Car Manufacturers Sued Over Rodents Eating Soy-Insulated Wires (hackaday.com)

An anonymous reader writes about "a little-known problem plaguing many newer vehicles from the likes of Honda, Toyota, and Kia." The car makers used soy-insulated wiring to cut costs and "Go Green", but owners in rural areas are finding the local wildlife finds the wiring irresistible; thousands of dollars in damage has been done by rats and other critters eating wiring harnesses. Hackaday is asking their community to brainstorm solutions to this unique problem, as owners of affected vehicles have had to resort to sprinkling their driveway with coyote urine and putting rat traps on the wheels.
Hackaday reports that "It isn't just one or two cases either, it's enough of a problem that some car manufacturers are getting hit with class-action lawsuits." Back in 2010 Slashdot reported that rabbits had already discovered the joys of eating soy-insulated wires, and were turning the parking lot at the Denver International Airport into their own personal buffet.

There's even a web site called HowToPreventRatsFromEatingCarWires.com, which reports that Honda has already manufactured a special wire-wrapping tape that's infused with the active ingredient from chili peppers.

Comments

Useless

[nospam007]

"Honda has already manufactured a special wire-wrapping tape that's infused with the active ingredient from chili peppers."

Mexican rats love that stuff.

Re:one word

[freeze128]

Or worse, your wires are all chewed up, and the rodents have now built up an immunity to arsenic! Lets make the wires radioactive as well!

Re:The obvious answer isn't that great

[geoskd]

Obvious answer is poison but thats not great for mechanics

If your mechanic is eating the insulation off the wires in your car, I think you need to find a new mechanic.

They should have read the EULA.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Honda and Toyota are on firm legal ground here. The manual very clearly states that by getting into the car you agree to the EULA, which you can read as soon as you get into the car and get the user manual.

There is no warning "Beware of the Leopard" on the glove box, showing the good faith of Honda and Toyota.

The EULA very clearly states that, " ... it is the responsibility of the user to prevent rodents from eating the wiring harness. Honda/Toyota recommend the use anti-rodent devices and the user must install and keep all such anti-malorganism devices up to date.

Re:The obvious answer isn't that great

[ColdWetDog]

Or at least pay him more.

Poor guy, he's starving.