Rats, wiring damage, AdBlue Heater failure

I took my 2013 in SEL back to the dealer when the CEL light came last Thursday. Code said it was an AdBlue heater failure. The dealer got the parts, pulled the old unit out and found rate turds and a chewed wiring harness. My passat spent 3 weeks sitting in the lot waiting on parts after I was rear ended ($3400 in repairs). She sat there with no bumper cover for a couple of weeks. Met with the Collision shop and VW shop managers(same dealer) about the damage and the $1075.00 to repair. The good news is that the dealer will cover the cost of the repairs. Great dealership to deal with in Hewlett VW Georgetown TX

It's that time of year, in northern climates, when mice aggressively seek a location suitable for winter nesting. They'll chew on anything to see if it will make good batting/insulation. And if it taste good...

Last winter I had a small spool of hemp twine in the shed. Mouse shredded it into a nest the size of a basketball. No doubt it made for a cozy winter retreat. This year, anything that can be shredded hangs from the rafters.

No idea why, but mice avoid the garage like the plague.

Its the time of year when Mice move in and make your garage and nice warm engine their home.

Call a pest control company!

More of the rodent bait is coming out in block form now. I keep some bait traps in the garage, but the blocks also make it easy to just find a nice spot under the hood where they won't fall out, but where they can be easily checked visually. If you know there's a problem, this is a good way to go.

My Passat was stored in the dealers lot with the bumper cover off exposing the heater. I noticed rat baits in several places around the buildings and in the lot. I have no rat problems in the garage at home. Damage is repaired.

Have you tried painting your engine yellow? Maybe the rats will think you have a CAT under the hood and stay away.

yellow engine idea

rwolff said:

Have you tried painting your engine yellow? Maybe the rats will think you have a CAT under the hood and stay away.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't help, damage was done behind the right rear wheel.

Last month the low windshield wiper fluid was laminated on my Jeep, and when I popped the hood to refill the fluid, I saw a freaking mouse! Uggg we all know what kind of damage mice can do to cars. I've killed like 15 mice in the past week around my house and shed.

The barn where I store the Passat has mice and red squirrels. I have had mice make nests in the air cleaner before (on my B4); I took some hardware cloth and covered the air intake to prevent that (and I used plenty of it so it did not restrict air flow). I also bought a 50 foot piece of flashing that I run around the car and clamp the ends together (so it is standing vertically), so far that seems to keep the mice out. It will only somewhat deter the squirrels, but about the worst they do is leave chewed pine cones on top of the engine now and then. Haven't had any trouble with them either since I started using the flashing. Of course it is tedious messing with the flashing - oh well!

We used to hang bags of moth balls in equipment bays and engine compartments to keep the critters out. The bags were made from panty hose and tie wraps. It worked. Used about 1 cup of moth balls in each bag.