Rat nest under engine cover

[MyATX]

Just had an oil change done and luckily the mechanic removed the plastic engine cover. A rat has been taking advantage of the residual heat coming from the engine on our cold Canberra nights, not sure how long it had been doing this, but long enough to get a decent amount of crap under there :(

I was very sceptical until he took me in the workshop and showed me the nest and the mess it had made in the valley. It had been chewing the foam on the underside of the engine cover and thankfully it was that and not the injector wiring that runs through that area. So it might be worth popping the cover off everynow and then if you have rodents in your area, cause apparently its a nice place to hang out. Not to mention there was no other visible signs of it being there.

Now the hunt begins ........ and some ratsack !!!

[SecaBoy]

my brother-in-law's father had a similiar thing happen to his Audi Q5.

except the rats went through the whole car!

~$20k later, the car was back on the road, but still smelt of rat. :(

[MyATX]

^ Wow that would suck big time. I think i have been lucky to find it sooner rather than later.

[CROCO]

Just had an oil change done and luckily the mechanic removed the plastic engine cover. A rat has been taking advantage of the residual heat coming from the engine on our cold Canberra nights, not sure how long it had been doing this, but long enough to get a decent amount of crap under there :(

I was very sceptical until he took me in the workshop and showed me the nest and the mess it had made in the valley. It had been chewing the foam on the underside of the engine cover and thankfully it was that and not the injector wiring that runs through that area. So it might be worth popping the cover off everynow and then if you have rodents in your area, cause apparently its a nice place to hang out. Not to mention there was no other visible signs of it being there.

Now the hunt begins ........ and some ratsack !!!

You are very lucky mate, I had a rat in my kluger and it chewed the third row seat and head rest, luckly that was the only damage, but the damage was $5000 to fix , so the little buggers can reake havoc inside the car and especially under the bonnet, I was told by my toyota service advisor the damage rats do wiring and electronics, under the placstic engine cover is a very common place for them to make home, so anyone reading this lift up the cover every so often and check to see if rats or mice havent made a nest there, also make sure all the doors and windows are closed propaly, because you dont want a rat in your car, trust me :o .

[CROCO]

my brother-in-law's father had a similiar thing happen to his Audi Q5.

except the rats went through the whole car!

~$20k later, the car was back on the road, but still smelt of rat. :(

That would absolutly break my heart especialy a audi, my heart goes out to him.

Hopefully the damage was all fixed propaly and was covered by insurance, the onlyway is use ratsak, to get rid of the little buggers, any body who sais that using ratsak is cruel, get one in your car and see what your oppinion is like after there been through you car.

Edited July 23, 2012 by CROCO

[SecaBoy]

EVERY wiring loom in the car had to be changed.

they had chewed through most wires/foam/etc.

unfortuantely, he was overseas for 2mths, so didnt see it until it was way too late. :(

[Adamsy]

We had this happen to a customer about 12 months ago. Again owners were away for a week. Little rat made it home in the Valley and went to town. Can’t remember exactly what it chewed but the vehicle was still driveable, But run just like a dog. First clue that rats had been playing was the foam scattered all through the engine bay. Little Pr!cks!