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Mice chewing on car wiring...

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We've had very costly damage caused by mice (or maybe voles - they didn't confess). They liked to chew off the wires right at the O2 sensors, leaving them too short to splice. More recently a wiring harness on our Prius was chewed through and cost a tow and a couple of hundred dollars to fix.

We now buy fox urine crystals online, hang a small bag under the hood, and have had no further problems. If you want to keep small rodents away, that works. We bought from PeeMart.com (not a joke). They have urine from an large variety of creatures. I don't have any connection with that site -- in fact, I was amazed to find it.
 
Yes, I think it is well known that mice tend to like to chew on electrical wiring, and they find plenty of that in EVs.
There are many stories floating around of EVs having to be torn apart to have their rodent chewed wiring harnesses repaired.
 
Wouldn't mice chewing on electrical wiring be a problem with ICE vehicles, too?

Some people have reported mice chewing on the Prius and other ICE vehicles. So yes, it's a problem for all vehicles. The mice like to eat, or at least gnaw on the plastic--particularly bio-plastic--so the more wires you have the more attractive it is. In some places you can purchase wire with rodent resistant flavouring.
 
Some people have reported mice chewing on the Prius and other ICE vehicles. So yes, it's a problem for all vehicles. The mice like to eat, or at least gnaw on the plastic--particularly bio-plastic--so the more wires you have the more attractive it is. In some places you can purchase wire with rodent resistant flavouring.

Thanks for the confirmation, Jerry. So really, it's something that could happen to any car you own & not specific to EVs.
 
I'd think that the Model S would be less vulnerable than most cars to mice because from all I've heard, mice like to use the vents as their entranceway to the rest of the car. The Telsa vent's aren't near the motor or inverter and if you live in an area where mice are a problem, it should be fairly easy to cover the bottom of the motor with 1\4" screen to keep them out.
 
?.. We bought from PeeMart.com (not a joke). They have urine from an large variety of creatures. I don't have any connection with that site -- in fact, I was amazed to find it.

:). Once again proving there's nothing you cannot find on the Internet, including, apparently, a wide variety of frozen pee. The supply-chain logistics for that business must be interesting!
 
All cars are vulnerable. My SUV has had more mice damage than my Roadster.

One Roadster had $10,000 in rodent damage. It's for sale online now. The entire wiring harness had to be replaced.
I have had coolant, brake and wiper fluid bottles all chewed. Not much wiring.

Best solution I have heard is to surround the entire car at night 360 with sticky traps. (not that sticky traps are perfect).
 
I have a co-worker whose Toyota 4 Runner was totaled over the course of a weekend while it sat in his garage, all due to rodent chewing. They went through 4 wiring harnesses, most of the interior panels, and a good chunk of the upholstry! All in a weekend from coming home from work on Friday to getting ready to leave on Monday!
 
Our Odyssey also had the wiring tampered with by the little buggers. They are destructive! Definitely no EV-exclusive. In fact, some argue that the heat from the engine draws them to the car in the colder months, only to find a plastic banquet for their dining pleasure!
 
Here's what we used to do on the farm where I grew up to get rid of rats and other rodents:

Cut the top off a barrel or oil drum, grease the insides and then put molasses and newspaper in the bottom. The rats are attracted to the smell of molasses and once they fall/jump in the barrel they can't get out. When they've eaten the molasses they start to cannibalize each other, and when there's one or two big cannibal rats you tip the barrel over and let them go. The cannibal rats then keep the rodent population in check by eating the other animals. Bingo, no more rodent problems!
 
.... The cannibal rats then keep the rodent population in check by eating the other animals. Bingo, no more rodent problems!

LOL!


Problem is, now I would worry about my pets!

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... you could put an alternative chew item (e.g., wood block) off to the side away from the car so they use it instead?

They like what they like. Certain plastics probably of a certain density. Tin foil (usually has food on it), and even had one eat through an aluminum cat food can for the spoils inside.

The single most patented item is the mouse trap.