Rabbit chewed through wiring harness on brand new Model 3

[aesculus]

Marmots are all over the Sierra Nevada but for some reason the ones in SKC NP and Mineral King have been and are the worst.

Marmots - Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[tomas]

I had a mouse move into my frunk for months before I noticed. Fortunately it didn’t eat wires. Little varmits can get in anywhere! Hope you find a repellent that works!

 

[SMAlset]

I've heard of mice in Tesla frunks and ants climbing up the charging cable and into the charge port area (excited by the electricity?). Also remember a cat who climbed into a MS's front engine area the SvC had to extract alive--mewing all the while, but rabbits is new to me. My husband's Camry that was parked outside had it's air filter cover insulation eaten by mice. He didn't know about it until we had the car in for a routine tune up and they went to replace the filter. My Avalon had a metal cover that was clamped on at least to prevent this. Our neighbor who parked his Porsche in his garage had mice chewing on his wiring. Always thought the dog food they kept in the garage was something that attracted them to the area. You can set traps inside your garage but really hard to do something when the car is outside in your driveway or in the case of OP in a large parking lot.

Will be looking for the photos to get a better idea of the space under there.

 

[dendenyc]

View attachment 344984

This lil muthaf*cka!

 

[Linkeds2]

Was this under warranty?

If not what was your cost if you don’t mind OP

 

[mhan00]

Well, we got confirmation that the AWD is working as Elon promised: if one motor fails, the other can work without it and keep the car drive able albeit at reduced power. I know this wasn’t always the case with the dual motor S cars. A little peace of mind for people with AWD cars who might worry about a drive failure, I guess.

 

[ngogas]

It keeps chugging along....

 

[rdunniii]

Pellet gun time.

 

[tomas]

Pellet gun time.

1) what? You’re going to shoot your car?
2) what? You’re going to camp out 24/7 by your car?
3) it isn’t just one! The multiply like... rabbits! You could not kill them fast enough!

 

[robgmartin]

Well, we got confirmation that the AWD is working as Elon promised: if one motor fails, the other can work without it and keep the car drive able albeit at reduced power. I know this wasn’t always the case with the dual motor S cars. A little peace of mind for people with AWD cars who might worry about a drive failure, I guess.

It would appear that way. I cant confirm if the motor completely failed but it was definitely not communicating with the rest of the car. I believe there were some reports of people getting this same error with RWD cars and they were only able to drive up to 60mph.

I could definitely get all the way to 80+ but the car was noticeably slower in acceleration.

 

[Evbwcaer]

I had mice in my garage and finally decimated them with the product below. I then put it in my MS trunk and got another kill. I leave it active in my car 24/7, it beeps when it gets a kill, it is battery or AC powered. I did have one "random" kill, while not having any other mice in my garage that I know of.

It is really nice because it just operates in the background except to beep at you when/if it gets a kill. I have never had the bait stolen.

https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-H...r=8-1-spons&keywords=hoont+mouse+zapper&psc=1

You could get braided stainless steel sleeves for the wires or maybe try rodent repellent sprays on the underside of the car.

 

[robgmartin]

Was this under warranty?

If not what was your cost if you don’t mind OP

Technically no. This would need to be handled by my comprehensive insurance but (as previously stated) the SC is being very cool about it and trying to do some sort of good will if possible. My SA did mention the harness was somewhere in the $3k range.

 

[Krugerrand]

@robgmartin

Well fuuuuu how do we resolve this once you are fixed?

Ultrasonic pest repellent that emits from the vehicle?

Carry rabbit food et al in your frunk and leave some out at the end of the day.

 

[mhan00]

I had mice in my garage and finally decimated them with the product below. I then put it in my MS trunk and got another kill. I leave it active in my car 24/7, it beeps when it gets a kill, it is battery or AC powered. I did have one "random" kill, while not having any other mice in my garage that I know of.

One random kill? Are you missing any kids?

 

[voip-ninja]

@robgmartin

Well fuuuuu how do we resolve this once you are fixed?

Ultrasonic pest repellent that emits from the vehicle?

That was the first thing I thought of too, although my understanding is that ultrasonics are very hit or miss for dealing with rodents.

Other options would include a fully automated coyote launcher, the reason there are some many rabbits is due to a severe lack of predators. Or we could just give little Timmy and Sally .22 LR rifles and let them blast the little bastards for target practice.

 

[Az_Rael]

My SA did mention the harness was somewhere in the $3k range.

Wowzers. That is an expensive harness.

 

[mhan00]

Maybe a spray of something caustic/bitter/spicy every so often?

 

[abasile]

Yes, California has no shortage of rabbits in some areas. I agree with the need for more coyotes!

I've never used this "Deer & Rabbit Repellent" liquid, but I'd probably try it if I were in your shoes: https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Fence-71106-HG-71106-Repellent/dp/B00Y0W5CQG/

 

[.jg.]

When I lived in Germany, I learned that many car owners have problems with "marder" (European Pine Marten) chewing through cables, pipes, insulation, etc. Protection methods ("Marderschutz"), available from online marketplaces, are mostly ultrasonic sound generators and/or high voltage wires installed in the engine compartment (like a cattle fence). I don't know how effective these devices are, as I didn't experience the problem myself.

How Cute Ferret-Like Animals Cause Germany $65 Million In Car Damages Each Year

 

[C141medic]

My mother has a house in upstate NY and once a year we have to clean out the air filter housing in her ICE because squirrels and chipmunks love to store food in there. During one tune up we discovered enough acorns to feed the little varmints for the entire season.