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lol rats cost me $300 - Arrgh, happenned again! :(

amdhunter

amdhunter

Lifer
What the hell am I going to do about this problem. Same exact wire again, so I might build something around it when the dealer fixes it this time. I also found hairs all over the engine and belts. I am so bummed right now. Gonna cost me $388 dollars this time around, because I need some clamps. The damn parts are $30 and the rest is labor/tax.

Anyone have any ideas?

🙁

-------------------------

lol, stupid ass rats had a nest in my car. I took the car to VW and they showed me the wiring and it looked pretty shitty. I was like how the f- 02 sensor wiring cost so much, but they were like meh - it's 1 hour labor @ 91/hr + parts.

How the f- do I keep rats away from my car... It's a huge problem in my work parking lot, and it's not the first time I found a nest in my engine. (My last 2 cars had similar problems with rats.]

EDIT: I work in a botanical garden, and it seems that the damage from here might be more likely.

I've found droppings in my last car, and they were certainly too big to be from a rat + there were leaves that have only come from this place. I am going to park in another spot at work. This sucks big time though...

EDIT2: Come to think about it, I never had the problem before I started working here. I've been in my home parking space since 2001. 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Dman877
Cats?
Click to expand...

There's a bunch of strays in the lot. I have to figure something quick. I can't have this happen every so often.

Is there something I can spray around the car, or in the engine bay?
 
I hate to say this, but if your apartments have rats that bad... maybe you need to move. I would be on the phone with the health department quick.
 
Originally posted by: amdhunter
lol, stupid ass rats had a nest in my car. I took the car to VW and they showed me the wiring and it looked pretty shitty. I was like how the f- 02 sensor wiring cost so much, but they were like meh - it's 1 hour labor @ 91/hr + parts.

How the f- do I keep rats away from my car... It's a huge problem in my parking lot, and it's not the first time I found a nest in my engine. (My last 2 cars had similar problems with rats.

Ugh.
Click to expand...

It's O2, not 02.

And BARF. Burn the car, or dump it in the river. Or burn it THEN dump it in the river. I would never get in a freakin car with freakin rodents.

Speaking of nasty, I was visiting some friends in Hawaii and they were saying they just had to gas their car because it had centipedes in it. Then they asked if I wanted to ride in it when we went out. Ummm, no. 😕
 
Actually, the garage I park at is pretty clean with some rats, but not infestated. I was talking to someone at work who had similar problems, and it might be the squirrels here. I work in a botanical garden, and it seems that the damage from here might be more likely.

I've found droppings in my last car, and they were certainly too big to be from a rat. I am going to park in another spot at work. This sucks big time though...
 
like people animals love warm places. your car happens to be one of them. They don't know any better.

Also you are not paying for wiring.. you most likely are paying for the sensor. As it is much easier to replace a whole sensor then wire repair, because it limits the liability of the dealership.


not much you can do about it. i would say many get a under carrage shield but the doesn't cover your rear 02 sensor after the cat.



roll some moth balls under your car.
 
It could be rats, odds are it's mice though. They love to nest in cars.

Just yesterday a Toyota mechanic told me that Toyota lubricated it's wiring harnesses with peanut oil. Talk about a perfect mouse attractant. Especially when the damage is outside the warranty.
 
rat chewing isn't covered under warranty... thats not a defect of the maker... its just your luck kinda like hail
 
Update: Even worse, I needed to purchase connectors for everything and the car still has a Check Engine light on.

I am so bummed out, the car only has 2000 miles. Turns out it was squirrels, as there are acorn parts scattered around. I'll probably have a friend coat poison on the wiring or something when the cars finally up and running.

It might cost me more than my deductible at this point, so my insurance will probably go up also.

There are hundreds of squirrels in my workplace too.

🙁
 
Buy some traps and set them around the car, if you make the bait enticing enough, you might even be lucky to catch a few neighborhood kids.:evil:
 
I have a guaranteed way of keeping animals away from the car. Bleach. Get a gallon container, and pour a small amount of bleach around and beneath the car. Animals can't stand the smell and even most insects/bugs will stay away.

I had similar problems with animals bothering my trash when I was living in Hillsboro, and splashing a little bleach around the cans knocked that out completely. It was incredible, I could even have leftover meat in the bags, but with the bleach smell around, nothing would disturb my trash.
 
Originally posted by: Arkaign
I have a guaranteed way of keeping animals away from the car. Bleach. Get a gallon container, and pour a small amount of bleach around and beneath the car. Animals can't stand the smell and even most insects/bugs will stay away.

I had similar problems with animals bothering my trash when I was living in Hillsboro, and splashing a little bleach around the cans knocked that out completely. It was incredible, I could even have leftover meat in the bags, but with the bleach smell around, nothing would disturb my trash.
Click to expand...

I was thinking ammonia. But yeah, I am heading towards that general direction. Hopefully it's a winter thing and won't go on all summer.

I am also going to concoct a spray with habanero peppers and water. Gonna spray the wiring with it every gas fill up. Hopefully that will stop the little bastards. I just wonder why they are attracted to that one wire?
 
Originally posted by: bruceb
Use moth balls. I know snakes hate the smell of them.
Squirrels might not like them either.
Click to expand...

Is this true? I read varying comments on this. Some say it actually attracted the rodents. I have mice in my apartment...I am hoping to catch one so that I have some kind of guinea pig to test various things.

Sounds cruel, but I've paid ~$800 over 3 weeks for a repair of a $30 wire...
 
Spray the wires with hairspray.
IIRC, that was the common approach to the problem with martens chewing through wires when we lived in Germany.

Supposedly they were attracted to it because some sort of fish oil was used in the manufacture of it? I don't know.
 
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