2011 honda fit / 36k miles

So - Check Engine Light came on this morning, and car was shifting hard.

Took it to Honda Dealer that I have do routine maintenance (i.e. oil change)

Turns out a rat has chewed some wires. Estimated charge $1100. Here's what they said - Found code P0962 and P0970 upon further inspection tech found that engire wiring harness has rodent damage in two locations causing transmission to shift incorrectly will need engine wiring harness replaced and recheck for further damage customer provided with estimate of 1161.22 parts and labor plus tax.

So i called my insurance company (USAA) to file a claim on my comprehensive plan $500 deductible.

I've seen rats in my yard, i've kicked them out of the attic, so i guess now they are going after the car. And I saw the Rat Den in the car - so yeah, those rats chewed my wires.

The Dealership suggested to just replace the wiring rather than repair it because it's a newer car with lower mileage.

I told the dealership about the Honda Rodent Tape. Because I figure we might as well wrap the new harness in this before it's installed.

"4019-2317 - TAPE,RODENT 19MM 20M" - Bernardi Honda Parts and Accessories

Does everything sound legit ?
Should I get a quote elsewhere?
Should I file this with my insurance or will they drop me?
what would you guys do?

has anyone used the honda rodent tape? does it work???
any other suggestions to prevent this from happening again?

 

Sounds legit. It's why you pay for insurance: use it. Shouldn't count against you unless you're a rat.

 

Sounds like cheap insurance to use the tape. I have read about this problem before. Something about what the insulation is made of that the rodents like to eat.

 

Same problem here in NYC. Texas Coyote told me about the Hot Wax Pepper Spray that's used to keep animals out of gardens. Turns out it also works well against rats when sprayed on anything chewable under the hood. I spray two or three times a year, and no problems since.

 

You need a couple of cats. Rats are filthy, disease-carrying vermin.

 

Wow. That's taking it far. If you want to be technical though, no other animal has more cross-species disease then humans. Aids, bird and swine flu, mad cow, ect ect. Just saying.

And just to mess with your logics, rats are filthy disease carrying vermins, so you get cats to eat the mice, then you live with and pet the cat? Lol I'm just messing with you, I'm not a rat activist or anything.

 

the cats would have to be outside at night to eat the rats.

some rats are actually attracted to cat urine
Parasite tricks rats into becoming cat food
so that might just increase the amount of rats.

and sometimes people with outdoor cats, leave cat food outside for the cats - which then becomes rat food.

trust me, there are a lot of cats outside, i reckon they mostly kill american songbirds but they don't seem to be putting a dent in the rat population.

But has anyone used that tape?
does it work ?
i'm thinking peppermint oil might be one of the better tricks i've read online.

WHY oh WHY did you make my wires out of soy based materials honda!

 

Most electrical house fires are caused by rodents chewing the wires.

Ok that doesn't help does it?

 

so - i filed insurance.
appraiser came out yesterday and looked at the car.

should be $986 (lower than the initial estimate hmmm but i'll save that for another time)

they will order the rat tape for me and put it on the wiring harness before they install it - online costs about $25 (bernardi) of course they'll charge me $36 per roll. but oh well.

roll is 65 feet long, but i told them to order two - if i have extra i don't care.
NOT fully convinced that the rat tape will 100% solve the problem, but I figure i definitely need it.

 

Sorry to hear that GE buddy ): it's so lame to know that your car is damaged by pests...I hope this is the one and only time you'll ever have to spend money on your fit on something you did not cause ):

My suggestion even though you got the new rate tape is to try to not park by any gutters or poorly lit areas. Along with that suggestion I would buy some of those little lanterns you stick in the grass that light up the walkway at night. You said you had kicked the rats out of your attic so try to eliminate them all by calling pest control or setting rat poison around the outside of the house but make sure you place them in areas where other animals (neighbors pets) can't get to them. Also if you go with the rat poison let your neighbors know so that in case their pets do find it and get sick they can have an idea of what happened and proceed to the vet for immidiate medical pet attention. If you like cats and your neighbor has an outdoor cat ask them to borrow it for a couple nights and believe me those rats won't show their face.

I live in a mobile home park and there is plenty of cats here so rodents are never a problem

Good luck my friend!!

 

Every Honda dealership should have that "RAT TAPE" instock and should apply it to the known areas with out any charged when asked. theres a specific spot on the transmission that the rodents always chew on (transmission SOLENOID). Me personally ive saved customers a ton of money by just repairing the wire and have had no issues. Each dealership is different and will Rape customers differently (truth) . But as for reason why rodents chew on Honda harness's, is cuz the wire harness's are coated with a soy based chemical in the factorys. If you live in an area that there are known to be a lot of critters and rodents roaming around than expect this to not be your first or last time. One thing I have seen that actually works is sprinkle cayenne pepper all over the engine bay and wire harness's. yea your engine bay is gonna look like shit but better that than paying a shit load of money for damage. Good Luck.

 

I don't know about the peppermint oil, but we've tried the peppermint garbage bags out front of the building without success. Well, maybe the rats have better breath but, beyond that, it didn't even slow them down.

They'd chewed through the washer-fluid line in the engine compartment. I fixed that and then sprayed all lines and cables with Hot Pepper Wax Animal Repellent. It's been about two-three years now, and they haven't been back or, at least, haven't done any further damage. Not sure if it's the spray working or I've just been lucky...

 

Some of the car manufacturers have gone to more "Eco-friendly" wiring insulation instead of PVC. No idea if Honda has, but Mercedes did an few years back and rodents love the stuff.

BTW, most cats will not go after rats because rats are larger and bite back. Smaller critters are easier targets for dinner.

 

OP, a friend of mine had this same problem. Rat ate through the wire leading to his left headlight, and he noticed it at night. After repairing this, and battery and wiper fluid cannister chewing, he started leaving the hood open in the garage, and hanging a light from it.

Also, he cleaned the urine and feces out of the compartment - rats find this scent attractive. I suggested that he eat lots of meat and pee on the engine, but he did not do this, for some reason. :-)

 

That's what I did in the attic (lights on a timer) after the cats went on strike.

You could wire some LEDs in the engine compartment that run off the battery. The glow under the hood sitting out on the street would be disturbing though.

 

I have repaired many chewed harnesses over the years and have had excellent success. The damage is pretty obvious most of the time and it just takes patience to repair. The tape is a cheap insurance policy too.

I like the idea of the wax pepper spray and will be looking for that stuff. Do any of you have a link to the wax spray?

 

You can do a search on amazon or purchase it from the gardening department of Lowe's Home Depot or Tractor Supply... There are a few different brands of hot pepper wax repellent for rodents and the stores stock it this time of the year.. I had to do over 80 splices between two vehicles and junk out an otherwise nice Volvo 760 Turbo due to rats and squirrels.. The stuff is odor free and can't be seen once it is dry.

 

Yes, bringing the car to get the engine compartment fully shampooed and cleaned is highly recommended to remove all traces of the rodents. The chances of them returning is greater if the scent is still there. Bring the car to a detailer or do it yourself.

 

LOL!! ahhhh, I hear the funniest stuff on this board!

 

I was changing the transmission filter yesterday and there were some nut shells inside the air cleaner box. I may have to fabricate a small screen to cover the air intake opening.