Rodent cost me $600 plus time

[Dochatley]

So, if I send you a bill for $600 because of something that was "probably" your fault, would you send me a check for that amount??

It took 1900 miles after the Mexican rat gnawed on the wire before it caused a problem??
Possibly, NOT probably...

The problem is no one knows. Now the $600 cost is another story; that is questionable.

Your correct. No one really knows. But $600 for a few wire terminals is ridiculous. And I have had wires that due to vibrations from driving, slowly work loose or come apart. With that few miles and the short time he had the truck it would have been at least a good gesture on Fords part to repair it. He said he had no rodents and I believe him as you know when you have them. Way easier to believe it was field mice from transport. But as we have been seeing, Ford, especially some dealers, doesn’t give a sh..

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[Area51BS]

All those NEW Maverick’s sitting out in fields and in large outdoor lots, then sitting sometimes weeks on rail cars, no way they could get any rodents in them. Come on Ford. $600 for a freakin wire that was in ALL PROBABILITY chewed by a Mexican rat.

600 is not to be blamed on Ford. That falls on the rip off dealer service centers

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

My co-workers F150 spent a month in the shop waiting for a new wiring harness, because of rodent damage. Insurance covered it except for a $100.00 deductible.

I stand corrected. That's good. I know that on property insurance, e.g., homeowners insurance, termites are not covered. Neither is mouse damage.

 

[Bobinmi]

ONE issue for the 600 charge may be....you FLEW 600 miles and bought it at a dealer, then brought it to your local dealer...who certainly isn't "going to give you a customer deal" on the repair invoice...had you bought it at your local dealer...I am pretty confident he would have worked a much better price even if ford did not cover it under warranty. Just my .02

 

[Probity]

Is there anything we can do to protect the wires from being chewed on? A liberal application of spray on undercoating or something?

Had this problem with an F150. A couple of small plastic mesh bags filled with mothballs, tucked in a couple of engine bay areas kept them at bay.

 

[RR - All the way]

Your correct. No one really knows. But $600 for a few wire terminals is ridiculous. And I have had wires that due to vibrations from driving, slowly work loose or come apart. With that few miles and the short time he had the truck it would have been at least a good gesture on Fords part to repair it. He said he had no rodents and I believe him as you know when you have them. Way easier to believe it was field mice from transport. But as we have been seeing, Ford, especially some dealers, doesn’t give a sh..

I agree that it would have been a good gesture and, actually, good business. However, as the post above notes, OP flew 600 miles and paid 5K over MSRP. That was his choice, but to expect the local dealer to greet him with open arms is not realistic. The service department may have gouged him, but we really do not know if it was just a "wire" or if the frayed wire caused some other sort of damage.

 

[KevCuRaoi]

Flew 600 miles and paid $5K over invoice to get my Maverick Lariat- Yes, I wanted it that bad.
LOVED it for 1,900 miles until I got an Engine Light warning, and had to take it to my local dealer.

Issue diagnosed to be a single wire damaged by rodent- at a repair cost of nearly $600 that was NOT covered under warranty.

I do not have rodents in my garage, and my subsequent calls to Ford are have been useless.
The Mav was produced in early Feb, and I purchased it in late March, which means Ford owned it during transit after manufacturing longer than the time I have owned it since purchasing. Additionally a $600 repair bill for a few small wire terminals is crazy.

I've since seen stories of Soy Based Wiring insulation attracting rodents, etc., but since I do not have any in my garage where this Mav is kept, I can only assume that the problem may have begin at the point of manufacture in Mexico. Then, a few weeks later the wire frayed enough to cause the Engine light to come on.

Anyone else have similar experiences? I still love the Maverick, but am extremely disappointed in Ford.

There's no way Ford would pay for rodent damage under warranty. $600 does seem like a lot, but that probably depends on exactly where the chewed terminals were. Do you know if they were

ONE issue for the 600 charge may be....you FLEW 600 miles and bought it at a dealer, then brought it to your local dealer...who certainly isn't "going to give you a customer deal" on the repair invoice...had you bought it at your local dealer...I am pretty confident he would have worked a much better price even if ford did not cover it under warranty. Just my .02

Right, there is no way Ford would cover rodent damage under warranty, but if you went to your selling dealer for service they would have most likely discounted the service for you!

 

[Turtle]

Nah, probably not. Inherent vice or vermin.... depends on how the adjuster interprets it. Hitting a deer is different than an infestation.... I'd be interested in knowing what they say. I retired after 45 years in the insurance biz and sometimes it comes down to the adjuster's mood.

GEICO fixed my friends Highlander twice in a month.

 

[Nw_adventure]

Flew 600 miles and paid $5K over invoice to get my Maverick Lariat- Yes, I wanted it that bad.
LOVED it for 1,900 miles until I got an Engine Light warning, and had to take it to my local dealer.

Issue diagnosed to be a single wire damaged by rodent- at a repair cost of nearly $600 that was NOT covered under warranty.

I do not have rodents in my garage, and my subsequent calls to Ford are have been useless.
The Mav was produced in early Feb, and I purchased it in late March, which means Ford owned it during transit after manufacturing longer than the time I have owned it since purchasing. Additionally a $600 repair bill for a few small wire terminals is crazy.

I've since seen stories of Soy Based Wiring insulation attracting rodents, etc., but since I do not have any in my garage where this Mav is kept, I can only assume that the problem may have begin at the point of manufacture in Mexico. Then, a few weeks later the wire frayed enough to cause the Engine light to come on.

Anyone else have similar experiences? I still love the Maverick, but am extremely disappointed in Ford.

Ugh - Folks I know paid $5500 for a complete new harness due to rodent damage on a Range Rover - Just saying.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Ugh - Folks I know paid $5500 for a complete new harness due to rodent damage on a Range Rover - Just saying.

My frontier pickup was 5480.00+ for rats after nearby field cleared for new subdivision and roofers replaced neighbors roof. Neighbors near and far were having them in vehicles, garages, yards, etc. DFW area. Insurance comprehensive paid all but $50 deductable.

 

[midcoastme]

The only repairs I had to make to our two Cmaxes had to do with wiring. The 2015 had wires pulled out of a socket under the front seat. Seems the idiot owner put a ziploc bag of maps under the seat...moving the seat caused the problem.
The 2016 had an O2 sensor problem. Something chewed the wire...not on the sensor side...had to be the harness side. So lessons learned $$$$.

 

[JASmith]

The $600 repair bill is ridiculous, but the moment they declared it was not under warranty, leave the stealership. They are almost always a massive ripoff compared to independent shops that will attempt repair instead of replacement of entire harness IMO.

However, you don't necessarily have to have a rodent in your garage to get rodent damage, they are everywhere, soy spaghetti is delicious, and it doesn't take but seconds to give it a little taste.

I parked my car at a friends house for BBQ, and by the end of the day we already had some acorns being stockpiled under the hood. Not really a warranty claim though, would be an insurance claim, but with our $1K deductible and chance of higher premium for even mentioning a claim request to them, not worth it and may not be worth it to you either.

 

[Akuma72387]

Not going to be much of a profit when he bought it for 5k+ over MSRP.

There are people picking up the base model mavericks for a 5k markup and I have seen people complaining of up to a 20k markup on a lariat on a dealers lot on this forum a few days ago. If he put it up for let say 5-8k more than he paid on something like Craigslist or Facebook market I would say it would be sold withing the week even with the damaged wire there are people willing to pay stupid amounts to get what they want

 

[C from SF]

My co-workers F150 spent a month in the shop waiting for a new wiring harness, because of rodent damage. Insurance covered it except for a $100.00 deductible.

Same for me. My corolla had 75% of the wire casing eaten, not a touch to the wire. But my insurance covered all but my $250 deductible. I had the whole harness replaced even though the engine light never came on, so when I sold it I'd get its value.. The part with tax was over $2,700 and labor was 14 hrs at $225/hour, so almost $6k. California prices. I use a mouse blocker now.

 

[bwayne]

Not going to be much of a profit when he bought it for 5k+ over MSRP.

How much profit should they make on something they didn’t even produce? Five thousand on a $30000 truck is 16+ % profit, plus there is the profit they made over invoice price. Middle man profits are getting insane.

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