Rodent attack...now what?

[Ingen]

Rodents definitely get comfortable with vehicles that are consistently in the same place. I shuffle everything around every few days if they aren't getting driven.

MountainBikeDude - Yeah, the Rivian is not my daily driver. (Not that I daily drive in general -- I work from home when I work.) The Rivian is an overlanding/roadtripping vehicle, but I do try to drive it around every two weeks. But I'll be honest, I got lazy and let it sit the past month. There's a possibility all this happened this past month, but probably as you're suggesting, it was a few different creatures over a period of time.

I think I'm going to install the rodent deterrent devices listed above and maybe move the Rivian and my "daily driver" every week now to help prevent this from happening again.

I had wondered if leaving the Rivian on its highest suspension settings would make it harder for them to get in and deter some of the critters. I'm not saying it would stop them, but much like a bike lock, it might deters the laziest of them. However, I'm guessing leaving the vehicle on its highest suspension settings for long periods of time might cause problems with the suspension, which is way more expensive to fix.

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[Ingen]

As suggested by others on the forums, I left a Ring Security camera under my Rivian in the garage and sure enough, last night I saw this little guy. Probably one of the many culprits.

I was testing out the idea leaving the vehicle in its highest suspension setting last night and I briefly see this little critter try to reach up and miss, then go away. So maybe it does help... but again might cause more damage in other areas in the long run.

Interestingly enough, I got an updated estimate from Rivian this morning after sending over some photos and they reduced the estimate to $250, but I really doubt that it'll stay that low once they get in there.

 

[DeafPug]

Shawn Woods - aka Mousetrap Mondays

The Dizzy Dunker
Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Py9eDF
Purchase Directly from the Rinne Website: https://www.rinnetraps.com/?ref=shawnwoods1

(I included Shawn's referral links on both of those links)



With this simple trap, you'll be on your way in an unsuccessful career at training mice to swim.

 

[Ingen]

I've definitely heard of people having animals or rodents chewing through wires in cars, but it's never happened to me... until now.

I was literally hours away from a multi-week long distance roadtrip when my R1S threw up "Surround Sensors not working" error. (Surround Sensors are the ultrasonic sensors on the bumpers). I had a bad feeling it was chewed wires. I looked under the front of the car and saw a rag sticking out from behind the bumper skid plate. I pulled on the rag and a bunch of twigs came out with it. I cancelled the trip and in the daylight today I pulled the front trunk tub out and found a bunch of random things (paint brush, plastic spackle knives, yard debris, etc.) had been brought in by some creature and put in the front skid plate. As I slowly cleared out that stuff I pulled on something and a whole nest came out of the passenger front bumper (see first photo). Not sure what kind of creature it was because the nest is sizable (10-12in. diameter) and the droppings were also way bigger than rat droppings. The creature also ate some parts of the hard plastic that make up the front trunk tub (second photo). And of course, as I looked around I found a bunch of places wires had been chewed. I eventually found one wire that had been chewed through completely, so that's probably the ultrasonic sensors. I have a service appointment on Wednesday to get all this fixed. Their initial estimate is $750, but I suspect like others on this thread, I'm probably looking at at $3000+ bill. F-me. I'll post again, once I get the vehicle back.

For those who were wondering what this all cost to repair... (drum roll please)... a hair over $10,000! Yeah, that's not a typo, that's "TEN THOUSAND"!!! Bear in mind too the car was drivable, only parking sensor error, so as far as I can tell this was all low-voltage wiring. This is a Gen1 R1S, I wonder with less wiring harness in Gen2, if similar damage would be slightly cheaper. If people are curious, I'll post a redacted invoice.

When I brought it in the service advisor pretty much told me to call my insurance right away, even before he'd intake the car. I did and still waiting to hear back on what they'll cover. I'll update when I hear back from them. Fingers crossed.

As for preventing this in the future, I did a bunch of research and the consensus amongst experts (not random internet hearsay) is that the ultrasonic stuff basically doesn't work and the only somewhat preventative thing you can do is peppermint spray every couple weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to do the ultrasonics too, because why not, but I'm not counting on them. And yes, daily driving (mine is not a daily driver) helps but it's also not full proof. I've had other non-daily driver cars parked in the same spot at my house for a decade and didn't have any problems. I think part of the problem is the Rivian is big and therefore has big open areas for creatures to make a home in. Oof, I'm going to be diligent and set a reminder to spray the vehicle and move the vehicles around.

 

[Count Orlok]

recommended by The Count: https://thegridguard.com/

He uses it for winter storage of the Royal classic cars.

 

[FooF]

https://hiowltra.com/

 

[Count Orlok]

https://hiowltra.com/

The Count has those in his horse barn but they really aren't great outside even with it sold as indoor outdoor. any kind of wind and water gets in and sets it off.

Local Opossums, however, have learned that when they hear the traps beeping they can reach in and get a free treat. Will post video if desired.

 

[azbill]

For those who were wondering what this all cost to repair... (drum roll please)... a hair over $10,000! Yeah, that's not a typo, that's "TEN THOUSAND"!!! Bear in mind too the car was drivable, only parking sensor error, so as far as I can tell this was all low-voltage wiring. This is a Gen1 R1S, I wonder with less wiring harness in Gen2, if similar damage would be slightly cheaper. If people are curious, I'll post a redacted invoice.

When I brought it in the service advisor pretty much told me to call my insurance right away, even before he'd intake the car. I did and still waiting to hear back on what they'll cover. I'll update when I hear back from them. Fingers crossed.

My Mach E had rodent damage a couple of years ago, totally bricked it, and was $6500 covered by insurance. They had to drop the battery to replace one of the harnesses that was damaged. Same thing, dealer told me to contact the insurance company right away.

 

[Zoul]

Caution with the peppermint oil/extract, make sure you get the peppermint scent oils and not a flavoring oil, some of the peppermint flavorings have added sugar which has the opposite effect.

I have also had good luck with Irish spring bar soap. Cut it into chunks and toss it into hard to reach areas. This has worked great on my boat which gets stored under a tarp in winter. Smells a hell of a lot better than mothballs and I prefer it over strong peppermint. Should deter spiders some as well.

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