Hi all, just joined the forum after a less-than-ideal experience with our 1 year old 2016 Lexus NX200t as I'm curious if anyone else has had this issue. Long story short, car stopped running a couple of weeks ago on highway and when I popped the hood was shocked to see nothing short of a rat nest. Literally every cable, wire, filter, fire proofing, etc was chewed through. Insurance is going to help out with repair but I'm still having to foot a huge bill. I also have an older 4Runner and Landcruiser typically parked on either side of the Lexus in driveway, so there was something special about the Lexus. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Looks like there's a small suit building with other owners...
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...tracts-vermin/

 

Yikes, that’s horrific! I guess the only positive is that you actually caught it and can still get the necessary repairs done.

 

No, it is not specific to Lexus. I have seen and heard it happen to many different makes. For some reason you got lucky and they picked that vehicle. Perhaps easier access or they thought it safer? That is an interesting lawsuit, but it has been long known that rats like to chew on insulation. My 1966 Mustang was visited by rats in 1986. Nothing new, but interesting about the soy-based material. It would be cool to see scientific testing to see if the rats preferred that version of wiring. There seem to be other soy-based wiring lawsuits/discussions in flight as well. I found this with a quick search. Are your other cars on this list? Might want to take measure to guard them, if so.

https://www.howtopreventratsfromeati...-based-wiring/

I had a friend that poisoned a rat that was chewing his Mustang, but the rat died and started to decay in the small valley under the intake manifold where he could not reach it. He had to drive from Dallas to Austin and basically cooked the rotting rat. Man, the smell.

 

That is super scary, sorry this happened to your NX.

 

Similar problem with a couple of Jeeps a few years back, but asked my cat to spend a week in the garage guarding the Jeeps at night. The result was a fat cat and no more Jeep eating mice.

Now almost 9 years later with an Audi Q3 and a Lexus NX in the garage, there are still no mice.....and the cat is still fat!

 

Sorry about that. Yes, it happened to my NX as well, about 4 months ago. The damn thing chewed my fuel tank electrical line. Mine is not that intensive but enough to cause $409 out of pocket.

 

Sounds like a win-win.

My other Toyotas are older (2003 and 2004) so I should be ok there. Car returns home in 4 days, in the meantime I'll be planning my revenge on these rats

 

Do you keep any dog or car food in the garage with the car? Or any type of food source?

 

No, this actually happened in my driveway. The Lexus typically sits parked between the Toyotas, so it's not sitting next to a bush or anything they'd creep out from.

 

Back in the 20th Century most of us looked under the hood/bonnet every time we refueled to check the oil and other fluid levels...just to be safe during the colder weather months, I think I'll start doing a rodent check when I fill-up both my cars.

 

Make sure whoever does the repair is thorough and doesn't mickey-mouse things =p

 

Had a similar issue prior to having a garage. Peppermint oil works as a deterrent, or you can buy the contained mouse/rat poison traps and place under the vehicle. I preferred the deterrent as I didn't want the possibility of other animals getting into poison.

 

Another effective deterrent is to place a couple of dryer fabric softener sheets in the engine compartment (in locations where there won't be high heat). Rodents will be unlikely to want to be anywhere near the scent that comes off of the dryer sheets.

 

Fat Cat vs. Pest Control would be my take....Two cats would be cheaper.