Rodent Damage

**** me. I have had my RTT on my truck for the last couple weeks, so been parking in the driveway. I went out to start the truck up this morning and dash lit up with everything from check engine, trailer brake error, hazard triangle, pre-collision system malfunction, etc..

Rodent (most likely rats) chewed up the wiring! Now the truck is at the dealership so that they can assess the damage.

Anyone with experience that can give me advice on dealing with insurance or the dealership?

Thanks!

 

No advice but I feel your pain. HUNDREDS spent fixing the same crap years ago on my first gen Tundra from pack rats.
I poisoned the countryside to kill them all!

 

someone told me they will get to the engine bay through the wheel well if you have a lifted truck/big tires.
I was lucky, in my case, they only chew on the water lines for the windshield wipers.

 

Couple years ago I spotted Mr. Mouse in my garage. Ordered Peppermint Oil from Amazon and mixed it with water in a spray bottle. Every so often I spray under-hood,wire harnesses and wheel wells. I'm in my garage quite a bit and no evidence of mouse since.

 

Few threads on this issue have been discussed, apparently soy is mixed in with the wiring cover or something like that, and rodents can sniff out, also some members have stated that they get into your cabin filter area

 

We've found dog food in my wifes old Avalon before. A mouse carried it up through the intake and it was sitting just under the air filter.

 

A few members have had luck getting their insurance to cover the damage. I would fight hard.

 

I feel your pain! I had an issue about ten years ago, prior to owning my Tundra. Squirrels had invaded my engine compartment one cold night, built a nest and chewed almost every wire in sight. All this in one night! This happened to my Ford Expedition, my daily driver. Went to leave for work at 4am, and the engine wouldn't start, and every conceivable light on the dash came on. My interior cabin lights turned on, and I couldn't turn them off. One headlight lit up, the other flashed. Friggin nightmare! Our insurance company (Farmers) was actually great to deal with. The vehicle was towed to the dealership, and I met the adjuster and my insurance agent there. That's when I learned from an experienced mechanic, as well as the adjuster, that almost all modern vehicle wiring is manufactured with a soy based compound which is used to keep wires flexible. The problem is that the material used to coat wires is tasty to rodents of all kinds. They chew on it like bubble gum. They don't eat it, just chew and destroy. Long story short, the entire main wiring harness was replaced, as well as the battery, battery lines, and multiple fuses/relays etc.

Our deductible at the time was $1500. The dealership "worked" with me to absorb some of the deductible costs. The total bill was over $6000, and I was without my vehicle for 3 weeks...mostly because the dealership tech was chasing down strange shorts and electrical gremlins after installing the new harness. They inspected tested every electrical motor/switch in the vehicle. Once repaired though, I never had any future electrical issues and sold the vehicle two years later.

Since then, like someone else stated...I now spray peppermint oil on the top side and underside of the engine compartment about once a month. My Tundra, and other family vehicles are thankfully garage kept. In addition to doing the peppermint spray, I also lay a box of moth balls on the garage floor under each of my vehicles, and cut out and remove a panel of the mothball box. Rodents hate the smell of moth balls. And honestly, so do I. But, we haven't had an issue since! Good luck.

 

this happened to my wife's company truck. Little bastard did $3,500+ in damages. We didn't get the insurance company involved, and as far as I know, neither did her company. She charged the repairs to the company credit card. After getting the truck back from the dealership, we kept a close eye out. A few days later, there was evidence the rat had returned. I started digging around under the hood and found the nest in the A/C duct underneath the wiper cowl. We sprayed peppermint oil all over and I set a trap. Caught this little fucker the next morning (FYI, that is one of those big traps, not one of those little mouse traps)

 

^^Now it’s a good rodent.^^

 

I have this issue in my detached garage, will give this a shot. Thanks.


Good luck OP.

 

I had mice taking bits of my firewall insulation on the Accord. Started using a spray with peppermint oil (might have had some eucalyptus in there, too) and no longer had the issue. This is a good reminder that I need to start regularly spraying the engine bay of the Tundra, since it's parked in the same spot as the Accord was.

 

I keep seeing their work in my center console...I used snap traps and have killed a mouse every night while I'm sleeping for the last 9 days...I just to clean out the crap they leave behind now!

 

If the truck is parked close to a power outlet maybe one of those devices that emit sound would help.
As far as getting into the fan through the air intake, on my 08 I popped off the cowling around the wipers and attached 1/4" screening over it.

 

Got this at tractor supply a few years ago for my trucks. works great, just hung them in engine compartment. Mice and rats were getting in there chewing insulation. Haven't had any problems in years. It is a repellent so don't have to dispose of nasty critters. We live out in the country so there are lots of rodents. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the replies! I'm headed to Tractor Supply to get more bait and bait stations for my front yard and adding them to the garage now. I'm going to try a number of repellants under the hood as well.

Good news is that none of the wiring going through the firewall was chewed up, so I'm out $500 for the deductible on my insurance and a few days of the truck at Toyota. Crossing my fingers that there will be no residual problems!

 

Careful with the Bait, no need to draw them in. Keep your repellant on all the areas that need it. Peppermint Oil has worked for me for 10 years for the truck and 20 years for the boat. My detached garage has farm fields all around it, so it's "prime" feeding areas for mice.

 

I’m a pro at this! Get fresh mint and boil it in water. Put water in spray bottle and spray. Also if you can leave your hood up they will never go in. Part of their gotta have a wall against their back mentality. I’ve seen some doozies, my neighbor burned down his car.

 

Unfortunately, I have two pomegranate trees in my front yard and chickens in the back yard. The rats are already in the area. I won't put the bait in the truck, just repellant in the truck and bait stations along the walls of the garage.

 

I had the same issue in my 2011 back in 2016 or so. I now keep block poison in every out building and barn. Between that and the owls I haven’t had a problem since.

 

I never had luck with peppermint oil...in my RV....

When I had squirrels eating the lines to my gas grill...I use an extract of capsicum - not just "hot-sauce"...but a concentrated extract and mixed with some canola oil and sprayed the lines....never came back. I had replaced the lines 2x in as many weeks

buddy had a woodpecker mauling the side of his home....when it came time to stain / seal the siding...we added the extract to the mixture ....that bastard NEVER came back.

 

I have begun using RAID wasp spray on my truck at the advice of a friend who has had rodent problems on his motorcycle.

See post #1
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/raid-stop-those-mice.170682/#post-2193533

 

I completely understand where you are coming from with the rodent problem. I opened my console few months ago to get my sunglasses and looking back at me was a mouse. How it got in there I have no clue. Truck gets parked in a garage with door shut and sealed up I thought. I set traps and caught his family and closet friends. Borrowed moms mouser cat and that took care of that problem! They are for sure determined little headaches! Hope ya get it fixed in a timely manner!