With many people working from home due to Covid, we have a lot of cars in our neighborhood sitting idle. About four cars on our block had squirrel infestations with wires and fuel lines being chewed. Maybe in the city, rats are a problem, but in the suburbs it's likely to be squirrels. I think the owners settled on parking their cars over moth-balls as a solution.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Rats...[question on preventing rodent damage in model 3]
- Thread starter 95gator
- Start date
Kerry Blue
Member
A mouse found its way into my car when parked for over a week. Didn’t destroy any car parts (that I know of) fortunately in my case it just shredded the whole Kleenex box. And kept its shat mostly in the floor mats.
Since then I looked into solutions as I have mice at my mountain cabin and rats around my yard in the city. I trapped rats a few times in my yard but it was a pain in the butt keeping my dog and 1 year old kid away.
Then I tried drops of concentrated peppermint essential oils. I bought a huge container and used lots. The mouse situation has improved dramatically at my cabin. No rats have been in my (knock on wood) backyard shed, nor the car since then. I’ve applied drops every two or three weeks and it’s less work than trapping. Seems to work for me.
Oh ya the drops on the car I just applied around the frunk area, and in wheel well area. I’ve been driving an average of every two days, but have not bothered to reapply.
Since then I looked into solutions as I have mice at my mountain cabin and rats around my yard in the city. I trapped rats a few times in my yard but it was a pain in the butt keeping my dog and 1 year old kid away.
Then I tried drops of concentrated peppermint essential oils. I bought a huge container and used lots. The mouse situation has improved dramatically at my cabin. No rats have been in my (knock on wood) backyard shed, nor the car since then. I’ve applied drops every two or three weeks and it’s less work than trapping. Seems to work for me.
Oh ya the drops on the car I just applied around the frunk area, and in wheel well area. I’ve been driving an average of every two days, but have not bothered to reapply.
I have had more issues with mice in my car than I have ever had on any vehicle (most likely because it is a heated place to stay for the night). Just have had to replace a wiring harness. Has anyone had mice issues and what did you do to resolve it. My car is parked in an unheated garage every night.
(moderator note: moved your post into a thread on this topic. There have been a few that I remember. If you search TMC for "rats" you will find a few different threads on this topic. Good luck.)
Im cross posting this to this subforum as well as i have both cars, and this issue occurs in both a 3 and a brand new Y. Mods if cross posting is unacceptable, please delete.
teslamotorsclub.com
Can we please talk about rodents inside Model Y and Model 3s
Over the past 18 months,, ive had a Model 3 (performance) without any issues with rodents or nest inside the car. Recently, approximately a month ago, i had a bizarre issue where it looked like my washer tank was chewed through from the outside. Paid 300 bucks and went on with my life. about...
teslamotorsclub.com
Im cross posting this to this subforum as well as i have both cars, and this issue occurs in both a 3 and a brand new Y. Mods if cross posting is unacceptable, please delete.
Can we please talk about rodents inside Model Y and Model 3s
Over the past 18 months,, ive had a Model 3 (performance) without any issues with rodents or nest inside the car. Recently, approximately a month ago, i had a bizarre issue where it looked like my washer tank was chewed through from the outside. Paid 300 bucks and went on with my life. about...
(moderator note: moved thread created in model 3 section to existing thread on this topic)
So, we just dumped our newest Model 3 in the parking lot of the Tesla service station for the third time in one month for the same problem (rodent damage); repairs have been over $600 each time. We have tried several (many) types of deterrents to no avail--the car currently reeks of peppermint oil. Does Tesla have any plans to address this problem definitively? The solution cannot be to expect owners to pay $600 to drive their cars for a week and then have them towed back for repairs related to a design flaw (soy-based wires and peanut oil). This car is routinely parked outside in rural Malibu Canyon, so the RatMat is not an option for us. Seriously considering giving up and shipping this car back to Texas (and leasing anything BUT a Tesla). We have not had this problem with any of our other Teslas. We are very disappointed in Tesla's handling of this situation. Does anyone have suggestions for a definitive solution other than replacing this car with one that doesn't attract rodents? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
rpiotro
Active Member
This is a Tesla problem? Time to get that guy from Hamelin over here to do some consulting work I guess.
No, its not a tesla problem (or at least not JUST a tesla problem), a lot of new cars have this issue because they all use the same type of wiring harnesses. Check any Car forums and you will find similar complaints, even from toyotas.
Thank you for the info. I'm glad to hear that this issue is common in a lot of new cars. Hopefully, now that the manufacturers are aware of the problem with the wiring harness (and I doubt any would advocate for annihilating the rodent/rabbit/squirrel population in a given area), they will work quickly to find a solution to mitigate this problem for their clients. I did ask the service station (at round two of rodent repair) if there was anything I/they could do to prevent this from happening again. We were told that because there were so many areas for entry under the car, nothing could be done (except moving from an area where there are squirrels/bunnies) --impossible for the next two years. I know that Honda offers spicy chili-flavored tape for wiring, and there is a machine that can be attached to the 12v battery in the car. I would love to try these deterrents; however, I just don't want to do anything aftermarket that would harm the car or invalidate my warranty. A Tesla-approved solution/guidance would be appreciated.
In case this hasn't been posted yet: Honda's Chili-Flavored Wire Wrap Could Save Your Car From a Rodent Invasion
terraform
21' Model Y
I live in an area where several neighbors have already had rodent damage (small animals like rats chewing wires / insulation). I am wondering if Sentry Mode can somehow be utilized to 1) Detect and better yet 2) Deter rodents, like rats and squirrels etc.
Edit: I know Teslas are not the only vehicles this happens to, but I've heard that it is common due to the use of soy / peanut oil material used in Teslas.
Any thoughts about how sentry mode can be utilized here?
Edit: I know Teslas are not the only vehicles this happens to, but I've heard that it is common due to the use of soy / peanut oil material used in Teslas.
Any thoughts about how sentry mode can be utilized here?
Sentry mode is simply a car alarm with some cameras, so no, I dont see how sentry mode can be used unless you used another cars car alarm to do that.
This thread might have some ideas for you though that dont have to do with sentry mode. We have a few other threads on this topic as well in model 3 and Y subforums, along with a vendor who sells something that is supposed to protect from that. No idea how effective it is, but any of these things are going to be more effective than a car alarm, I would think
Vendor - PROTECT YOUR CAR FROM RODENTS CHEWING WIRES
PROTECT YOUR CAR FROM RODENTS CHEWING WIRES DETERRENCE IS THE BEST WAY TO STOP RODENTS CHEWING WIRES WHY RODENTS WILL STAKE OUT YOUR CAR ENGINE WHY RODENTS CHEW CAR WIRES THE GRIDGUARD STOPS RODENTS FROM CHEWING CAR WIRES PROTECT YOUR CAR FROM RODENTS CHEWING WIRES Many people who own cars...
teslamotorsclub.com
terraform
21' Model Y
Sentry mode is simply a car alarm with some cameras, so no, I dont see how sentry mode can be used unless you used another cars car alarm to do that.
This thread might have some ideas for you though that dont have to do with sentry mode. We have a few other threads on this topic as well in model 3 and Y subforums, along with a vendor who sells something that is supposed to protect from that. No idea how effective it is, but any of these things are going to be more effective than a car alarm, I would think
Vendor - PROTECT YOUR CAR FROM RODENTS CHEWING WIRES
PROTECT YOUR CAR FROM RODENTS CHEWING WIRES DETERRENCE IS THE BEST WAY TO STOP RODENTS CHEWING WIRES WHY RODENTS WILL STAKE OUT YOUR CAR ENGINE WHY RODENTS CHEW CAR WIRES THE GRIDGUARD STOPS RODENTS FROM CHEWING CAR WIRES PROTECT YOUR CAR FROM RODENTS CHEWING WIRES Many people who own cars...
I was thinking maybe sentry mode would at least motion-detect the rat approaching the car, and maybe the flashing lights or sounds might deter it?
Sentry mode was not a planned feature of the car, it was a bolt on software feature because of break in's in san francisco. There is zero chance sentry mode would see rats on the ground, under the car, and do anything. Tesla doesnt even have the ability to do a 360 camera because the cameras are not pointed for that / in the right place for that.
Sentry mode is not going to be able to help in the slightest way for something like this.
