Dang squirrels chewed through wires!

[Maverickman74]

Back in the year 2000 a buddy of mine in high school just got his first car. A spiffy 5 year old red Pontiac Grand Am GT. He brought it by my house to show it off and have me look it over. I took it around the block and was suprised to find out it could even squeal the tires a bit. So I popped the hood, eyeballed some things, then popped open the air filter housing only to find about 2.5lbs of dog food "squirreled" away in there! After we cleaned it out that Grand Am was ready to go race in a Grand Prix!

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[Mymaverick2021]

It's the soy based wiring, and apparently Squirrels like it as much as the Rats do

Just a suggestion you could go on Amazon and they sell those sonic vibration rat repellers that would probably work on squirrels also easy hook up put one under the hood and hopefully good bye squirrels

 

[Chris_G]

Just a suggestion you could go on Amazon and they sell those sonic vibration rat repellers that would probably work on squirrels also easy hook up put one under the hood and hopefully good bye squirrels

Nope, tried it. It will kill the battery.

 

[Braderick]

Apparently, squirrels like my Ford Maverick hybrid and my wife’s Ford Escape hybrid. My wife’s Escape “check engine” light came on about three weeks ago and on FordPass, said it was the knock sensor. I took it to have Ford repair center look at it, and all they did was reset the knock sensor warning, which came back on two miles down the road. I called them back, and they were backed up three weeks just to have them diagnose it, so the car sat in the driveway until yesterday, when I got an appointment at the Lincoln dealer across the street from them. Upon a visual inspection under the hood, they discovered acorns in several spots and rodent turds. They said the damage so far is $1200 and advised me to call my insurance company. The squirrels chewed through wires. From what I searched on the internet. Squirrels are looking for nesting places in the winter. I need to get rodent spray to hopefully keep them away.

So since her Escape has been deadlined and now at the Lincoln repair shop, she’s been driving my Maverick. When she got home yesterday, I looked under the hood and found rodent turds, but no acorns.

That FORD dealership sounds sketchy. They reset the code, and let you drive something that wasn't safe...then tell you to park it because they are too busy. Glad you had the Lincoln folks check it out.

 

[jwesterly]

Sorry for your troubles. I've had a vacuum line chewed thru and implemented some of the deterrents. I recall this cartoon which gave me chuckles...
https://condenaststore.com/featured/bamboo-flooring-jeremy-nguyen.html

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Back in the year 2000 a buddy of mine in high school just got his first car. A spiffy 5 year old red Pontiac Grand Am GT. He brought it by my house to show it off and have me look it over. I took it around the block and was suprised to find out it could even squeal the tires a bit. So I popped the hood, eyeballed some things, then popped open the air filter housing only to find about 2.5lbs of dog food "squirreled" away in there! After we cleaned it out that Grand Am was ready to go race in a Grand Prix!

My ex in-laws put 300k+ miles on a blue Grand Am like that with minimal maintenance. They bought a newer Pontiac that was always in the shop until they got tired of that and sold it...

 

[DoomBuggy]

You could try Irish Spring soap under the hood, although I don't know how you would attach it so it doesn't rattle around...Where I live we have pack rats and apparently it works on them. Not surprised--that stuff smells like a chemical factory!

 

[FromAway]

Squirrels are an excellent source of sustainable protein.

 

[boe757]

My ex in-laws put 300k+ miles on a blue Grand Am like that with minimal maintenance. They bought a newer Pontiac that was always in the shop until they got tired of that and sold it...

I am sure Pontiac fire their design team promptly - had one, you could open the radiator cap, reach in, give the thermostat a half turn and lift it out to change it - what a clever design

 

[Shakesbear]

You could try Irish Spring soap under the hood, although I don't know how you would attach it so it doesn't rattle around...Where I live we have pack rats and apparently it works on them. Not surprised--that stuff smells like a chemical factory!

Probably considered politically incorrect these days

 

[Deleted member 5597]

Went to Lowe’s and got some peppermint pellets in a pouch and put one in my Maverick, then went and got Cayenne pepper and sprinkled some around the engine. We’ll see if that works.

 

[OCSANDRA]

Today must be the official rodents ate my truck day. I was headed out to work, the truck wouldn't start up. It gave me an error "Pedestrian Sounder Fault" get service now. After some swearing, called the tow truck, got over to my local Ford dealer. He says a rodent was living in your car. Now I am just waiting to get the estimate for the repairs. Awesome.

 

[RR - All the way]

An electric bug zapper with sunflower seed , corn, or peanut butter works well. For the bachelors in our group, the squirrel will be fried and ready for consumption after being dressed. Not SPCA approved however!

 

[Shakesbear]

Went to Lowe’s and got some peppermint pellets in a pouch and put one in my Maverick, then went and got Cayenne pepper and sprinkled some around the engine. We’ll see if that works.

Rats love spicey peppermint

 

[Shaver]

Go to you local farm store get some poison peanuts. You could also spray your wheel wells with animal deterrent spray that might keep them away

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