# The Rats Ate it



## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

I had an interesting note on my drivers screen the other day, "Transmission is in Emergency Mode, you may continue to drive"! I called Car-Net and they said "I don't know, Take it to the Dealer, so I did. After about two hours they came to me and said "Rats have chewed through several wires and one module and it was going to take 4-6 hours of testing to check for the damage...and this is NOT covered in my warranty. I understand "not covered" but ??? Anyone else have a similar issue or know where this will go, I already called the Insurance company and they do cover it except my "deduction". Is there anything that can be done to prevent it happening again. I am sure there are no rats but there are gophers and ground squirrels. How about rat poisons?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Have you considered just paying for the repair and not expecting VW or your insurance company covering the cost? Neither of them caused the damage.

Be careful with poison as it may harm pets and/or the poisoned animal will die in a place you will regret. Better to use something that drives the animals away.


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

atlas7 said:


> I had an interesting note on my drivers screen the other day, "Transmission is in Emergency Mode, you may continue to drive"! I called Car-Net and they said "I don't know, Take it to the Dealer, so I did. After about two hours they came to me and said "Rats have chewed through several wires and one module and it was going to take 4-6 hours of testing to check for the damage...and this is NOT covered in my warranty. I understand "not covered" but ??? Anyone else have a similar issue or know where this will go, I already called the Insurance company and they do cover it except my "deduction". Is there anything that can be done to prevent it happening again. I am sure there are no rats but there are gophers and ground squirrels. How about rat poisons?


I would use poisons...kill the bastards!


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

Huge problem in modern cars. They all use biodegradable paints etc. and attracts rats. Poison them or put rattle snake under the hood


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

edyvw said:


> Huge problem in modern cars. They all use biodegradable paints etc. and attracts rats.........


Folks have had this same issue for over 100 years....not something new.


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## JohnNS (Sep 21, 2015)

edyvw said:


> Huge problem in modern cars. They all use biodegradable paints etc. and attracts rats. Poison them or put rattle snake under the hood
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yup. Soy based wire covers too. Honda (I think it is) has/had a class action lawsuit against them. It's so bad they even have an anti-wrap tape that has pepper oil in the glue. I think you can get it on Amazon (.com).


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## kendrer (Dec 12, 2017)

*dryer sheets*

This happened to my 2015 Nissan Pathfinder and the mechanic said put dryer sheets inside your engine bay b/c rats HATE the smell. I will keep doing it with my Atlas now that I know about the "food grade" wire covers, etc.


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## DJMcGoven (Mar 2, 2007)

Had this happen to my 06 Passat. Yup, not covered and I had to come out of pocket. Don't remember the cost tho but I think I rationalized that it wasn't worth trying to fight. 

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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

capclassicv2 said:


> Had this happen to my 06 Passat. Yup, not covered and I had to come out of pocket. Don't remember the cost tho but I think I rationalized that it wasn't worth trying to fight....


Unless VW or the dealer put the rodents in your driveway or garage, I don't understand how you think they should pay to fix this.


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## jkueter (Feb 12, 2008)

Mice chewed through the abs wires on my old Subaru. Had a squirrel try and hide its nuts in the soft battery cover on my TDi. Can you change where you park the Atlas? If it's in the garage definitely get the exterminators out there!


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

atlas7 said:


> I had an interesting note on my drivers screen the other day, "Transmission is in Emergency Mode, you may continue to drive"! I called Car-Net and they said "I don't know, Take it to the Dealer, so I did. After about two hours they came to me and said "Rats have chewed through several wires and one module and it was going to take 4-6 hours of testing to check for the damage...and this is NOT covered in my warranty. I understand "not covered" but ??? Anyone else have a similar issue or know where this will go, I already called the Insurance company and they do cover it except my "deduction". Is there anything that can be done to prevent it happening again. I am sure there are no rats but there are gophers and ground squirrels. How about rat poisons?


I am sorry to hear this but this happened to someone in our Tiguan forum

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?8948337-Transmission-In-Emergency-Mode

The vacuum hose coming loose was the cause. Did they actually showed you the "chewed-up" part? just eliminating the possibility of the dealer trying to be shady.


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## vw_service_advisor (Aug 10, 2017)

Nothing wrong with asking to see/have a broken part, but there’s not a lot of incentive for shadiness here. I’d much prefer a warranty repair through VW than one that a customer is using their car insurance to cover.
Just had one approve a repair and then refuse payment a month after the car left and we had fixed it, which warranty never does to us. And the insurance companies require more paperwork and back and forth then most service departments are staffed to handle. Insurance companies are why body shops usually have so many more Advisors on staff relative to service departments.


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

First thing I did was ask for all the old parts, that was after I walked out to see for myself and of course was told to get out of the "work area". My Insurance company (shameless plug) Farmers, was at the Dealer yesterday, took many pictures and told them He would take care of all the bills. He had seen it many times but never on a Vehicle so new and so few available replacement parts. Definitely no new wire harness, but said it "should" take a day or two to fix. Then he said with parts not available it could take longer. The Service Rep says he is not sure and now its a waiting game. 

Several suggestions came out to "remedy" the rodent situation to include "spray" a pepper coating over the wires, wire cage around them, moth balls around or near them, Honda sells a tape impregnated with pepper to cover them, $35 a roll and a flashing light that is motion sensitive....also a sealed box for the car, guard with a gun, poison for the rodents. I know the area has lots of ground squirrels and gophers because they eat my plants, dig holes all over and sometimes I see them. Eliminating them would be a massive job so I am going with the "moth balls and the motion sensing light" but will also make life uncomfortable for them too. 

Six days and no estimate on time or cost!


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## ribbit (Jun 4, 2012)

A pile of Decon in the garage,just don't let pets near the place. Give them something really good to eat.


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

atlas7 said:


> First thing I did was ask for all the old parts, that was after I walked out to see for myself and of course was told to get out of the "work area". My Insurance company (shameless plug) Farmers, was at the Dealer yesterday, took many pictures and told them He would take care of all the bills. He had seen it many times but never on a Vehicle so new and so few available replacement parts. Definitely no new wire harness, but said it "should" take a day or two to fix. Then he said with parts not available it could take longer. The Service Rep says he is not sure and now its a waiting game.
> 
> Several suggestions came out to "remedy" the rodent situation to include "spray" a pepper coating over the wires, wire cage around them, moth balls around or near them, Honda sells a tape impregnated with pepper to cover them, $35 a roll and a flashing light that is motion sensitive....also a sealed box for the car, guard with a gun, poison for the rodents. I know the area has lots of ground squirrels and gophers because they eat my plants, dig holes all over and sometimes I see them. Eliminating them would be a massive job so I am going with the "moth balls and the motion sensing light" but will also make life uncomfortable for them too.
> 
> Six days and no estimate on time or cost!


Depending on your deductible, you might end up paying this yourself all together unfortunately. I've had service advisors invite me in the bay to for me to see what the issue is. I guess that depends on the dealer but it is always nice to see and understand the issue fright at it happens. I have also shown videos/pictures to the technicians first hand because a lot of times, they come back with "cannot replicate the issue" statement. Having the video/picture evidence bypasses that and helps the technician diagnose the problem further. If I get accompanied (i would rather be anyways) by a service advisor in the bay rather than wander in there all by myself. Understand the liabilities concern of the dealer but just have the customer sign the waiver that "customer is entering the bay area at their own risk and dealer will not be liable" etc. etc, sure there's a blanket language that can cover their butt.

Sorry for the rant haha. Good luck and hope they can fix it quick. I suggest looking at the Tiguan MQB forum once in a while because a lot of issues that comes up seems to be consistent between the two models. That is what I do lol (that and also I might want an Atlas in the future for myself hehe)


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## rabbit83 (Apr 11, 2003)

Why would warranty cover rodent damage, thats what the comprehensive coverage on your insurance policy is for.

Worked in dealerships for years, saw it quite a bit. Your engine compartment is a nice warm spot to hang out in. Google Rabbits and Denver International Airport.


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## Dalem77 (Dec 15, 2017)

My story this week...got in my 5 week old Atlas on Monday morning, EPC and check engine light came on and engine running rough. Obviously super annoyed, was able to drive it to the dealer staying off freeways. Service writer was confused, said they haven't done any repairs on an Atlas yet. They looked at it and then called me back into the shop to look at it with them...lots of acorn shells and one of the spark plug wires was chewed up with frayed copper showing. Not covered by warranty obviously, so $380 later took it home on Tuesday. We had rare snow and cold over the weekend in Austin, so I chalked it up to that and figured I'd try and do some preventative stuff this weekend, tape/spray/dryer sheets/etc. But, got in this morning, same EPC and check engine light, popped the hood and 3 spark plug lead wires were chewed up. Waiting to find out how much this will run me now. 

I looked under the hood of my wife's 2012 Ford Focus that parks in the driveway next to mine...lots of acorns but no wires chewed...all wires are covered in a plastic tubing and tape. My loaner is a new Tiguan Tsi, checked under the hood of that and found the engine has a cover on it, and any exposed wires have some kind of tape on them. Seems very odd to me that the Atlas doesn't have some additional protection that these other cars have. 

I live in a subdivision, not in the country, there are a multitude of cars parked outside that have never had an issue like this.


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

Two weeks now and VW Corp. has no idea where to get a replacement cable and the Atlas sits outside in the parking lot...estimated cost $1600 but no idea when it will be complete...$1000 deductible will come from me


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

Dalem77 said:


> My story this week...got in my 5 week old Atlas on Monday morning, EPC and check engine light came on and engine running rough. Obviously super annoyed, was able to drive it to the dealer staying off freeways. Service writer was confused, said they haven't done any repairs on an Atlas yet. They looked at it and then called me back into the shop to look at it with them...lots of acorn shells and one of the spark plug wires was chewed up with frayed copper showing. Not covered by warranty obviously, so $380 later took it home on Tuesday. We had rare snow and cold over the weekend in Austin, so I chalked it up to that and figured I'd try and do some preventative stuff this weekend, tape/spray/dryer sheets/etc. But, got in this morning, same EPC and check engine light, popped the hood and 3 spark plug lead wires were chewed up. Waiting to find out how much this will run me now.
> 
> I looked under the hood of my wife's 2012 Ford Focus that parks in the driveway next to mine...lots of acorns but no wires chewed...all wires are covered in a plastic tubing and tape. My loaner is a new Tiguan Tsi, checked under the hood of that and found the engine has a cover on it, and any exposed wires have some kind of tape on them. Seems very odd to me that the Atlas doesn't have some additional protection that these other cars have.
> 
> I live in a subdivision, not in the country, there are a multitude of cars parked outside that have never had an issue like this.


How did you get a LOANER for non Warranty repair? They told me any "loaner" would be out of my pocket??? Now its the 27th and they say the OEM supplier will send a new cable right after they return to work next YEAR:banghead:
HAPPY NEW YEAR:banghead:


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

Here we are at almost 30 days in the shop with no end in site... What is the "Lemon Law" rules for a non warranty shop fix. I don't remember signing anything saying "you give us (VW) $50K and we store your car in our parking lot. Any info would be helpful.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

atlas7 said:


> Here we are at almost 30 days in the shop with no end in site... What is the "Lemon Law" rules for a non warranty shop fix. I don't remember signing anything saying "you give us (VW) $50K and we store your car in our parking lot. Any info would be helpful.


I am almost positive that VW did not put rodents in the spot where you park your vehicle. Protecting the vehicle is the owner's responsibility.


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## BrewDude (Nov 3, 2000)

atlas7 said:


> Here we are at almost 30 days in the shop with no end in site... What is the "Lemon Law" rules for a non warranty shop fix. I don't remember signing anything saying "you give us (VW) $50K and we store your car in our parking lot. Any info would be helpful.


There is no such thing. You can't lemon law an issue caused by rodent damage. 

A lemon law covers you for a mechanical issue that dealers are allowed to attempt to fix a certain number of times (which varies by state) before action can be taken to relieve you of the vehicle. In your case you're at the mercy of VW providing replacement parts to which this is not a warranty issue and probably taking the boat across to get here. 

No one said you have to keep the car at the dealer's lot. You could have had it towed to your residence and stored it there, however, you take the risk of more rodent damage if you haven't gotten rid of the problem that caused it in the first place.


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## DJMcGoven (Mar 2, 2007)

I waited two months for a new headunit for my Jeep. Luckily the defective one still worked while I waited.

It sucks to not have your vehicle but I wouldn't be upset at VW, they don't control the rodent population. Considering it's a new model, I'm not surprised that supplies are still constrained.

Hopefully you'll hear something back soon.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

BrewDude said:


> ......n your case you're at the mercy of VW providing replacement parts to which this is not a warranty issue and probably taking the boat across to get here.....


You do remember the vehicle is assembled in the USA and the harness source is most likely in NA too.


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

We are now at over 40 days without my car and no idea when it will be available with almost daily calls to the dealer and NOTHING...Don't buy ANY car less than a year old if you don't want this to happen...is there anyone out there that can help as even "Volkswagen Cares" has no clue or any way to help... Unfortunately I believe any manufacturer would be in the same position but that doesn't help my situation:banghead::banghead::banghead:


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

BrewDude said:


> There is no such thing. You can't lemon law an issue caused by rodent damage.
> 
> A lemon law covers you for a mechanical issue that dealers are allowed to attempt to fix a certain number of times (which varies by state) before action can be taken to relieve you of the vehicle. In your case you're at the mercy of VW providing replacement parts to which this is not a warranty issue and probably taking the boat across to get here.
> 
> No one said you have to keep the car at the dealer's lot. You could have had it towed to your residence and stored it there, however, you take the risk of more rodent damage if you haven't gotten rid of the problem that caused it in the first place.


They said I could drive it BUT if ANY other damage was caused by anything connected to what is already there it would continue to be non warrantied damage.
Don't they have a RESPONSIBILITY to get work done in a reasonable time, whatever that could mean? I keep wondering why people keep saying there is a BOAT involved getting parts as the vehicle is BUILT here and IF they are getting parts from anywhere other than here they are FOOLS


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## WeeeZer14 (May 25, 2012)

atlas7 said:


> I keep wondering why people keep saying there is a BOAT involved getting parts as the vehicle is BUILT here


I couldn't find the stats on the Atlas, but looking up a 2017 Passat, also assembled in the Chattanooga factory like the Atlas, it shows 30% part content from US/Canada. So 70% of the parts come from some distance away although it is all put together in the states.

Link to PDF of 2017 model data on NHTSA site.


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## 0macman0 (Nov 6, 2017)

WeeeZer14 said:


> I couldn't find the stats on the Atlas, but looking up a 2017 Passat, also assembled in the Chattanooga factory like the Atlas, it shows 30% part content from US/Canada. So 70% of the parts come from some distance away although it is all put together in the states.
> 
> Link to PDF of 2017 model data on NHTSA site.


The windows sticker says 25% from Germany, including the engine. Maybe there really is a boat involved!


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## DJMcGoven (Mar 2, 2007)

atlas7 said:


> Don't buy ANY car less than a year old if you don't want this to happen...is there anyone out there that can help as even "Volkswagen Cares" has no clue or any way to help... Unfortunately I believe any manufacturer would be in the same position but that doesn't help my situation:banghead::banghead::banghead:


This is true, but it doesn't just apply to first year models either. Even with my Jeep, which has way more sales, took 2 months for a new infotainment unit, 3 years after the system was released. Dealers just don't stock replacement parts "just incase."


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

Three days away from 60 days in the shop for a $1 piece of wire that sells for $50 and still NO ETA and the car has been in the shop all that time...I also am hearing there are others but I guess they don't know about this Forum or don't want to rant about it...call me a wah-mbulance.


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## thenew3 (Jun 18, 2006)

Dalem77 said:


> I looked under the hood of my wife's 2012 Ford Focus that parks in the driveway next to mine...lots of acorns but no wires chewed...all wires are covered in a plastic tubing and tape. My loaner is a new Tiguan Tsi, checked under the hood of that and found the engine has a cover on it, and any exposed wires have some kind of tape on them. Seems very odd to me that the Atlas doesn't have some additional protection that these other cars have.


Atlas VR6 is the same engine that came out in 2006 in the Passat. Your wife's Ford and the loaner Tiguan have much newer engines. Many newer engines have plastic cover on top to make it look nice. But some of them have enough room under the cover where rodents can still get into the spark plug wires and other wires. My wife's previous passat with an older 2.0T engine had some rat droppings under the plastic cover, we only noticed it when we took the cover off to replace the spark plugs. No damage was done but it was evident there were rodents there. It got into her car when it was parked at her work place. One day when I was washing her car, I saw a rat jump out from the wheel well and run into our garage. a rat trap and 15 minutes later, we caught it.

One of the wife's co-workers parks her Acura MDX outside and rodents go into the wiring and ended up costing her several thousand dollars to get the entire wiring harness replaced. One of my friends neighbors had rodents chew up the wiring in her new BMW and it cost her $5k for new wiring harness and modules (as it caused some kind of short that damaged some controller module).

It's a common problem unfortunately.


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## sattlerjm (Jan 4, 2018)

We had this problem on a previous new vehicle. We now spray deer and rabbit repellent under the hood . Then reapply once a year or so.


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## chipster (May 30, 2017)

*Rodent Check*

I better check my Atlas for rodent habitat. That light screech during 1st gear acceleration (see related thread on this topic) might be a small rat getting rubbed against a fan belt


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

Yahoo...I have an ETA for arrival of the new harness that is made in America: end of Feb to middle of March which would take it past 90 days without my Atlas.:banghead:


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## julianv (Mar 10, 1999)

*Rats will devour your car (article in Washington Post)*

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/02/13/rats-will-devour-your-car/


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## EE1978 (Dec 1, 2019)

I recently had over a cubic foot of grass, twigs and leaves in my ATLAS engine compartment. Best we could figure was squirrels. Used a shop vac from the top and ended up dropping the lower plastic tray to get the rest of it out. The VW mechanic had not seen anything like it.
I also had another car (Chrysler 200) in the same driveway that had a sensor cable chewed by one. The dealer had my Warranty paid for the sensor but I ended up paying for the cable repair.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

EE1978 said:


> ....I also had another car (Chrysler 200) in the same driveway that had a sensor cable chewed by one. The dealer had my Warranty paid for the sensor but I ended up paying for the cable repair.


Obviously Chrysler would have no responsibility in this case.


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