Yeah, I'm not super mechanically inclined beyond standard stuff but the way the dealer described it was they would have to replace the whole wiring harness but didn't go into detail beyond having to replace the whole thing. When pointing it out he made it sound like the plastic shell wasn't just something that could be unsnapped but part of the repair. Which like you said I don't even understand how that could cost $2300 other than the fact the dealer knows comprehensive insurance might cover rodent damage and it's an easy way to make a big hunk of change. As I was leaving the dealer pissed off he asked if I had insurance which leads me to believe they know it's covered and don't mind charging an absurd amount of money.
I fooled around earlier today and I was able to find a wiring harness kit that is every since wiring harness in the engine bay for a few hundred dollars. I wasn't able to find the individual one... and there's not a lot of pulled parts on ebay because it's still a relatively new car that's getting fixed vice totaled out when it gets in accidents. Still... $30-60 seems a pretty common price for a used on shipped for some cars. 3rd part sales of different makes are under $100. I did find it in a schematic in the FSM... though I couldn't find exactly what I wanted elsewhere. But it's...
That sucks. Any wire damage that you can tell?
found this today
I know there are a few threads on rodent damage but wanted to share my story.
I just purchased a 2020 Civic Hatchback Sport about a month ago and yesterday went to turn on the car and it started sluggish like the battery was low and all the error codes lit up the display. It still drove OK so I went to work but the error codes did not go away. This morning I drove to the dealership to figure out what is wrong since I only have 350 miles and things like this shouldn't be happening yet...After inspection by the dealer they showed me the damage done by a rodent shown here:
The dealer associate told me that the rodent had eaten too much of the blue wire to be able to splice so they would have to replace the whole thing which would cost $2300. Unfortunately rodent damage is considered an "outside influence" and isn't covered under any warranty. From my brief research it sounded like these wires are made of soy which causes rodents to be attracted to them. I'm all for saving the environment but how can they make critical wires out of something that rodents are attracted to? I've been parking my previous car, 2009 Honda fit, in the same spot for 11 years and never had any rodent issues and now I have a new car for a month and have to drop $2300 and the issue can potentially happen again the next day?
Sorry for the rant but I'm just blown away car manufacturers can do this and not be liable at all.
That rodent tape is useless. It's covered in capsaicin, but rodents don't care at all about spicyness. General purpose gerbal/hamster/rat food from pet stores is filled with dried chiles since it's fun for them to chew on.
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My “rodent” foe...squirrels?
First hit...$650; Second hit...$320
Tried Rodent tape...by the time they discovered they didn’t like it there was damage to several wires
Cayenne pepper didn’t do a thing;
nor did Peppermint oil;
nor did two battery operated Ultrasound
Finally wrapped all wires with “scratchbuilding supplies aluminum wire mesh” 1/16”.
$7.95 plus $5.45 S/H
since its aluminum it can be easily cut with scissors and shaped to the wire. I used electrical tape to firmly secure.
(i have no $$ interest in this product but it did solve my chewed wire problem... now if I can get them to stop building a nest in the engine bay as soon as I walk away?
So it's been about two months since my incident and I'm not sure if I've just been lucky or if anything I did helped, but I took everyone's advice and pretty much did everything to try and prevent more rodent damage and so far it's worked *knock on wood*.
?
Thank you very much. I will try to do as many of these things as I can. I will also try and see if I can get that aluminum wire mesh Whiting087 quoted if I start to notice they are congregating in the engine bay. Thank you guys!
Personally I think it better to be proactive (use mesh now) rather than reactive (possibly after expensive damage was done). But your car; your call. Good luck.
