Incredible Edible Car

wfo9

wfo9

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Incredible Edible Car

I don't know how big of a problem this really is.. but I have heard of a few 5th gen owners experiencing rodent damage recently. It could be a very expensive problem to have.. so something to be aware of.

I know it has also been a problem in the past, but these new soy based products seem to be a new trigger.

There are some class action lawsuits specifically for Toyota owners... I'm less interested in that and more concerned about prevention techniques.

Especially considering how easily this could happen overnight while camping.... ABS wires seem to be particularly tasty from what I have heard.
 
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I throw a couple "magic tree" air fresheners in the engine compartment. The problem, sure it would keep them out of there BUT ABS wires are out of the engine compartment, so lot of good those will do. I imagine some foul tasting (light) oil based liquid you could spray on might be the thing to do.

I have had a few rodent experiences in the family. The most recent, my sister-in-law had her late-model Subura Impreza parked at a trailhead (in Idaho) for two days, when she got back, car wouldn't start. Rodent chewed into the main trunk and guess got just the right wire.
 
We get this stuff called Bar Bait at the local Co-op. Looks like a big bar of soap. You can break it up and spread the pieces around where rodents are likely to be. They love the stuff and it's a kind of poison that makes them seek water. Works great. We live out in farm country and have all sorts of rodents and other critters around and have had no issues with damage.
 
It can definitely be a problem. A co-worker had $5000 of wiring damage to his Prius from squirrels a couple of years ago, and this was in front of his house (he owns a 5 acre place with a lot of trees.) He was trying to figure out some kind of electric fence around his parking spot.
 
So preventative measures include wrapping vehicle with tarps, scented trees, poison bars of soap, a cat but not chicken wire.
Seriously though I have heard of this happening to fleet vehicles parked near open fields at a company I used to work at. There is a greenbelt behind my house so maybe I should seriously look into some safe effective deterrents
 
LifestyleOverland can tell you a horror story about this. We have that problem here, mostly in areas that border more wild parts of the Sonoran desert with lots of pack rats. I know a guy that tried to pull what he thought was a stick out of the bottom of his engine compartment, near the grill, it turned out to be a big ass rat, he almost wet himself.
 
Good practice in areas with rodents is to lift the hood. Cools off the engine faster and is less of a "shelter" for them to seek out. In Death Valley I did this after seeing rodents scurrying about. The other 4R in the group didn't and woke up to tiny foot prints all over the engine on the dust layer formed by the dirt roads.
 
Forest RnR said:
LifestyleOverland can tell you a horror story about this. We have that problem here, mostly in areas that border more wild parts of the Sonoran desert with lots of pack rats. I know a guy that tried to pull what he thought was a stick out of the bottom of his engine compartment, near the grill, it turned out to be a big ass rat, he almost wet himself.
Click to expand...

Dude pack rats are f'kn nasty ass little bastards :laser::flame::gun4:
Be safe and nuke them from space.
 
Someone on the forum said their neighbors use Lemon Pledge on the engine bay and the rodents hate it.

But yeah, basically everyone is using more environmentally friendly insulation for their wiring, which means the environment likes to eat it up quite literally.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
Someone on the forum said their neighbors use Lemon Pledge on the engine bay and the rodents hate it.

But yeah, basically everyone is using more environmentally friendly insulation for their wiring, which means the environment likes to eat it up quite literally.
Click to expand...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uklF7VtqJq8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Ha you guys are funny. I'm "the guy" who posted about Lemon Pledge. You can check out the thread here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...th-gen-passenger-compartment.html#post2499316

It's been months now and I still lemon pledge my engine compartment once a week and have had zero rodent issues since beginning this habit. Not sure how it would work for marmots or other creatures at the national parks, but for common rats and mice that live in regular neighborhoods it seems to work. Good luck!
 
My 2016 TE just died on me Sunday. Had it towed to dealer and they said rats or squirrels chewed up my wires and it's going to cost 2k out of pocket to fix. I've had the truck 4 months.

Luckily I called my insurance company and they are going to cover it. Fingers crossed.
 
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