My car’s electrical connector at transmission chewed through by an animal

[efang622]

, the repaired cost was $2600!

My car is Toyota 2009 Camry, the electrical connector at transmission chewed through by an animal ( may be a Rat or a Squirrel) , the repair cost was $2600 because the dealer replaced whole wire cable. I like to know if I can do something to prevent this happen again. Some one told me I can try moth balls, I just think I only can put a bag of moth balls under the hood when the car doesn’t run, because I worry when the car is running, the temperature of under the hood is higher and moth balls
will make trouble. If any one has idea about this ?

Thanks!

[LeanBurn]

Ouch....

I wonder what is so appealing that would draw the animal to chew on wires...are the coatings flavored, or scented? Its not like they can absorb power from the wires themselves...Reminds me of these creatures ...

You Tube

You Tube

[BlackCam09]

A lady at my work was coming into work one morning and she had a 1985 ford tempo and it literally caught on fire and in flames outside of the security gate when she pulled in and they told her to pull back out. Luckily she got out and was ok. She later found out that a squirrel had chewed one of the wiring harness behind her dash and thats what caused the fire. She said she's going to put moth balls in her next car. good luck!

[1956kiteboarder]

would that be covered by insurance

[DOHCammer]

I had the same problem with my daughters 03 Camry. Damn mouse ate the wire even with the connector. Toyota dealers do have connector wire terminals available seperately. All I did was release the old terminals from the connector and plug the new pigtail terminals in. Then I soldered and shrink wrapped the pigtails into the main harness for the permanent easy fix. We've had a lot of animal intrusion and harness munching in our shop this past year. I do see cars come in with moth balls in stockings tied to various places under the hood. I've also heard of people spraying a water/pepper combination on the underhood harnesses to keep the critters away.

[pmesfun]

Damn those animals.
On my 99, I had to replace the washer tank and insulation on most of the engine wires. Thankfully the wires went actually damaged.

On the 07. they clogged up the duct coming from the wiper area. It was full of trash and the cabin air filter saved the blower motor from being destroyed. A/C works 10 times better now.
I had to remove the FL fender liner to get one dead mouse, and the wiper arms, plastic cover and wiper motor, to get the other.

[ZO6_Vette]

Toyota must use rice to manufacture their wires.
My sister had an Camry many years ago and same thing happened to her some animal chewed through the wires.

[rallykid]

I would check into it, it may be covered by insurance so you may be able to get reimbursed minus your deductible.

We found a family of Chipmunks living under the hood of our '62 Olds Starfire Convertible after it had sat for a couple of years and had a cat get into our '50 Mercury and have kittens on the floor but never had anything chew through wires thankfully. The Merc was gutted for restoration at the time so no damage done there.

[Glenn8963]

Originally Posted by LeanBurn

Ouch....

I wonder what is so appealing that would draw the animal to chew on wires...are the coatings flavored, or scented? Its not like they can absorb power from the wires themselves...Reminds me of these creatures ...

the companies that make wires for the automotive industry, are making the insulation on those wires out of a soy based material... then the rolls of wire get sent to the factories for wiring harnesses or whatever else. even the slightest voltage going thru a single wire will "emit" a scent....under-hood temps are also playing a role in this scent emission.

our best bet is to keep the engine bay clean, and if we have to, use some moth balls placed inside of a netting, much like you get when you buy oranges from the store. or a cheese cloth.

the only thing you will get under the hood is the smell of the moth balls, which by the way, will lose thier scent after a while as well.

another tip would be to make sure the area around and under our cars is cleared of any debris like leaves for instance. rat baited traps will cut down on some of the population of rats/squirrels and mice too.

it could have been a rat, mouse, or a squirrel, as each will find a warm spot under the hood to nest, and to make a meal out of our wiring. i personally have experienced all 3 rodents under the hood of cars....and it just ain't pretty what they do....

bait them, trap them, kill them....

also, make darned sure you have NO coolant leaks as well, as the scent of coolant will attract them as well.

the last sentence of this link...???

"Unfortunately, the automakers are taking the position that their warranties do not cover rodent repairs."

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/rodents...-car-materials

[jbrnigan]

personally, I think you got hosed by the dealer as a soldered, shrink wrapped repair would have been sufficient IMO, but, the dealer is protecting his rear against any repair liability. I keep rodent pellets in my garage, also not good for squirels or other critters. I haven't seen a mouse in years, but, I replace the pellet container from time to time so something is dining on the pellets and not on my car(s)

[gdanaher]

I buy blocks of rodent poison at Tractor Supply--the type designed for bait stations with a hole in the center, and tie-wrap them in various locations under the hood. It is a seasonal thing, but the bait is eaten. Haven't had them eat any car parts yet, but they have left their other marks under the hood.

[Frodo65]

Originally Posted by Glenn8963

the companies that make wires for the automotive industry, are making the insulation on those wires out of a soy based material... then the rolls of wire get sent to the factories for wiring harnesses or whatever else. even the slightest voltage going thru a single wire will "emit" a scent....under-hood temps are also playing a role in this scent emission.

our best bet is to keep the engine bay clean, and if we have to, use some moth balls placed inside of a netting, much like you get when you buy oranges from the store. or a cheese cloth.

the only thing you will get under the hood is the smell of the moth balls, which by the way, will lose thier scent after a while as well.

another tip would be to make sure the area around and under our cars is cleared of any debris like leaves for instance. rat baited traps will cut down on some of the population of rats/squirrels and mice too.

it could have been a rat, mouse, or a squirrel, as each will find a warm spot under the hood to nest, and to make a meal out of our wiring. i personally have experienced all 3 rodents under the hood of cars....and it just ain't pretty what they do....

bait them, trap them, kill them....

also, make darned sure you have NO coolant leaks as well, as the scent of coolant will attract them as well.

the last sentence of this link...???

"Unfortunately, the automakers are taking the position that their warranties do not cover rodent repairs."

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/rodents...-car-materials

But that damage should be covered by your comprehensive insurance. You'll be out of the deductible, though...

[Mike Gerber]

To the OP.

This should definitely be covered under your insurance's comprehensive portion, less the deductible. I had something like this happen to me when my 94 Camry was brand new. Some critter ate the underhood pad, the windshield washer tubing, and the wiring to both O2 sensors. My bill was around $550. Insurancer covered all but my $100 deductible.

Mike

[arabianobsession]

A more pleasant alternative to moth balls is dryer sheets. They come in many different good-smelling scents, and unscented, and keep away all the mice and rodents as they hate the smell of them. I have used them in all my cars in the past that I have stored for the winter and have never had any issues whatsoever.