This morning while I was going to work. My 08 HL started to shake and VSC/Engine/skid lights all came on. I didn't have time to check on the forum or anything so just drove it right to the dealer.
They called and told me that a rat or something chewed out an engine wire and it made the engine to misfire. The charge would be $240 to fix. I said, ok.
2 hours later I received another call from the dealer telling me that the chewed out wire was touching things and it shout out the ECU and I must replace it. Now the bill I am looking at is around $1,500 and it's not covered by my extended platinum warranty because of that RAT or whatever.
I can't really argue or just say I am taking the car back. what BS......
This morning while I was going to work. My 08 HL started to shake and VSC/Engine/skid lights all came on. I didn't have time to check on the forum or anything so just drove it right to the dealer.
They called and told me that a rat or something chewed out an engine wire and it made the engine to misfire. The charge would be $240 to fix. I said, ok.
2 hours later I received another call from the dealer telling me that the chewed out wire was touching things and it shout out the ECU and I must replace it. Now the bill I am looking at is around $1,500 and it's not covered by my extended platinum warranty because of that RAT or whatever.
I can't really argue or just say I am taking the car back. what BS......
well that sucks that a rat chews a wire (i'm assuming in the engine bay) and fries the ECU thats behind the steering wheel inside the car... that seems just a little to easy to happen. I wonder what line it chewed through that would fry the ecu that easily. But thats just really unfortunate that a stupid rodent can cause so much destruction.
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2008 Black Highlander Limited FWD
Nav (with override), Rear DVD | 900+ Watt Sound System | Headlight & Fog HID Projector Retrofit | LED Interior/Puddle Lights | Rattletrap Sound Deadener | Dueler HL Alenzas 255/55R19's |Updated Modification List
Don't know if home policies cover rat damage but it might not hurt to check with your homeowners insurance.
i will try to get the chewed up wire from the dealer and see who I can talk to. It sounds like a long shot but I will give it a try. I felt good with the platinum ext warranty and really didn't expect to hear anything like this.
Mice like to chew wires.I live in a wooded community and 3 people have had wiring problems in the last year.2 had mice nests in the engine compartment.
This is becoming a more common problem. For some reason lots of Tacoma owners have issues with rats either taking up residence under the hood or chewing on wires and causing lots of damage. My only advice is to terminate the rats in your area with extreme prejudice.
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2008 Highlander Base 4WD
2002 Avalon XL
1987 Suzuki Samurai 4X4 - Treading where no Jeep can follow....
They said there was a nest under the engine cover where the "V" is and that's also where the injection wires are. The rat chewed out one of the wires and it short out the ECU. The dealer soldered the injection wire and patched everything up before I could get a picture of it.
It's going to take a few days before the ECU arrives. I will keep you guys posted. I am driving around in a Prius loaner at the moment. It's a fun little car
x2 on the insurance angle. I seem to remember someone on the tacoma forums mentioning that your vehicle insurance sometimes covers problems like that. It's certainly worth asking them. Makes me glad I live out west since we don't have those sorts of problems. It always seems to be an eastern side of the country problem on the tacoma forums (there's even a MOD to cover the air intake opening with a screen to keep them out of the vehicle as they seem to always make a nest on top of the cabin filter).
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Originally Posted by Chalkie
That's why he be a moderator and we be the peons... cleverness!
Do they have evidence that shows with certainty it was a rat? "Looks like a rat or something" isn't grounds to invalidate your warranty. I would suggest pushing back (nicely) and request that concrete evidence is provided. There is an equally good chance there was a flaw in the vehicle (thin wire insulation, accidental pinch during assembly, etc).
I think it will be extremely difficult for them to prove it wasn't a flaw. They count on owners not knowing their rights under the contract. They may still refuse in which case there is a process to escalate at Toyota and eventually to get lawyers involved (there are lawyers that specialize in this process). If it goes that far, manufacturers will usually back down, but it means your car is on a lot somewhere for a couple months. Whether it is worth it or not is the big question.
Just a tip: if you decide to escalate, don't post anything regarding the activity in the forums. That will be the first thing a good lawyer will tell you anyway.
Well, I am gonna pay for this one and try to talk to my car's insurance about it. I just figured that since I have ext warranty, the dealer couldve easily just charged Toyota if it was in fact a defective wire. It's probably a lot easier than making another customer unhappy right?
I just can't believe a dang rat chewed out the engine wires that's all. A picture would be nice but it's too late for that now. The dealer will be doing a write-up on the final paperwork. Let's see how that goes.
No calls from the dealer. It's 2 pm right now and the service center closes at 5 pm. It doesn't look like I will be picking up my HL today. I guess the new ECU didn't make it in.
It's actually far better for the dealership for you to pay, even if they have unhappy customers. All manufacturers are putting a lot of pressure on dealerships for warranty work. They will also get less money from the manufacturer than they do charging you directly. I recently saw a dealership tell an owner that they must have put engine oil in their transmission when it failed completely (under 20K miles). Granted, that was Daimler Chrysler. Just an example how far they will go, especially on bigger ticket items.
Nothing wrong with giving them the benefit of the doubt, but you can be sure their primary motives aren't to keep the customer 100% satisfied.
FINALLY got my car back. The ECU was back-ordered. With the new ECU, the car is relearning the way I drive at the moment. The throttle is SUPER sensitive, it kind of tells me how the mechanic was test driving my car. So far so good. One thing for sure is that I will be checking under the engine cover from time to time.
The dealer's report had "Technician found a really big nest underneath vehicle's hood" lol, too bad no picture. I am going to miss the Prius' fuel consumption but I am very happy that I have my HL back.
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