bulletpruf

There are hose covers on the driver and passenger rear of the car that are torn/sheared off exposing a hose that runs into the back of the rear hubs. The passenger side rear was hanging on by a small portion of the cover that remained.

You can see the hose inside that was protected by the cover which is dangling. This is the rear passenger side.

Here is a closer look. The hose runs into the backside of the hub. Anyone know what the purpose of this hose is? ABS related?

The rear driver side has the same issue. The protective cover is completely torn off.


Here is the remaining cover from the driver side. I just cut it off since I did not want it hanging there.

The odd thing is I just happened to catch this by chance. I pulled the car out of the garage to sweep and I saw two piles of torn up rubber underneath my car right where the hoses are located. On both the driver and passenger sides. Here is what was on the garage floor.

The car drives fine, nothing out of the ordinary and my brakes work fine. My main concern is how much will the hoses be affected by not having the covers to protect them? Also, what may have caused this? Did something like a rat chew up these hoses? I am thinking that is unlikely since the exact same hose covers on both sides are torn off.

Anyone have any ideas? I want to know why before I take it to the dealership. Car is a 2016 IS200t with RSR Down springs and 20mm spacers in the rear. Sorry for the long post and any help is appreciated. Thanks!

gbgary

yup...mouse.

Htony

Sure looks like some mounse or squirrel is attacking the hose sleeves. If garage parked probably mouse who likes peanut butter or cheese....Mouse don't like peppermint smell.

bulletpruf

I am really hoping it's not a rodent problem. If it is, who knows what else it could chew up. My garage is pretty clean. There isn't any clutter or trash and I didn't see any turds when I swept. It's just really weird that it's the same hose on both sides.

Either way does anyone know what that hose/line does?

brendanf

Parking brake cables from what I can tell.

If the rubber bits were on the floor then you have a rodent problem.

Matroushi

I believe those are parking brake cables too.

bulletpruf

Thanks for the link. I am thinking it is the parking brake cable assembly as brendanf and Matroushi mentioned. I'm just glad it wasn't the ABS wire harness. The diagram helped but it doesn't show the part for the parking brake cable assembly. I searched on google and was able to find this,
https://www.lexuspartsnow.com/parts/...430-53020.html

Since the damaged part seems to be a cover/sleeve for the actual cable itself, do you guys think the functionality of the parking brake will be affected in the short term? I almost never use the parking brake anyway.

I'll be able to bring it to the dealership this weekend, at the earliest. At that point will this even be covered by warranty or will they try to blame it on my RSR springs and/or spacers?

Also, if they determine it was damaged by a rodent, will this be an insurance or warranty issue? Thanks again for all the help everyone.

CLUM

should not affect functionality at all. the parking brake cable still isn't even exposed (it's still inside the other protective hosing). If you're worried, just but some rubber hosing with a split down the middle and cover it back up or use some corrugated plastic protective hosing and cover it back up, sealing it with some zip ties.

bulletpruf

I had the same mindset as you when I called the dealership this morning. Told them I had a parking brake issue and wanted to get it checked out. The service rep said it would be a flat fee of $145 to get it looked at and if they deem it to be not covered by warranty, the fee would go toward the repair/replacement. Not very pleased with the $145 fee. I called South Bay Lexus since I am in Torrance and about 5 mins away. At this point its not worth it to me. Do most dealerships charge a similar flat fee?

This is what I was thinking of doing. Will probably pick up some rubber hosing to wrap around the exposed area to regain a little of the protection it originally had. Might make it a project to replace the whole cable assembly some time down the line. Found the part online for $62 per side.

bulletpruf

It's a 2016. Not the dealer I purchased from. I got the car from Lexus of Glendale in January 2016. I do think the $145 is pretty ****ty. When you went to Newport Lexus to assess your issues, did you call to schedule an appointment or did you just drive up? I will probably contact a few other dealerships to see what they say, but in the mean time, I think the car will be fine.

JDR76

Agree with the rodent consensus. I've had this issue in my garage.

Check under the hood. I had a pest who loved my Highlander. I wouldn't find any droppings on the floor, but would find them on the engine cover under the hood. They like the warm cars and they like any rubber they can chew on and carry back to their nests.

Took me a long time to find out how he was getting in there. I was able to close the hole and catch him in a trap.

yardie876

One of these with a little peanut butter will take care of the sucker. Humanely of course. And cleanup is a breeze lol.
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Victor-Elec...M240/100400789

JDR76

I had 17 traps of various kinds set up in my garage and the trap you posted was the one that finally worked.

I started with "humane" traps then escalated from there when none of them worked. I got so desperate that I started using the sticky traps, which are the most inhumane. Every night before bed, I put them all over the Highlander, but the rat would still just scurry around them, crapping all over the place.

yardie876

I had a family of 5 mice move into my garage through a port hole they gnawed the mesh off of. It took a week to get them, but I did. They never had a chance to get to the car luckily. I won't lie, they were so tiny and cute. I would have felt better with myself if it was rats lol.