Rats! Ate my soy-based wiring - again!

Damn, rats ate my soy-based wire harness fuel injectors again!

And they did the one deep under the upper intake manifold I didn't wrap with rat tape and copper wire because I couldn't get to it last time to protect it as it's under the intake plenum.

I have never taken this part off on a 2023 5th Gen, but it looks easy enough so I can get in there.

However, I want to make sure there are no surprises since I don't have any mechanic manuals for it with torque specs.

Does anyone have a video they can share?
Or how-to process or manual page? I can't find one, but am looking to buy one now too.

Toyota should have a class action lawsuit on building these cars with edible wires because if I take it in, it would cost like 1K to fix and isn't converted under warranty.

TIA

And yes, I have a cat, I have also sprayed with peppermint regularly, maybe not enough. Just bad luck I guess.

 

Peppermint is a myth. You're better off taking care of the actual rat problem

 

Remove your engine cover and regularly wash your engine. I use Grandpa Gus’s peppermint oil and I seem to have gotten rid of the issue but only time will tell.

 

Not just a Toyota problem. Honda, Kia, Hyundai, and many others just to name a few. Very stupid of all the car companies to use soy based wiring harness.

 

why not use rat poison?

 

I have rat poison around the area with boxes they go into, bucket traps, rat tape on the wiring with copper, a cat, peppermint I spray every so often, but they still got to the one that didn't have the rat tape. They stopped eating the one with rat tape.

 

I had watched a video that showed how they were repelled so it does work sometimes. Maybe not foolproof.

 

I leave mothballs under the hood.

 

So frustrating!

 

I wonder if cayanne pepper would deter them

 

I also bought that but hadn't yet made the mixture of it.

 

yup. Sprayed everything in this shit and they still ate my wires

 

Soy based wiring is an often perpetuated myth. Mice like to nest in warm sheltered areas like under the intake manifold. They'll chew on any plastic to grind down their continuously growing teeth. You can delete the plastic cosmetic engine cover and spray the area under the intake manifold with rodent repellent spray (sold at Home Depot) every month or so. Just be sure to spray when the engine is cold.

 

Rodent Repellants help, plus Tom Cat bait boxes under vehicle. I buy a mint repellant one at HD. 5 pouches ( like a big tea bag). Tie it where it is out of the way.
I read rats leave a nesting smell where they camp out. So you need wash their stink away.
On a V8 Dodge van years ago I repaired several injector wires where insulation and some of the thin copper was chewed away. In place (very cramped position-but I was younger) I soldered in some fine stranded copper wire to bridge the 3/8" or so gap. Area too tight to use shrink tube over repair, so I wrapped it up with Honda anti-rodent tape.
Solder is as good a comductor as the copper, did not notice any change in engine performance.
I will share my repair technique with anyone interested.

 

I have a cat plus I use this product. I have the plug in Pro on the wall right next to my 4R.

https://mouseblocker.com/

Before having a cat, I used glue traps which work, and I still use them in areas I know my cat will not get into.

 

Guess I'll join this convo...

Today I was having my oil changed on my 21' Venture and my service writer brought me my cabin filter with a small wad of insulation on it presumably from my firewall. See attached. Mouse poop too.

We pulled off the top plastic engine shroud and looked underneath with a flashlight and didn't see any damage to the plug wires, etc.... but I know there's no such thing as 1 mouse. I want to get ahead of this.

@SVMTRCSR - any updates on that MouseBlocker gizmo? I've heard mixed reviews about audio-based repelling devices. Looked at in on Amazon just now and it does appear that some people really think it helps, others not so much. Either way, it seems like a pretty efficient way to control the problem, if it works. Would love to hear the latest on your experience with it.

 

I have not seen this mentioned here:

mice will not travel far for food. So be sure to eliminate any food sources nearby and that will go a long way to get rid of them.

Bird feeders, garbage, dog food, etc

And needless to say, don't leave food in the car!

 

Excellent suggestions! But, no food sources in or near the Venture. Garage is super-clean with a concrete floor. No food anywhere in the garage. We are in the country tho and in the south (about 50 miles north of Dallas), so mice and rodents of every type are all over - indigenous. We know there's not a real way to keep them completely away from our space. But, my hope was that the audio device mentioned above by @SVMTRCSR might repel them from the 4Runner.

 

Go to Home Depot, pick the Repel All, spread some around your front tires and park the truck out in the open with no worries. Been doing that since I bought this truck two years go.

 

I spray this thing for my dogs’s bedding called YUCK spray. It taste like absolute shit. Trust me I’ve tried it. I wonder if you spray that on the wires if that would help.

 

This is the thing I bought. I have one in each of our 3 cars, all parked outside living in the mountains with plenty of rodents around. I haven't had any issues using it for 4 years now. Not sure if I've just been lucky or if the device has actually deterred them.

$30 Under Hood Animal Car Repeller Rodent Electronic Repellent Ultra Sonic Rat Strobe Light Keep Mice Away from Car Pest Prevention for 12V 24V Automobile

https://www.amazon.com/Loraffe-Repellent-Ultrasonic-Deterrent-Protection/dp/B07LCKBGY8

 

No issues with any mice or anything and my 4Runner sits 20 feet from the woods under my carport. I only drive it maybe once a week as I
also have a van. Mouse Blocker still going strong hung on the wall next to my 4Runner. I have seen squirrel's and birds go under my 4Runner but they do not hang around. I think the best approach is to do multiple things, like Mouseblocker, a cat, spray peppermint and glue traps. 16 years ago, when I purchased my house, I discovered I had a mice problem, and I didn't have a cat. Cure was glue traps, and poison bait ........no more mice.

 

Grandad used to put out Ex-Lax for his rodent problems. Worked good on skunks too.

 

I suggest Tomcat bait boxes (green bait blocks) on the floor under the front of your parking spot.
I tie bags of Vamoose herbs (like a tea bag) in nesting spots under hood. Thankfully I have not had nesting inside dash.
Home Depot has an aisle full of products to look over.

 

Soy based wiring is a myth? Would you mind sharing a source? Soy-based or not, I never heard of rodents chewing on wires under car hoods until the mid-90’s when biodegradable insulation became fashionable. Nesting under the hood? Yes. Chewing? No.

 

Texoma-Brad

See this link also

https://www.4runners.com/threads/keep-mice-out-of-the-cabin-filter.24836/#post-327503

 

I had chewing on insulation of my Accord a year ago. They were nesting on top of engine and battery. Washed with Simple Green & paint brush all traces of their poop and food reminants (snails). Tied vamoose bags in select spots. Placed bait boxes under Accord. Some chewing on a cable insulation, but not copper wire.
At same timeline nesting under hood of my 4runner. Again on battery and under plastic engine cover. No chewing.
Washed same technique.

 

You didn't hear about rodents chewing wires before the mid-'90s because there were no Internet forums

Mice also chew foam insulation when making nests. Are those soy-based too?

 

Doesn't insurance cover this? Just sounds like a total pain.

Get some outside cats or start feeding the strays.

 

Oh yeah. My mind was a complete blank before the internet. ;-) My life was totally devoid of social interaction. Before YouTube I actually had to read the manual. And I had so few distractions I actually got some things done.