Bet you never heard this one: My sister called from the Nissan dealership where her new car was being repaired. The mechanic showed her where rats ate the wiring on the fuel injectors and the battery cover - completely disabling the car. She asked the service advisor why my car (Honda Accord) wasn't damaged, even though it's parked a few feet away from her car. The mechanic explained that Nissan uses recycled Soy for the wiring to cut manufacturing costs & rats will eat it. Honda uses regular synthetic wiring materials & they're not edible. The service advisor also said the same thing happened to at least 50 cars on their lot, as well as several customer's cars. Her insurance will cover most of the $2,500.00 repair, which involves removing the engine.
My son-in-law and daughter had the same thing happen to their "car", but I think their was a Dodge Dakota truck. The Subaru parked next to it wasn't touched. They also attributed it to having a bird feeder where dropped seeds attracted rodents.
I've heard of rodents damaging the wiring of cars, but had no idea the insulator material might be an attractant.
It makes you wonder how a rat would know to look under the hood of a car for food in the first place. (Note to self: Don't buy a Nissan.)
Here is a website that tells which vehicles have the soy wiring, and it looks like almost ALL vehicles made since 2012 have this type of wiring. Bobby says he hopes they do not use this for the house wiring for new houses being built ! Since our old truck is a 2000, it probably has the old regular wiring on it, and we have had rat problems under the house, but not inside of the vehicle. My daughter had a rat invasion into her garage (she is still not sure how they got there, but she thinks through the attic somehow, and they were all over her car (which is how she discovered them….little rat tracks on her shiny Mini Cooper); so I am guessing that hers has that soy wiring. https://www.howtopreventratsfromeatingcarwires.com/2017/02/10/does-your-car-have-soy-based-wiring/
Apparently there has already been some lawsuits over this. One more nuisance we can chalk up to the green movement.
I bet that Electric Vehicles don't have soy wiring. Nor do Lear jets. The Green take care of their own.
Apparently Tesla does. https://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-wont-cover-cost-if-rats-gnaw-your-soy-flavored-car-wires-3249807
I agree, John. It is a nightmare. My car is kept in the garage and so far, so good. I’ve never seen any signs of rodents in there.
My sister's mechanic said Honda wraps their wiring harness in material coated with Capsaisin to prevent rodents from chewing it. I don't know if that's true, but - so far, so good.
I moved to the countryside in 2010. For a long time I had to pull fuses in my truck to stop the battery from going dead, so every time I wanted to drive it, I was under the hood reinstalling fuses. Maybe 3-4 years ago I popped the hood to reinstall the fuses and saw rat poop on the top of the fuse panel cover and the air filter cover. So I set rat traps behind each of the front tires, and glue traps (which I loathe) on top of each of those covers. I got one field rat in a tire trap and the other trap was sprung (by what, I have no idea.) I left the glue traps under the hood for some period of time and caught nothing. This happened not but a few weeks after I was in my neighbor's yard chatting and saw a field rat scamper from under his storage shed across the driveway. I was freaked out. He basically said "I see them all the time." I've had mice get into the house through the crawlspace every few years, but have never had them get in my vehicles. The only rodent issue I've ever experienced has been nests built in exhaust systems after vehicles had sat for a while. That will mess with your head. It's the same as shoving a potato in your exhaust pipe.
From what I have read, Honda sells that tape (for like $50 a roll) but their cars don't come with it. They are facing a class action lawsuit about their soy wiring harnesses, though. Why don't the car companies just use petroleum based wire cover? (yes, yes... I know.) So stupid.