Hello all (and especially Toyota)
Well, after the FJ was fixed (due to rodents eating the fuel injection wiring on 3 of 4 injectors),
come to find out mechanics in our area are seeing a lot of rodent-related issues lately, especially with Toyota and Crysler (Ram) vehicles.
It seems that manufacturers of Toyota's and Cryslers are using an especially tasty (for rodents) electrical wire cover on selected wires, like fuel injectors.
One mechanic believes the wire covers are a soy-based product (hence tasty to rodents).
The Toyota Dealer solution- wrap the suspected tasty wiring with a rodent-resistant tape.
Any recalls out there for this? If not, there should be. It is a $1,500 OUT-OF-YOUR-POCKET Dealer fix if the critters eat the injector wires on your FJ and you get it towed to them. Or Lexus, other Toyota's, or Rams.
The high cost-reason being on what the mechanic has to remove to get to the damaged (eaten) wires. In the case of our 2014 FJ, it included removal of the intake manifold- 3 hours labor just for this! All because of a neglected rodent-resistant wrap on suspected wires by the manufacturer.

Not saying anyone is right or wrong. I hope Toyota or any automobile manufacture for that matter are not mandated to recall for this type of wiring. Simply my opinion.

 

Mint oil in the engine bay may help. They don't like that.

 

It's not just Toyota. Here is the best writeup I've seen about rodents and cars. Make sure you scroll through the whole page as it is long with more content after the list of damaged vehicles and talking more about Toyota at the bottom.

From the page: "July 5, 2018 - A federal judge Andrew Guilford dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. that sought compensation for damage caused by rodents chewing through insulation for engine wiring."

Class action lawsuits have been filed against Toyota in Texas and Florida, to name a few (Browder v. Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. et al., case number 3:2016cv03387, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas; Janice Toler v. Toyota Motor Corporation et al., case number 5:16-cv-00727, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida)
Another action has been filed (Albert Heber vs. Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.) in United States District Court in California.

Incredible Edible Car

How vehicels can be damaged by rodents and why using soy in seats and wiring is dangerous

www.synlube.com

 

The soy based wire insulation is a common problem. It works, but it tastes good. I recently had a Fiat 500c repaired for chewed wires. The crank sensor wiring was chewed clear through right at a plug connection and of course to replace the damage the entire crank sensor needed to be replaced. A $150 part and 3+ hours of labor.

Luckily the damage was covered by the comprehensive insurance on my auto policy. I keep the deductible for comprehensive at $0 for all my autos. I received a check for $895 with no questions.

I can only assume that the soy based insulation is less expensive than the usual petroleum based version. I can't understand why else it would be used? I doubt there will ever be a recall.

 

To make things even worse, the Toyota parts guy told me that they're starting to use peanut oil-based plastics as well. Now if that isn't even MORE tasty to rodents than soy, I don't know what is...... They need to start embedding capsaicin as part of the plastic if that's possible chemically.

 

"I can only assume that the soy based insulation is less expensive than the usual petroleum based version. I can't understand why else it would be used?"

PVC wire coating has been used forever, but a lot of chlorine is used (and a lot of water is contaminated) making PVC and the material is non-recyclable, so there has been long, ongoing effort to find suitable substitutes for everywhere it is used. As it turns out, PVC is really hard to replace because it does its job so well. In most cases, the more environmentally friendly substitutes also cost more.

 

PVC wire coating has been used forever, but a lot of chlorine is used (and a lot of water is contaminated) making PVC and the material is non-recyclable, so there has been long, ongoing effort to find suitable substitutes for everywhere it is used. As it turns out, PVC is really hard to replace because it does its job so well. In most cases, the more environmentally friendly substitutes also cost more.

Now that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. I'm sure the PVC holds up much longer than the soy based. I do a lot of equipment design for a large battery manufacturer and the only material that will last exposed to the acid in the filling area is PVC, Teflon or 316L SS.

 

It is a problem across all manufacturers… car makers don’t make wire they buy it in… Honda came up with rodent tape, a loom insulation tape impregnated with capsican (chilli). Using peppermint spray and/or chilli oil keeps rodents away

 

How long was the car sitting before they got in? I had this problem with my FJ but it was sitting for months. And my comprehensive covered it thankfully, because it was a $3800 repair.

Very discouraging if it was your daily driver and commonly driven.

 

"How long was the car sitting before they got in?" - I once found a critter building a nest in my engine room during just the 3~4 hours that I was parked at a pick-n-pull yard!

 

Hire a cat outside problem solved..something about mice when they smell a cat they move on.. . I have 5 Toyotas and two sit all the time... only thing get in them is damn pine straw.

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

 

We've talked about getting a "mouser" cat. Currently spraying peppermint oil on the FJ and spreading "I like it too" Irish Spring soap bars on tires. We have stuffed fabric softener sheets in selected areas of the FJ as well. I put some mouse snap-traps out for the critters. Still waiting for a hit, however. Maybe I should use Toyota wiring (for bait) in them.

 

I seem to have success with glue boards. Tomcat with the green sticky.

 

Which begs the question. What is more important. Corporations saving themselves money and the supposedly environment by using plant-based plastics, or sticking the customer with the labor and expense of repairing or replacing rodent trashed wiring harnesses?

I've heard of a different way to repel rodents and it smells good to humans. Irish Spring Original Scent soap. Don't put it into the engine compartment unless you plan on removing it before you drive however. It would work good in the cabin filter, but you'd get a huge whiff every time you got into your FJ. At least it would smell like it had just showered.

 

Long before the new wiring rodents have always been a problem and probably will always be a problem. I’m sure the new composition of the wires does not help the cause. Rodents don’t seem to discriminate when it comes to the make and model of automobiles and their love for sharpening their teeth and chewing things. On my FJ the fluid for the front window

stopped working. I could press the button hear the motor running and nothing happened, I got out and underneath my car was a pool of fluid. I guess the rodent was thirsty and chewed through the hose. I was lucky and able to splice the hose back together. I had a rodent climb through the tongue on my boat trailer and chewed all of the wires. My guess is it was a rat or a mouse. On the same trailer in a different location something chewed on a polyurethane roller. The rollers are super hard, I guess it was a squirrel sharpening its teeth. I had to put grease on the roller to stop them. Bottom line is rodents are everywhere so be aware and take precautions as needed.

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All auto manufacturers started using soy instead of petroleum-based wire insulation, foams and plastic years ago, around the 2000's. It's called bioplastics and it's supposed to be "green". Yeah green, because it costs car owners wads of cash to repair after it's snacked on by rodents. Ford even started using soy-based foam in their seats, so that became a rodent home in heaven if they got inside. I even saw a video of a squirrel eating the painted wheel well trim plastic on someone's Ford Explorer.

Just to make things even tastier to rodents, the Toyota parts guy told me peanut oil-based plastics are now being considered due to the costs of soy oil now. I'll bet that ends up tastier than the soy stuff. So if you want a car with petroleum based wiring, you have to go back to the '90's and earlier that still have OEM wiring.