I just had a call from my service centre who tell me the catastrophic failure of the car last week was due to something having chewed the electronics. He then told me another customer had the same problem last month, is this a common problem?
As an IT Manager of many years, I have come across rats chewing through electrical and data cables on numerous occasions, but I have never heard of a daily used car having rodent issues, unused cars yes but not moving ones.
I’ve a friend who is a glaciologist- whilst doing their PhD in the Swiss Alps they left their car at the end of a track before the last 1500m elevation trek up to their field area. When they returned 3-4 weeks later - the car wouldn’t start. The called breakdown and upon opening the bonnet every single bit of rubber and wired instulation had been eaten.
Marmots apparently - and eventually they got an insurance claim from it.
No help here for the OP but rats/mice and squirrels can do this. From the mid 80’s for domestic wiring cables the plastic has an extra ingredient that makes it taste bad to mice/rats.
I believe pine martens love chewing car cables. Parked cars still radiating heat probably look like a nice place to shelter. Apparently marking the parking area with urine can ward them off (that or cloves of garlic) .
I have five cars and this is the only time I have had this issue. Whilst I accept it can happen, it is so rare, but, obviously here in Camberley it is not so rare as two cars with the same problem in a month. Frankly, I smell a rat!
A trick used to deter squirrels from raiding peanuts from bird feeders is to shake up the nuts with cayenne pepper before putting them in the feeder. I wonder if there's a cayenne sauce which could be sprayed on vulnerable areas under the bonnet?
KeithB wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:58 pm
I have five cars and this is the only time I have had this issue. Whilst I accept it can happen, it is so rare, but, obviously here in Camberley it is not so rare as two cars with the same problem in a month. Frankly, I smell a rat!
KeithB wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 11:35 am
I just had a call from my service centre who tell me the catastrophic failure of the car last week was due to something having chewed the electronics. He then told me another customer had the same problem last month, is this a common problem?
The Tesla/ID.3 rivalry is getting out of hand.
All the best
Andreas
——————
ID.3 Tour, manganese grey, bi-colour style, heat pump, otherwise standard. July 2021, London.
Http://rommelsriposte.com (not car related)
KeithB wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:58 pm
I have five cars and this is the only time I have had this issue. Whilst I accept it can happen, it is so rare, but, obviously here in Camberley it is not so rare as two cars with the same problem in a month. Frankly, I smell a rat!
I'm just up the road from you, in Sandhurst.
So am I.
I think I need to finish clearing out the garage and use it as designed!
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)