A freaking rat

If you see rats around your house I would suggest you take care of them pretty quickly. Had to tow my Tundra to the dealership because it wouldn't start. I was definitely bewildered. My Tundra always starts! The dealership discovered rodent damage to the ECU wiring harness. A very expensive repair. I will be without my truck for 3 weeks.

 

Nothing mice love more than a Toyota. Sad to see another one of these, hopefully they have you back on your feet. I'd recommend mice buckets to catch them, seems to be the only thing that has worked for me, along with some rodent proofing the engine bay.

 

Hate this for you. Been there with my taco. Now I use mint balls and spray this mint stuff around the tire's I purchased from Amazon every other day. Don’t want to deal with that again. Best of luck!

 

Lol quick google search of "Toyota soy based wire cover"


here I thought this was a first gen problem

 

Wrap some aluminum screen around any wires you can.

 

It is not possible to "rodent proof" the engine bay. You can make the cab secure though.

 

I left Bounce dryer sheets under the hood on top of my engine. First morning I found some maple seeds on the dryer sheets where they usually settled. Next day and subsequent days they abandoned the engine bay. I was surprised it works. If you can tuck them under and around wire so they don’t blow away nor interfere this could be a workable solution.
Also they are perimeter runners, follow around to find the nest. Eliminate them at the source, cause that’s the solution.

 

correct, I had that wrong. Thanks.

 

So sorry to see this. I wish Toyota didn’t use soy wiring.

 

Honda sells a rodent resistant tape.

 

Yep. Engine bay can be made rodent-proof.

Sorry it happened, OP. That sucks.

 

That sucks--happened to me last year as well. Luckily, insurance paid for it. The harness is stupid expensive from Toyota. Afterwards, I put four bait boxes out, and they are empty after three months.

 

No, it can't. You can make it more resistant perhaps.

 

That stinks!! One would think they have better things to do than munch on wires and plastic!!! Hope it gets fixed up and you have no troubles from them dang vermin in the future

 

All I can say is that I relate, and it really sucks. I keep a rat trap under hood every night now. Bait traps are strategically placed around the driveway, fence, etc. Using peppermint oil, moth balls, etc. I'm checking the truck daily. I do have some of the Honda tape so I may put some in key underhood places as soon as I have time.

 

They chewed through the fuel line on my 2021 platinum. Lucky, had access to a car hauler and the replacement part was only 350 bucks. Definitely sucks….

 

My buddies 2007 Tundra was rat chewed. New neighbor moved in and brought chickens, with chickens comes rats.

 

Are you saying new, straight out of the box dryer sheets?

 

The ones I used are yes, straight out of the box. Kirkland I think.

 

Squirrels do it also - ask me how I know. They do not really chew - just one clean cut - same damage. Got two of my vehicles at once.

I use Orthene - sprinkle some here and there - lasts for months and months.

 

Yeah, my agency was waiting on the documents for our new vehicles and rodents chewed them to shit. It was 5-7 thousand per vehicle since they also chewed interior panels and A/C components.


Probably to late, but a half way decent automotive shop can repair your harness, instead of replacing it. It's usually faster and cheaper... unless your insurance is paying - then it's their problem...lol.

 

From what I read Orthene is pretty nasty stuff. Not pet friendly. Ant poison. Sure don’t
want it coming inside your air duct system in your truck.

 

A rat got me a few years ago. I installed sound/light emitters that on 24/7, and when the temps really dip, I spray peppermint oil mixed in water around the perimeter and on the tires plus I sprinkle Repels All around them too. Fingers crossed, but been good so far!

 

Mice ate all my washer fluid tubing in our Sequoia and RAV4. Haven’t had the wire damage yet.

If this happens to you, sometimes your comprehensive insurance will cover it.

 

This is what one freaking rat can cost you.