Protection from Rodents?

[william johnson]

My 2008 4Runner was totaled when parked outside in Los Angeles the wiring was consumed by rodents. Has Toyota made any improvements in protecting the wiring, I have a 2026 4Runner which I suspect had even more accessible sensitive wiring.

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[josiahg52]

Not really. Pretty much the same. Over what time frame did this occur?

 

[william johnson]

Not really. Pretty much the same. Over what time frame did this occur?

I was the victim of two attacks. One was over about 10 days and the insurance company paid to replace 12 wiring harnesses. The second was over more than a month and the insurance company paid me $18,000 and totaled the car. I preferred my 2008 over my 2026 4Runner. The hybrid battery and turbocharger add issues with very little benefit.

 

[plukaz]

I can't comment on if it's better than your previous 2008 and you may already know this, but as general FYI.. The rodents are attracted to the vegetable and Soy coated wiring. Most of what i see in my 2026 engine bay is protected by corrugated plastic wire loom - which is polyethylene - so it should be ok. If you see exposed wires, tape them with petroleum-based vinyl high-heat electrical tape. The other option is to use a chayene pepper / pepermint oil spray - which is temporary. It also has an obvious smell to us humans, but I've had success with an older vehicle I store outside spraying it around the wheel well liners, bottom of the chasis and on engine bay insulation - just keep it far away from the cabin air intake vents. I reapply every few months and I've not had a problem after an initial issue where some sound baffling was eaten - I soaked that part until it was dripping

 

[127.0.0.1]

ok seriously

all bets are off but when I saw a few videos online of a camera watching
mice and rodents going for seeds left out, and then the guy tried mint and other
things, the minty stuff the rodents straight out avoided

this is likely the best thing to do and it does and doesn't work sometimes
but it is better than doing nothing

get these on amazon
Motrapso
Peppermint Oil to Repel Mice and Rats, 4 Pack Rodent Repellent

They are circular tin cans of mint and smells rodents absolutely do not prefer
and they have an adhesive pad on the back. like an air freshener gel inside that
eventually evaporates away

Under the hood I have two stuck near the windshield passenger corner on some flat
plastic, and 2 stuck near the (non hybrid) 12v battery on front driver side

When I walk by the 4runner while parked I can smell this mint wafting


I change these every 3 months or so when they are depleted

it has kept the chipmunks out of my 4runner for sure.

rodents are gonna rodent, but this seems legit

----
the 4runner does have a fairly good design around the cabin air intake, it is not easy for
a critter to crawl straight into the air intake like on rav4's. but if you want to be sure
you need to remove the plastic cowl and install a metal screen over the cabin air
intake to 100% keep critters from going in there and causing internal damage


Oh and for sure, my Yaris was about taken over by mice. I started using cotton balls and raw peppermint oil in strategic locations and they disappeared and never came back

... and a spray bottle with peppermint oil or rodent repellent, and a quick walk around every once in a while blasting bits of the underside and wheel wells will help too

 

[dante116]

ok seriously

all bets are off but when I saw a few videos online of a camera watching
mice and rodents going for seeds left out, and then the guy tried mint and other
things, the minty stuff the rodents straight out avoided

this is likely the best thing to do and it does and doesn't work sometimes
but it is better than doing nothing

get these on amazon
Motrapso
Peppermint Oil to Repel Mice and Rats, 4 Pack Rodent Repellent

They are circular tin cans of mint and smells rodents absolutely do not prefer
and they have an adhesive pad on the back. like an air freshener gel inside that
eventually evaporates away

Under the hood I have two stuck near the windshield passenger corner on some flat
plastic, and 2 stuck near the (non hybrid) 12v battery on front driver side

When I walk by the 4runner while parked I can smell this mint wafting


I change these every 3 months or so when they are depleted

it has kept the chipmunks out of my 4runner for sure.

rodents are gonna rodent, but this seems legit

----
the 4runner does have a fairly good design around the cabin air intake, it is not easy for
a critter to crawl straight into the air intake like on rav4's. but if you want to be sure
you need to remove the plastic cowl and install a metal screen over the cabin air
intake to 100% keep critters from going in there and causing internal damage


Oh and for sure, my Yaris was about taken over by mice. I started using cotton balls and raw peppermint oil in strategic locations and they disappeared and never came back

... and a spray bottle with peppermint oil or rodent repellent, and a quick walk around every once in a while blasting bits of the underside and wheel wells will help too

I've used mint oil on my outdoor vehicles for years and have had zero evidence of rodents, where before using it I had found chewed wiring and droppings all over the engine area. I use the dropper the bottle comes with and place drops all around the engine bay in any little divot that can keep it there without running off. I re-apply it about every 2-3 weeks. Works like a charm and is way cheaper than new wiring. Plus it doesn't smell half bad, especially when the engine heats up.

 

[FlaFlaFloFly]

Found a dead mouse in my trunk last night so went and checked my cabin air filter this morning and bingo! Mouse nest and all sorts of nuts and stuff between my hood and the insulation. When I open the hood, I can hear it all rolling around.
Planning to vacuum it all out and spray mint all around until I come up with another solution.

 

[plukaz]

I had the same problem with an older car I keep outside on the driveway. I removed the hood insulation and sprayed it in with peppermint oil. Also cleaned the underside of the hood and parts of the engine compartment with Simple Green and a pressure washer on low. Inside, I cleaned as much of the airbox as possible by removing the fan. The advice I got was to wash as much as possible. So far, a year later, it's worked.

 

[Nodak]

i keep 2 claw snap traps in the garage all year long. the cold snaps we get and un heated garage helps keep them out for 1/2 the year. one by the back door and one by the garbage can.

i just wish my garage overhead doors has better seals to keep them out but its a losing battle. our mice dont get very big up here (probably due to how cold it gets, they die off easily during winters) so they shimmy the small gaps in the corners of the door as it meets the pavement.

i have to use the small traps as the big ones dont set off due the mice not being heavy enough.

i use tomcats small traps 4in long by 2in wide. i had some spare tomcat big traps but they just emptied the peanut butter from them without setting them off.

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