Brand new rat problem with Ioniq 5

4434 Views 20 Replies 18 Participants Last post by GrantL, 6 d ago

Kal

Discussion Starter · Jan 19, 2022

I have had delivery of my long waited Ioniq 5 on January 06. Drove it for 2 weeks and it was very much fun. Then last Sunday all of sudden the car is giving 5 errors related to the ABS and sensors..! drove it hardly to the dealer. Today I got a call from the service saying: seems like a rat eat a wire that killed the sensors...! the car was parked only for 12 hours over night no more and rat could do that ..!!
The service guy told me this car is made of Eco Friendly materials therefore it might be attractive to the rats.
So can I deal with such problem??

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

ev_chris

· #2 · Jan 19, 2022

Kal said:
I have had delivery of my long waited Ioniq 5 on January 06. Drove it for 2 weeks and it was very much fun. Then last Sunday all of sudden the car is giving 5 errors related to the ABS and sensors..! drove it hardly to the dealer. Today I got a call from the service saying: seems like a rat eat a wire that killed the sensors...! the car was parked only for 12 hours over night no more and rat could do that ..!!
The service guy told me this car is made of Eco Friendly materials therefore it might be attractive to the rats.
So can I deal with such problem??

Any suggestions?

Thanks

I’ve heard a lot of the interior was made of eco friendly materials, but not the cables. I use to own a Chevy Bolt and hang out in a few of those forums. A few people in the Bolt forums had the same issues with rodents eating their wires. It might be an EV thing or maybe related to the part of the country you live?

MA&FL snowbird

· #3 · Jan 19, 2022

ev_chris said:
I’ve heard a lot of the interior was made of eco friendly materials, but not the cables. I use to own a Chevy Bolt and hang out in a few of those forums. A few people in the Bolt forums had the same issues with rodents eating their wires. It might be an EV thing or maybe related to the part of the country you live?

Sorry to hear that.
Sad to say mice love to build condo on my 2012 Volvo and then chew the fuel pump nipple and wires. Expensive. Also happened to an ‘07 Lexus’ engine wires. Both cars were stored in garage for couple months - one in MA, other in FL.

Reactions: 1

CMoe

· #4 · Jan 19, 2022

ev_chris said:
I’ve heard a lot of the interior was made of eco friendly materials, but not the cables.

Same as you, I know eco friendly interior (like the use of vinyls for interior and not animal skin) , but I never see heard of green wire. Those days, all electrical wire are in plastic or rubber or silicon for insulation. Long time ago, some was insulated with cotton, but forget about it in car industry.

Look like a rodent love your car too to make it's new home.

Good luck !

aeroman

· #5 · Jan 19, 2022

warranty cover this? out of pocket?

Kilted Tailor

· #6 · Jan 19, 2022

Its not just EVs, Its ICE trucks and my antique Honda Helix, amoung others I have owned. The problem is the wires, till very recently were made of soybean 'juice'. The new USA wires have 'anti-rodent' 'juice' so they do not like it. It seems Hyundai did not get the memo. I had a GMC truck that I left in a closed garage for a weekend. On Monday the rodents had built a nest in the air intake box, eaten a 'flock of plastic things' and raised general havoc.
The only cure I have found that works is real mothballs. I put them in a cheese cloth bag I made, a stick them in the motor bay, and the demi trunk in the 'boot'. Some like cedar or lavender, I have not tried these.
The bright part, there is no stink of 'burned mothballs' that I got with a HOT I.C.E. engine meeting a bag of mothballs.
I do not know where you are; but in Maine the problem is always in the late fall, when they are 'wintering over' and the early spring and nesting and newborns time of year. Where ever you are, ask your local Govt. officials who deal in wildlife, for the seasonal cycles where you are.

See less See more

Reactions: 2

trevmar

· #7 · Jan 19, 2022

Kilted Tailor said:
Its not just EVs, Its ICE trucks and my antique Honda Helix, amoung others I have owned. The problem is the wires, till very recently were made of soybean 'juice'. The new USA wires have 'anti-rodent' 'juice' so they do not like it. It seems Hyundai did not get the memo. I had a GMC truck that I left in a closed garage for a weekend. On Monday the rodents had built a nest in the air intake box, eaten a 'flock of plastic things' and raised general havoc.
The only cure I have found that works is real mothballs. I put them in a cheese cloth bag I made, a stick them in the motor bay, and the demi trunk in the 'boot'. Some like cedar or lavender, I have not tried these.
The bright part, there is no stink of 'burned mothballs' that I got with a HOT I.C.E. engine meeting a bag of mothballs.
I do not know where you are; but in Maine the problem is always in the late fall, when they are 'wintering over' and the early spring and nesting and newborns time of year. Where ever you are, ask your local Govt. officials who deal in wildlife, for the seasonal cycles where you are.

If you have a cat or dog try to save any of its fur (or ask at a pet groomer shop) and put that in porous bags near where you park, the rodents soon get the message and stay away

Kilted Tailor

· #8 · Jan 27, 2022

trevmar said:
If you have a cat or dog try to save any of its fur (or ask at a pet groomer shop) and put that in porous bags near where you park, the rodents soon get the message and stay away

Well., maybe- I have both creatures and it made no difference

CharleyPick

· #9 · Jan 27, 2022

Give this a read…

www.terminix.com

How to Protect Your Car Wiring From Rodents | Terminix

Rodents chewing your car wires can cause inconvenient and expensive problems for your vehicle. Read on to learn how you can help prevent this from happening.

www.terminix.com

Reactions: 1

TRT

· #10 · Jan 27, 2022

Cheer up. Summer, & especially Spring, problem in Canberra (Aus) is brown snakes curling up under the hood 😟. Fortunately pretty rare.

I wonder if they can get in the frunk😏

2353

· #11 · Jan 27, 2022

TRT said:
problem in Canberra (Aus) is brown snakes curling up under the hood

Or large spiders that find their way into the car - and make themselves visible when on the highway at 110kph - again not common.

Reactions: 1

MrMjay

· #12 · Jan 27, 2022

I don't know what happened to your car, obviously, but just to say that rodents chewing electric wire insulation is nothing new. I've seen this happen to wires inside computer equipment and also to electric wiring in the wall, mice can be very small and get into some very tight spaces. Nothing to do with renewable materials, they just seem to like chewing the plastic insulation, for whatever reason.

HandyAndy

· #13 · Jan 27, 2022

TRT said:
Cheer up. Summer, & especially Spring, problem in Canberra (Aus) is brown snakes curling up under the hood 😟. Fortunately pretty rare.

I wonder if they can get in the frunk😏

Won't the snakes catch & eat the rats? problem solved??

Reactions: 2

MrMjay

· #14 · Jan 27, 2022

HandyAndy said:
Won't the snakes catch & eat the rats? problem solved??

Yes. Now add a mongoose..... 😯

Reactions: 3

Lin19687

· #15 · Jan 27, 2022

Kilted Tailor said:
Its not just EVs, Its ICE trucks and my antique Honda Helix, amoung others I have owned. The problem is the wires, till very recently were made of soybean 'juice'. The new USA wires have 'anti-rodent' 'juice' so they do not like it. It seems Hyundai did not get the memo. I had a GMC truck that I left in a closed garage for a weekend. On Monday the rodents had built a nest in the air intake box, eaten a 'flock of plastic things' and raised general havoc.
The only cure I have found that works is real mothballs. I put them in a cheese cloth bag I made, a stick them in the motor bay, and the demi trunk in the 'boot'. Some like cedar or lavender, I have not tried these.
The bright part, there is no stink of 'burned mothballs' that I got with a HOT I.C.E. engine meeting a bag of mothballs.
I do not know where you are; but in Maine the problem is always in the late fall, when they are 'wintering over' and the early spring and nesting and newborns time of year. Where ever you are, ask your local Govt. officials who deal in wildlife, for the seasonal cycles where you are.

Where did you put the bag in your truck ? I've got an F350 and I'm just curious where I need to put it.

Not sure where the OP lives but if it AZ, they have pack rats. My Mum used to get them and man they are hard to stop.

Kilted Tailor

· #16 · Jan 31, 2022

Lin19687 said:
Where did you put the bag in your truck ? I've got an F350 and I'm just curious where I need to put it.

Not sure where the OP lives but if it AZ, they have pack rats. My Mum used to get them and man they are hard to stop.

Pardon the late reply-- your answer is next. For my truck, I put them near the air intake for the carb. I then put two more, left and right, down low near to the ground. The idea being, of course, these things start at ground level, and work up

Reactions: 1

bekerarmellah

· #17 · 7 d ago

Kal said:
I have had delivery of my long waited Ioniq 5 on January 06. Drove it for 2 weeks and it was very much fun. Then last Sunday all of sudden the car is giving 5 errors related to the ABS and sensors..! drove it hardly to the dealer. Today I got a call from the service saying: seems like a rat eat a wire that killed the sensors...! the car was parked only for 12 hours over night no more and rat could do that ..!!
The service guy told me this car is made of Eco Friendly materials therefore it might be attractive to the rats.
So can I deal with such problem??

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Hello! I also have a simple and affordable tip to eliminate rodents in general. You just need to place a box with small holes, filled with mothballs to keep them away, or with an anti-rodent product to get rid of them permanently, in the engine compartment of your vehicle. I've been using this method for years and I no longer have any nibbling issues. But your tip also seems very effective to me, I'm going to give it a try as well.

hpark21

· #18 · 6 d ago

I don't have much issues with mice around my home, but I recently (ordered by my wife who is deathly afraid of snake) to kill off the large garter snake nesting around my house so I MAY get some mice. (Hopefully there were some that weren't as brazen as the one I had to kill - was sunbathing on my front porch, bold and deadly move)

kjanracing

· #19 · 6 d ago

“The only cure I have found that works is real mothballs”.
How do you even see those little things?

Reactions: 2

kuskye25

· #20 · 6 d ago

Kal said:
I have had delivery of my long waited Ioniq 5 on January 06. Drove it for 2 weeks and it was very much fun. Then last Sunday all of sudden the car is giving 5 errors related to the ABS and sensors..! drove it hardly to the dealer. Today I got a call from the service saying: seems like a rat eat a wire that killed the sensors...! the car was parked only for 12 hours over night no more and rat could do that ..!!
The service guy told me this car is made of Eco Friendly materials therefore it might be attractive to the rats.
So can I deal with such problem??

Any suggestions?

Thanks

All of these responses are fine and dandy, but 12 hours, I call BS and would request to see the wires and investigate for myself. EV's are less scary to pull apart then gas, lookup the codes, locate the area, take out some bolts and look for yourself.

Also to answer a question, yes there were cars made with eco friendly wiring, it was a huge fail and never done again. "example below" Nothing under our hood is eco friendly thankfully.

"Mercedes-Benz has never officially issued a safety recall for biodegradable wiring harnesses" <== these things literally fell apart in a few years lol

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