A mouse ate my car!

[rikadik]

My car wouldn't start this morning so I gave the trusty AA a call, and they were here in about 30 minutes. The guy cracks open the bonnet and groans "ooooh dear, looks like you've got a mouse problem".

So I was a bit like "wtf? in my car?"

And he says "oh yea, happens all the time. it's eaten through this wiring loom, and affected the immobiliser, so that's why it won't start".

Anyway, it's all fixed now, and runs fine. I've only owned a car 3 years so most people probably aren't as suprised as I am, but I couldn't believe it. What is appetising about a bloody wiring loom? My car is a Renault Clio, so maybe the mouse fancied a bit a French cuisine. I hope this is just a one off! Might have set a mouse trap in my engine bay... mwa ha ha ha...

 

[Kaido]

At least you have a MacBook

 

[Theiananator]

Bollocks!

 

[thehstrybean]

Wow...

 

[Ika]

Maybe the mouse was after your air conditioning.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: rikadik
My car wouldn't start this morning so I gave the trusty AA a call, and they were here in about 30 minutes. The guy cracks open the bonnet and groans "ooooh dear, looks like you've got a mouse problem".

So I was a bit like "wtf? in my car?"

And he says "oh yea, happens all the time. it's eaten through this wiring loom, and affected the immobiliser, so that's why it won't start".

Anyway, it's all fixed now, and runs fine. I've only owned a car 3 years so most people probably aren't as suprised as I am, but I couldn't believe it. What is appetising about a bloody wiring loom? My car is a Renault Clio, so maybe the mouse fancied a bit a French cuisine. I hope this is just a one off! Might have set a mouse trap in my engine bay... mwa ha ha ha...

When I used to live in Germany, people had problems with martens chewing through some of the wiring because apparently they used some sort of fish oil in the manufacture of them.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

A Renault Clio? You let the mouse out of the engine!

 

[zixxer]

American mice are smarter than that.

 

[DeadByDawn]

I saw a Jeep Cherokee catch on fire once because a packrat built a nest on the engine.

 

[rikadik]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
A Renault Clio? You let the mouse out of the engine!

Lol yes the mouse has safely returned to the engine where it belongs.

You may mock my car... but how do you know I don't have one of these?

Renault Clio V6

But yeah... it's acually a 1.2 16V

 

[SpiderWiz]

Similar thing happen to my mother in law, only difference it was squirrels. Actually it happen twice.

 

[rikadik]

Originally posted by: SpiderWiz
Similar thing happen to my mother in law, only difference it was squirrels. Actually it happen twice.

Suppose it could have been a squirrel actually. I'm just assuming it was a mouse. I don't why, maybe I'm just prejudiced, could have been a gecko for all I know...

 

[imported_LoKe]

At least it didn't pop out of your air conditioner.

 

[cherrytwist]

lol @ bonnet

 

[James3shin]

Hey that Clio is a pretty snazzy ride. :thumbsup:

 

[Suture]

I've seen cats crawl up into truck engine bays kinda often, especially during colder seasons.

 

[BillyBatson]

French cuisine hahaha
sucks for youl did it cost much?

 

[imported_LoKe]

Originally posted by: Suture
I've seen cats crawl up into truck engine bays kinda often, especially during colder seasons.

That happens a lot. It stays warm under the hood for quite a while. I'd always check under the hood before starting up.

 

[D1gger]

Originally posted by: Suture
I've seen cats crawl up into truck engine bays kinda often, especially during colder seasons.

The cat that lives across the street from me lost its' tail that way. It was sitting in the nice warm engine compartment when my neighbor started his car. What followed was horendous screetching noice and then a blur of a cat leaving the scene, minus a tail.

I understand that the vet they took it to told them it happens quite frequently.

 

[40Hands]

Never call alcoholics anonymous to fix your car.

 

[LordUnum]

Several years back when there was a bit of a rat problem in the garage of the house, we had rats work their way into the engine compartments of my mother's car as well as my own. While in there, they decided to chew on whatever plastic & rubber they could find. Final tally on the damage was: hose leading from the windshield washer reservior to the washer jets underneath the hood insulation on my car (bitch to replace); on my mother's car, the actual windshield washer reservoir (comes in two parts, lower part was absolutely destroyed; had to replace bottom part to the tune of $90 from salvage yard), fuel line (another ~$90 from salvage yard), all six spark plug wires, egr hose, fog light lens where the housing had melted thanks to chewed wires ($50 from salvage yard), two large coolant hoses & a rubber gasket surrounding wires leading from behind the fender into engine compartment. Ouch! Fvckin' rats!

After a combination of poison traps and the luck of having a badass neighborhood stray cat get trapped in our garage for the duration of a few days (survived on water & cat food we had stored), we never had rat problems again. :evil:

 

[Syrch]

MY friend has a PT cruzer and a rat got into his engine compartment. While he was driving the rat got stuck in the steering somehow and made it so he couldn't steer his car. He pulled over and had it taken to a mechanic who found two bloody rat halfs....damn rodents.

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: LoKe

Originally posted by: Suture
I've seen cats crawl up into truck engine bays kinda often, especially during colder seasons.

That happens a lot. It stays warm under the bonnet for quite a while. I'd always check under the bonnet before starting up.

Fixed.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: rikadik
And he says "oh yea, happens all the time. it's eaten through this wiring loom, and affected the immobiliser, so that's why it won't start".

What is this immobiliser you speak of. Maybe you meant flux capacitor? or the continuum transfunctioner?

 

[Modular]

Mice did this to my mom's car. It happens all the time. If you are fully insured then it's covered. If not...well that sucks.