Very quickly all of you technical experts.
My steering failure was supposedly caused by rodents chewing the wiring harness off where it enters the steering assembly. According to the service department it cannot be repaired because there is not enough wire protruding to splice/solder..
My question for any of you technicians: Does this sound right?
If not repairable, I'm looking at over $6,000.00 for a new unit not to mention there are none in the U.S. leaving a minimum of 3-4 weeks for delivery from the UK..
Help!

 

The rodents would not eat the copper in the wires. Even if there's only 1/8" of copper sticking out of each, they can be soldered and covered with shrink sleeving. Additionally, it's a little surprising that the rack assembly doesn't have a connector on it that the harness connects to. Me suspects that the dealer is taking the quick/easy/profitable way out of this, but get in there and see it for yourself, or at least check the online service manual to see what you're up against.

Worst case, it needs replacing, so call around to recycling yards and have an independent shop install it for way less. Or take it as-is to an independent shop for another opinion if you don't want to do any of the work yourself.

 

Do you have comprehensive insurance? It should cover damage caused by rodents. I think everyone should have comprehensive insurance for any damage not caused by another vehicle; it’s the cheapest part of your insurance premium but often the most overlooked.

 

A dealer usually wants to replace (rather than repair) wire harness issues.

So go to an independent mechanic.

 

Twice my dealer has repaired rodent damage. The first time it was a vacuum line to the muffler valves. The second time was just last month, and it was the wires to the passenger side passive keyless entry antenna. They soldered and wrapped with "rodent tape." I've done similar work when I had a shop. I don't know what the wiring coming out of the steering rack looks like, but it's possible there may really not be enough sticking out to splice to in a way they would deem reliable. I know there are many people with bad dealer experiences and it's a dealer by dealer situation. If you trust the dealer, trust their assessment. If you don't trust the dealer, you really need to find a shop you do trust.