Rats! Ate my soy-based wiring - again!

Damn, rats ate my soy-based wire harness fuel injectors again!

And they did the one deep under the upper intake manifold I didn't wrap with rat tape and copper wire because I couldn't get to it last time to protect it as it's under the intake plenum.

I have never taken this part off on a 2023 5th Gen, but it looks easy enough so I can get in there.

However, I want to make sure there are no surprises since I don't have any mechanic manuals for it with torque specs.

Does anyone have a video they can share?
Or how-to process or manual page? I can't find one, but am looking to buy one now too.

Toyota should have a class action lawsuit on building these cars with edible wires because if I take it in, it would cost like 1K to fix and isn't converted under warranty.

TIA

And yes, I have a cat, I have also sprayed with peppermint regularly, maybe not enough. Just bad luck I guess.

 

Peppermint is a myth. You're better off taking care of the actual rat problem

 

Remove your engine cover and regularly wash your engine. I use Grandpa Gus’s peppermint oil and I seem to have gotten rid of the issue but only time will tell.

 

Not just a Toyota problem. Honda, Kia, Hyundai, and many others just to name a few. Very stupid of all the car companies to use soy based wiring harness.

 

why not use rat poison?

 

I have rat poison around the area with boxes they go into, bucket traps, rat tape on the wiring with copper, a cat, peppermint I spray every so often, but they still got to the one that didn't have the rat tape. They stopped eating the one with rat tape.

 

I had watched a video that showed how they were repelled so it does work sometimes. Maybe not foolproof.

 

I leave mothballs under the hood.

 

So frustrating!

 

I wonder if cayanne pepper would deter them

 

I also bought that but hadn't yet made the mixture of it.

 

yup. Sprayed everything in this shit and they still ate my wires

 

Soy based wiring is an often perpetuated myth. Mice like to nest in warm sheltered areas like under the intake manifold. They'll chew on any plastic to grind down their continuously growing teeth. You can delete the plastic cosmetic engine cover and spray the area under the intake manifold with rodent repellent spray (sold at Home Depot) every month or so. Just be sure to spray when the engine is cold.

 

Rodent Repellants help, plus Tom Cat bait boxes under vehicle. I buy a mint repellant one at HD. 5 pouches ( like a big tea bag). Tie it where it is out of the way.
I read rats leave a nesting smell where they camp out. So you need wash their stink away.
On a V8 Dodge van years ago I repaired several injector wires where insulation and some of the thin copper was chewed away. In place (very cramped position-but I was younger) I soldered in some fine stranded copper wire to bridge the 3/8" or so gap. Area too tight to use shrink tube over repair, so I wrapped it up with Honda anti-rodent tape.
Solder is as good a comductor as the copper, did not notice any change in engine performance.
I will share my repair technique with anyone interested.

 

I have a cat plus I use this product. I have the plug in Pro on the wall right next to my 4R.

https://mouseblocker.com/

Before having a cat, I used glue traps which work, and I still use them in areas I know my cat will not get into.