The wiring and transmission shift solenoid were damaged by mice chewing on the wiring and leaving behind a mess under the hood of my 2009 Honda Fit. The cost of the repair was about $300 CAN and I still have to get the engine compartment shampooed in order to remove any urine and scents left behind that would attract mice back. This repair work is not covered by warranty. My first couple of years of owning this car had it parked in an indoor parking garage of my former apartment. This was the first year that I have been parking it it in an outdoor driveway behind my house that I moved into.

The service employees at the Honda dealership informed me that this is a common problem, especially during the winter when mice and rats look for a warm place to stay. They explained that wiring used by Honda (and other manufacturers) use a soy-based material in the plastic casing casing of their wiring in an effort to be more environmentally friendly for the past couple of years.
Rodents love to eat soy-based materials of

Has anyone else had this problem? From what I have heard and the research that I have done online, there appears to be an increase lately regarding such rodent-related damage to wires in Honda vehicles which have been costing owners hundreds and thousands of dollars. Mice have always been a problem but this increase in such incidents has coincided with the use of soy in wiring material.

 

I've lived in the Boonies for the last 30 years & have experienced a few wiring problems due to Rodents. I never had the 'luxury' of a garage so I learned a few things to routinely do. Prop your hood open at least 6 inches overnight.
If there are any predators around, they will take care of the rodents.
If that doesnt work, Use glue traps placed around the engine compartment(dont forget to remove them before driving)
The worst thing to do I've found is to not drive it regularly.
My neighbor has a '07 Pilot and was regularly having to replace the harness under the intake. We stuffed some stainless steel dish scrubbies in there & solved that problem. That filled the void & the rodents wont chew metal(and S/S wont rust)
Good luck- it's a never-ending battle against Nature.
I havent tried Mothballs but here's a youtube:

 

Several things that also work is moth balls under the hood (Keep them away from the cabin heater air intake) and sonic pest chasers. I've got some 12 volt ones but I have had them for 20 years so I have no idea where I bought them.

 

i cant recommend this if you have toddlers or pets nearby, but for my hobby cars i have a dish of dCon under the cars just in case i get any field mice entering my garage.


it is a dehydration pellet to kill rodents. even if they go behind a wall to die, they dry out and rotting is minimized. you can buy dCon from most hardware stores, amazon, etc.

 

btw, on mothballs... it might work, it might now. i use to crush mothballs at the end of my driveway on trash day in attempt to keep rodents out of my garbage bags. they didn't care, bit right through the bags. and it wasnt just one occasion.

 

It's possible the "Mothball Myth" may be left over from 'the good ole days' when they contained napthalene (which was flammable, and since banned by most countries).

 

Haven't seen any evidence of rodents around our '09. It's not unusual to see a mouse when I enter the garage but if they've been at the cars I haven't noticed. We use poison as necessary (no pets or kids around).

Cheers.

 

I have found information online that peppermint oil and Bounce dryer sheets have worked for many people. The theory is that the strong scent of peppermint oil interferes and irritates the delicate noses of mice. As for Bounce sheets, how did someone figure that one out??

 

I keep a few little spots loaded up with those D-Con pellets, and for the bigger rodents I use traps (non-lethal). Squirrels like to get in to the garage & make a mess, especially in the winter time...


I think the best deterrent is using the car regularly (or maybe at the least starting it up every few days). My neighbor's car's wiring got chewed up bad (our garages are right next to each other), she uses the car once every couple of months. I use mine much more frequently than she does... and our cars are parked only a few feet apart. Maybe something with the smell? That soy based wiring housing has been linked to this problem for many manufacturers.

 

I'm not sure if you know this, but the damage should be payable as a claim under your comprehensive coverage on your auto policy.

 

In my case, the entire repair work was one cent less than the deductible payable if I made an insurance claim!

 

silverback- you know, that could well be the case. thing just stunk and was more of a deterrent for the kenchan. lol





ive heard of bounce softener sheets, but im not sure if i want to be driving around with that inside my engine bay... perhaps for parked cars...


yah ive been using dcon for several years now and ive not had any issues with mice chewing up my harnesses inside my garage. ive not had any issues or seen mice (yet) but im not taking any chances. my hobby cars are stored from mid-oct to mid-march. i check-in on my cars every 1.5 months.

 

Moth balls were also highly useful to make improvised explosives, like everything else with a high nitro content....

Cheers