Rats Chewing Vehicle Wiring Harness
 

My 2015 Ford's right turn signal went out so I took it to Villages Ford to have it replaced. They said that either rats or squirrels had gotten to the wiring harness and chewed through it. It will cost $550.00 to replace it. I live in Santiago and my home backs up to the Gopher Tortoise protection area. Has anyone else had my problem in The Villages?.

Yes. Many people with Christmas lights too!

At least someone uses turn signals here. Maybe the critters didn't think you needed them!

The same thing happened to my sister-in-law in Buttonwood while their car was parked in the driveway. Their home is far from ponds, golf courses, nature areas, etc. It can happen anywhere.

You should feed the rats better so they don't get so hungry that they have to chew your wires! :wave:

IMHO, get a second opinion on the repair costs, try 1 or 2 of the local repair shops. If this is just the 12 volt wiring going to the lights, this should be much less, however, there maybe warranty issues to be concerned about.
On your original question, I have seen ads for critter repellents that can be installed under the hood, no idea how well these work, or the drain on the battery. There may be some passive options, not sure.

I have had Massey come out and they placed a 'feed' station for the hungry critters.

Thanks, Ford recommended mothballs or peppermint oil in the engine compartment. The warranty doesn't cover it but my auto insurance does, with a $250. deductible.

Rats love citrus AND they also live in palm trees which is why we didn't plant any of the above. So if you have these in your yard you may have issues with them doing their "mischief".

Shocking. This is just shocking.

This will take care of that problem and will also keep your car shiny and new.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...b607c7ec79.jpg

We had ignition and other problems related to rodents chewing some harnesses on our HHR. Car was garaged during this time. Now it is outside in the driveway and no new problems.

Be glad it was lighting wiring and not CPU input wiring. Had this happen to me few years ago with Iz. trooper. Parked it in the driveway on Friday night and when to gas it up on Sunday and it wouldn't start. Seen squirrel running out from underneath it. Was making nest by the brake booster and chewed up anything that go in her way, engine control harness and the master cylinder cap.

Squirrel chewed through the main input cable from the engine to the CPU. When I turned the key it blow out the CPU. Priced new on $1895. So I went to junk yard and got one for 25 bucks, spliced the wiring and it was "On the Road again" But some of the wires was shielded (hard to splice shielded wire) and it didn't idle the same after "wondered".

Rodents chew all the time in order to keep their teeth from getting out of control

Up North, had the same problem with chipmunks.