[nosbocaj]

Figured it out!

[cecaa850]

Originally Posted by nosbocaj

I just took my car in for a routine oil change. My service tech then called saying they found extensive damage to a wiring harness in the engine bay. The car has been running great and I haven't had any electrical issues, which is odd. I've owned 4 different cars since I've lived at my house, including a hybrid (I've heard the warm batteries can attract them in the winter), and none have had an issue.

Besides putting traps out, is there anything that can be done to keep rats and mice away from my engine bay?

I see it all the time on our (non BMW) shop. I've been told that rodents like to eat the insulation as it has soy bean in it. I have no idea if that's true or not but they sure like it. Normally when the damage is extensive we have our customers contact their insurance company. They'll cover it less the deductible. I'd advise against poison as they'll eat it and then can die somewhere in your vehicle. A week later the smell will be overwhelming. Try sticky traps or anything that will trap them outside of your vehicle.

[nosbocaj]

Originally Posted by cecaa850

I see it all the time on our (non BMW) shop. I've been told that rodents like to eat the insulation as it has soy bean in it. I have no idea if that's true or not but they sure like it. Normally when the damage is extensive we have our customers contact their insurance company. They'll cover it less the deductible. I'd advise against poison as they'll eat it and then can die somewhere in your vehicle. A week later the smell will be overwhelming. Try sticky traps or anything that will trap them outside of your vehicle.

Yeah my comprehensive covers it, so only out the deductible, but still. The big concern now is stopping this from happening again.

I actually think it might be squirrels. My neighborhood is riddled with them and my driveway is next to a large old growth tree where they nest.

I've read peppermint oil can help, as can leaving the hood open. I don't park in my garage, but can if need be (going to need to clean it first) so that might help things as well. Anybody have any other tested solutions?

[DanG]

My M235i had rats eat the wires. It cost me $1,500 to get it fixed.

I have two traps by the front wheels of my M2. We caught one rat. I haven’t had a problem since.

[GoneIn4Secs]

Where is the car parked usually? Are you in a urban area?

[Poochie]

I built a heated winter house in my garage for a bunch of feral cats in my neighbor..

They owe me like a 100 favors..

I dare a rat to come around and touch my car.. 🐱

[GoneIn4Secs]

Originally Posted by Poochie

I built a heated winter house in my garage for a bunch of feral cats in my neighbor..

They owe me like 100 favors..

I dare a rat to come around touch my car.. 🐱

Lol who knew! A pooch with a soft spot for cats

[Fear-Mongrel]

I've read about people having good success with fox urine granules. It creates a fox odor territoriality that scares away other small animals. We know a guy up in Northern Arizona who dealt with this issue for a long while with a Lexus SC430 in a closed garage. Some people have had to have wiring replaced more than once because of soy bandits that just keep coming.

[chip_dip19]

I don't remember which manufacturer but one of them has a cayenne infused tape to stop critters from chewing the wires.

[KateTurner]

I have seen such cases many times when rodents chew through wires in a car. In fact, so often that it's even strange. I recently also encountered this problem for the first time. It all started after I bought a new car. After the first incident, everything became clear to me. It's all about soy wires, which are very attractive to rodents.
I decided to call the professionals - https://pestcontrolservicesmaryland.com for them to save me from this problem. As it turned out, rodents settled in my garage and then decided to taste my car. The guys saved me entirely from this problem.