that a pet can’t get into) may work better than snap traps. I saw a rat once on the patio when we moved in, which I took care of using a shovel. Every once in a while I might see a mouse and tell the pest control company. They put some black boxes around the house exterior with poison in them and then no more mouse. Definitely do not want to find them nesting in the garage or attic.

[chmura]

Los Angeles rat 'problem' is not a problem at all compared to what I saw walking down the streets in Bangkok at 2am. Man those rats stare you down and are not afraid of humans. Think you can make a good living in Bangkok if you are an exterminator as I do not think there is such a business there!

[SD ///M4]

This happened to me a couple of years ago but it was a rabbit and it was my Z4 M Roadster which sits in the driveway (my M4 and my wife's M3 are in the garage).

I know that it was a rabbit because I actually caught it in the act! It was a nice day and I decided to drive the Roadster. I popped the hood to unhook the CTEK battery charger that's hooked up most of the time and literally saw the rabbit sitting on top of the engine munching away on the wire harness that runs right along the top of the S54 engine. Scared the crap out of both of us! I screamed at it, it freaked out and decided to go down, got its furry, fat little bottom stuck and I watched his little cotton tail wriggle back and forth before it made it down to the ground and ran across the lawn. The top wire was completely chewed through and it ate the entire exposed wire. I was able to splice in another wire pair and wrap it with electrical tape. I found some other wires where it had apparently gnawed on the covering but they were still intact. I was also able to rewrap those wires with electrical tape. There was a bunch of fur and some rabbit turds and pee on top of the engine.

We live on a canyon with an acre of land and we had just cleared the brush on the hillside, depriving it of food and shelter. It apparently decided that the engine compartment of the Roadster was a good alternative.

I used some animal scent that I found at Home Depot and sprayed it on the driveway underneath the car. But that stuff really stinks and doesn't last long. Home Depot also had these mint sachets that pests apparently don't like. I hung them using on various wires and cables around the engine compartment using cheap carabiners. They last longer than the spray but eventually lose their scent. Fortunately, I haven't had a repeat occurrence.

This year there has been a big increase in reports of coyotes and bobcats in our area, with people seeing them on their streets and in their backyards, and a corresponding decrease in the amount of bunny sightings. There was even a mountain lion that was killed in the same canyon that we're on the edge of, after it attacked an 4 YO boy who was with his father and a group of adults on a hiking trail. I don't recommend any of these remedies to your problem!

[Tiscar]

Just had a chassis function restricted message come up, took it into BMW and on the way there the engine response button also wouldn't work. After £675 of fault finding it was discovered that the main wiring loom from the engine had been chewed in several locations and could not be repaired and need a replacement loom at £1,535 total of £2,210 should get the car back next week.

[nicknaz]

+1 on chipping in to feed some neighborhood feral cats and getting traps for the mice.

Good luck! Time for a comprehensive claim on your insurance.

[BS_CS]

Lived in a rural part of north county San Diego for a while. Rats got a speed sensor on my F150 that cost a pretty penny, and then not even a year later they chewed through a knock sensor and caused all sorts of fun problems. Those rats are absolute bastards.

[zamboni]

Some guy at the dealer dropped off his brand new X7 only 700 miles with wires damaged by rat, total cost for repair is $39K need to drop liner engine to replace the wire system.

[icegrill]

This is the season too. Everyone check your parking spots and get appropriate traps or keep a rat zapper armed like I do.... just in case😉