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Rodent Damage

6K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  jcme0557 
#1 ·
Had my 15 Mazda 6 T for 21 months now and 30K trouble free miles. Great car all round. However, just come back from the 30K service and I'm facing an estimated $1,550 bill to repair damage to the wiring harness recently caused by rodents eating the wires leading to the spark plugs located under the plastic engine. No damage was detected at the 25k service 4 months ago. My previous Mazda Protege was parked on the same spot for over 12 years with no such issues. Someone suggested it's something used to make the wiring nowadays that is attractive to hungry rodents seeking shelter during the cold weather. The car is use every weekday, so they can't shelter for long. Anyone with a similar problem and what did you do to prevent future occurrences?
 
#2 ·
Unfortunately both my 2014 6 and my wife's 2010 Mazda 3 have been hit by rodents. Her car had a nest in the blower motor for the cabin air, and by dumb luck her fan didn't need to be replaced - would have been a $1k repair otherwise.

My car didn't suffer as much, but one of the buggers did chew a piece out of one of my rear seat belts :angry:

Time for you to setup some traps - only way you'll deal with them for good.
 
#3 ·
Get some Peppermint Oil spray and spray on wiring and openings where you think mice are entering in your engine bay periodically, this will keep mice away, Mice hates Peppermint.. Problem has gotten worse thanks to in part Manufacturers making wiring with more eco-friendly organic materials used for wiring.
 
#5 ·
I live in a rural area with a corn field behind my house. My first gen Mazda 6 got chewed up by mice the first night I had it. $590 in damage. It was parked outside, not much I could do to protect it. A few weeks later, a mouse got into my garage and chewed up the breather gasket and valve cover gasket on my 1963 Impala. He didn't make it out alive, snap trap got him on the way out.

That was 9 years ago. Then I got serious about protecting my cars when in winter garage storage. Snap traps bated with Slim Jim's, poison bate traps, rat sized glue traps around my tires, stainless steel steel wool shoved in the exhaust tips, and Bounce dryer sheets under the hood, in the interior, and in the trunk. Since then, no rodent damage inside the garage.
 
#6 ·
Figured I'd revive this thread... I'm on my second mouse issue in the past 6 months with my '16. First was last fall when I was mountain biking. Mouse got in the car through the vents and had babies in the hollow rail behind the rear seat. Chewed my driver side vent enough where the adjustment doesn't work too well. Found the babies weeks later due to the smell. That was nice.

Now I'm having one that gets in the engine compartment overnight. Found a bunch of acorns on top of the battery and started looking around. Little a-hole was chewing up the foam that is sandwiched between the intake and piling it up on top of the middle of the intake just under the removable cover. I cleaned everything up and put some dryer sheets around the battery and stuffed one in the intake by the foam. Found another acorn today, so I set some traps under the front of the car. Hopefully I can catch him before he does damage to my wiring.

My wife has a '16 CX-5 that is parked right behind my car. No issues yet, but I'm going to be pissed if she starts having issues.

Going to try some peppermint oil as well just for added protection. I really wish I had a garage right now...
 
#7 ·
Garage won’t help. They get in everywhere. Death by Decon pellets is the only real solution I’ve found.

I use mothballs poured in an old sock and stuffed under the hood and trunk and passenger compartment, when stored.) However, peppermint oil sounds much more pleasant.
 
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