Little critters causing big problems for car owners

Of all the problems that can cause significant damage and repair bills for your car, it turns out some little things are among the biggest culprits.

Most of us would never even think to check for the potential problem, until it’s too late. Just ask Dr. Paul Mack.

The Shoreline chiropractor learned all about the growing problem firsthand, when the check engine light on his Toyota Highlander recently came on.

“I lifted the hood, saw mouse turds on the cowling,” Mack said.

Mack called the dealer, who told him to bring it in when he could. In the meantime, a horrible grinding noise started when he ran the defroster. He took it to the dealer, and soon after got the bad news.

“He says ‘call your insurance agent. We’re at $6,000 and counting,'” Mack said.

It turns out a family of mice had made a nest in the space between the outer panel and engine. And they then proceeded to chew on everything they could.

“Two major wiring harnesses, the air conditioning, the belts were partially chewed, brake fluid cap was chewed,” Mack said.

It sounds like a fluke. But it turns out this happens far more often than you’d think. Mack’s mechanic at Toyota of Lake City in Seattle told him he sees at least one car a month with serious rodent damage. His most costly was a BMW totaling more than $10,000 in repairs.

A report by CTWatchdog.com says rodents damage hundreds of thousands of cars across the country every year.

A number of KIRO Radio listeners relayed their own examples of rodent damage via the station’s text line at 98973:

• “I killed 12 mice in my engine compartment. Several times had them pop up onto the windshield while I drove &#8212 even had one running around at my feet while I drove. My grandkids thought it was a hoot. Me? Not so much.”

• “The biggest thing that people have to do is maintenance underneath the hood. People don’t take care for their cars and then they get upset because small animals find home inside their hood. This is easily fixed with a vacuum cleaner and an air hose.”

• “Found the evidence first, and set up mouse traps inside vehicle…snap, crackle, pop…buh bye mousie!!”

• “Mice made a nest in the heater exchange box of a ’73 VW Bus. It caught fire half way up Snoqualmie Pass. Only damage done was the insulation around the heater was toast.”

• “I work for one of the local colleges and we had several mice that had gotten into the bus engine compartment and inside the air conditioning units specifically. We spent roughly $10,000 to $15,000 to have those repaired. Buses are quite a bit more expensive to repair than cars.”

• “Wait till an aircraft mechanic tells you there are mice living in insulation between the interior and exterior wall of a 737. Happened to me. We flew the plane to 17,000 feet unpressurized to kill them suckers. Total cost…about 25k.”

So what do you do?

“They told me Irish Spring soap flakes or dryer sheets,” Mack said.

You can also use other deterrents like cedar wood, dog or human hair, or peppermint oil inside. And a quick Internet search turned up a number of commercially available sprays.

The two big things rodents are seeking are heat and food. So the experts advise keeping your car clean, vacuuming up all that food debris and throwing away the fast food wrappers.

And it’s a good idea to check under the hood occasionally and look around for the tell tale signs, before it costs you thousands of dollars.