Haven't been driving the XKR as much of late. The product of not taking any fun roads in a month or two and guiltily enjoying my newly leased Fusion with all the crazy new tech (self parking, etc) enough to be an OK car to drive on short trips, shopping, other stuff that's beneath the XKR.

After two weeks of sitting, I took off the car cover and fired her up a few days back. Uh-oh... Check engine light. OBDII says strange camshaft positioning sensor issues... Then the next day I get a 'adaptive dynamic malfunction' warning on the Jag's screen. So, thinking that 1) I'm bullet proof with my wear-and-tear 2011 warranty PLUS the Select Edition warranty, I casually dropped her off @ the dealership in SF this morning.

@ around noon my service manager calls and sound serious. Like undertaker serious. "Are you still in SF?" "No, crossed the bridge after lunch, is the car ready? Do you need me back to pick her up?", "No... I have some bad news..."

Rats. Or something. Probably rats. Bored up into the engine bay and feasted on all kinds of wiring. The 4 pictures they sent are terrifying. The hood insulator is totally chewed to bits, with the foam showing and half the black felt eaten away. Likewise ALL the wires to one of the front shocks were chewed through ENTIRELY. Hmmm, maybe that had something to do with the 'Adaptive dynamic malfunction'? Ya think?

What a cluster f*ck! None of this covered by warranty. Insurance co playing nice so far, will send an adjuster out, hopefully Monday. Jag dealer is telling me they aren't sure how deep the damage is and may have to resort (get this) to PULLING THE ENGINE and wiring harness to see how much damage was done. Something tells me the adjuster is going to want them to replace obvious damage, poke around with a fiber optic scope, and be done with it. Dealership said we are talking WEEKS of down time, and that is without taking into account dealing with the insurance people.

So DAMN am I one unlucky Guinea. I left my 2010 XKR coupe in almost the exact same spot for TWICE as long as this one was parked there and never uncovered any rodent damage. Now I've got roborat eating huge chunks of insulation and wiring in a matter of days! All agreed that the damage was VERY recent, and that all considered I was lucky to have made it in without incident considering what systems the rodents could have damaged in their little bacchanal.

To add to my stress, a bit of biographical information to set the stage. Bare with me...

I live in a fairly undeveloped part of the Berkeley hills, with Tilden Regional Park blending into my sparsely populated neighborhood. On a SUPER steep slope, the views of S.F. and the Golden Gate Bridge (and hey, shout out to the new Oakland span that just opened, lookin' good) are jaw dropping. But the downsides: no development allowed, of almost ANY kind. The single dead-end road up here is super narrow and Swiss alps windy, with no room for cars to pass each other in opposite directions. Downhill car has to yield and pull to the side to let the uphill driver proceed (though the cluelessness on this point is stupefying).

So while I own almost an acre of land, and have enough space in front of my property to park a dozen cars, I don't have a garage. They were deemed unnecessary by the first few waves of builders in this strange neighborhood, mostly U.C. Berkeley Professors and the like...

Now that my finances are good, I've been exploring my fantasy of building a modest off-street garage so I wouldn't have to worry about the Jag. Get this: the city will not even allow me to built a permit-compliant cantelevered garage on my abundant space, even though the net effect would be to get my cars off the street and widen a dangeriously narrow road enough to let fire trucks get through when the inevitable fire hits. No garages allowed, all they'll allow me to built (at an estimated $125,000) is a car-port. No roof, no walls. No roof or walls, no solution to theft, vandalism, pine needles and leaves, or RATS getting back to a known comfy space for some yummy sound insulation and wire harnesses...

So asdie from being totally crushed by the bad news and the fear that I'm going be getting played like a ping-pong ball between Jag and the insurace co, and aside from being without my baby for weeks or month(s), I have NO CLUE what to do about the problem once I have her back! I keep her covered, that's enough of a pain... Now to have to worry about little creatures in the night climbing up into their secret little club house for (yeck) English cuisine on top of that, I just don't see a solution. Short of a garage. Which is not possible.

Anyone ever hear of our cars being targeted by rats or squirrels or rodents in general? Am I the lucky first on the board? Damn, you'd think that by 2011, car manufacturers would have figured out a way to make things like insulation taste like death to rodents. English food alone would do the job, evidently the wiring harnesses are better than the bangers and beans...

Frustrated and bummed out that the mighty Jaguar was felled by a lowly rat,


Skeeter
2011 XKR Coupe in Black, 'Dipped Wheels...

 

The problem started with attempts at biodegradable wiring. A principal constituent is castor bean derivatives. Rodents like the taste.

It's completely misguided because when the wiring harness self destructs, an entire vehicle ends up being discarded. This type of wiring was first tried by Mercedes in the previous generation and caused huge headaches for owners of older vehicles.

Maybe there is a ultrasonic rodent repellent that is suitable to keep rodents away from where you park your cars.

 

This happened to our 2004 XJR. We had no clue we had rats, and have seen no signs of them since, in our garage or otherwise. But the little suckers went to town on the wiring.

One problem was that we just did not drive that car much, giving the rodents plenty of time to get comfortable and munch. We are doing our best not to repeat that error with our 2010 XKR

 

In my experience, keeping rodents away from an open outdoor location in the forest is like fighting the tide... They just keep coming.

My last Siamese cat was an INSANELY skilled mouser and killer in general.... bats, mid-size raccoons, huge rats, mice, gophers, snakes... All from a little 8 lb. mother cat. The most efficient killer I've ever witnessed.

SHE would keep them away, but she passed away three years ago as of yesterday Sorely missed. Plus I couldn't expect her to patrol the streets, where people walk dogs and the occasional car drives by.

Gotta be a solution, but rodents are SO persistent and adaptable!

Skeeter

 

Right on, Bruce. I suspect my lack of activity with the car in some way contributed... But should I feel safe bringing i back and just making sure i drive i two, three x per week? Or are mor extreme measure called for.

For sure I'll put a game camera up there down low under the car and see if it picks up any of the creatures trying to get in. Kinda scary knowing the little devils are out there, chomping at the proverbial bit to get back to eating and nesting.

Skeeter

 

We've had a few reports of rodent damage in other model forums but in vehicles that have been parked for months or years rather than weeks.

Have your neighbours had similar trouble?

Graham

 

I have to assume the car was left outside covered up. If so, this is a great place for rodents and rats to hide and build nests. They have the ultimate protection from weather and rain, and a host items to feed upon like your wiring. Be thankful they hadn't gotten into the interior, and be thankful you checked on the car. It will be quite interesting to see how the insurance company handles this one. Let us know the outcome.

I live in the desert southwest (New Mexico) and we have these problems all the time. We can never leave cars parked outside. It doesn't take long for the rodents to get into the cars. So we use large rat and mouse boxes filled with bait. If you can't find a place to park the Jag after it returns, you may have to have a professional pest control company place a few of these under the car. Perhaps City of San Fran may not allow it, I don't know.

Here's what we use in New Mexico around the houses. Those that don't use these suffer the problems. In our case it is not the rats like in NYC, but the desert rats which are much smaller in size.

I have a couple of six-guns and a AR-15, but that doesn't seem to stop them. These boxes do. They are a must have. The bait gets changed and replaced every 3 months.

 

ouch - doesn't make for a good day! +1 on the bait traps

 

Sorry to hear that, Al. I had minor nesting a couple of years ago in a stored car, but no chewed wiring.

I used to use a rodent repellent spray on outdoor landscape lighting wiring run up tree trunks. Squirrels seemed to get very annoyed with that. Can't remember the name, but it prevented chewing because it had an incredibly bitter taste. Rain would eventually weaken it so it was recommended to reapply annually. Invisible coating that might work for you. Good luck with having it successfully fixed!

Bruce

 

Correct gentlemen, no bait traps in public spacers in Berkeley, Oakland, OR S.F...

So my car, technically on the street out in front of my long property line is on public property and therefore I can't place any bait traps or evening parens get this) spikes to prevent pigeons from landing! It's not like I'm trying to inpale the pigeons, just prevent them from landing by putting spikes down… I tell you even though I lean to the left it does get hard to live out here sometimes :-)

I just wonder how my 2010 lasted a year and the exact same spot without getting chewed up. Real mystery. Guess I'll have to park in a gigantic Ziploc bag every night from now on LOL.

Skeeter

 

As to the insurance company, unless there's a specific carve out in the insurance contract, I cannot imagine they would be able to differentiate rodents chewing my wires from say dear smashing into my parked car, or a Tree branch falling on my stationary, parked Jag. All of which are recoverable events under comprehensive ($500 deductible with pleasure), with no repercussions to my rates (i.e. no rate increase).

But yes, I share your curiosity as to how hard they will push back against Jaguar if they perceive Jaguar to be "overdoing it" in terms of wanting to take the engine out to look for subtle damage doesn't manifest with a fiber-optic scope and a flashlight.

The thing of it is that they have a set conflicting imperatives: the insurance company wants it fixed quick and to a reasonable standard. Jaguar on the other hand has to sit behind this car's bumper-to-bumper warranty for another six years and 100,000 miles, so they want it fixed beyond a reasonable doubt perfectly, as it came from the factory.

Will definitely keep you posted.

Thanks for all the thoughts and sympathy,

Skeeter

PS is just so happens that the ONLY day of the year that I need to own status car is this coming Friday. And it happens to be the second time in the last two years when my primetime car is out of commission for the particular event. Murphy's Law @ work.

 

Skeeter,

If my car was attacked by rats, I would immediately retaliate by unleashing my ARM - Anti Rat Missile - from its zippered containment facility and aim its warhead so its chemical payload would be sprayed around my car to defend it from further rat attacks. Enemy rats would recognize the scent of that spray as coming from their most feared natural predator and immediately retreat to safer ground, far away from my car.



Try it - it might work!

I thought you could use a little humor after all you've been through.

Stuart

 

Hi There. I know exactly how you feel. I left my xkr in the garage for 4 days only, whilst I drove another car. Went to start the xkr after the 4 days. Warning light came on the dash. I also noticed some foam and hay bits under the engine section. Lifted the bonnet.....hey presto rats nest towards rear of engine.Arghhh! Yes they also chewed some wires. Came to $600 ...NZ $....to fix. The garage holds 3 cars and also the wifes hay for the horses. Well it used to hold the hay....not any more. I now have some monster rat traps around the car. Looks like a scene from a cartoon all those rat traps. Did the trick though. No more rats.
I would suggest you do the same. I think rats scitter around the edge of walls, fences etc. For safety. So some strategically placed traps just may do the job.
Good luck with it all.

 

Skeeter - I feel your pain buddy.

You have a nice car and live in a nice area, unfortunatell local regulations mean you can do little to protect your property....That sucks!

Hope you come up with some kind of solution to resolve this moving forward

 

I thought there was a device or something that puts a small electrical charge through the car that keeps rodents from taking up refuge?

 

No doubt there are large numbers of rats in your area. Jaguar wiring is not their first food choice, which indicates a lot of competition for food. There are some electronic rat repellants on the market. Suggest you research the subject. Some are garbage. Perhaps some will work.
The politically correct City of Davis installed owl nests for rat control. Consider this as part of a "Neighborhood Watch Project."
For anything other than a battery-powered electronic control, you will need to plug to an electrical outlet, which in itself is a challenge. My guess is that it is "legal" to install unobtrusive yard lights. There are yard light fixtures which have 110vt receptacles for Christmas lighting, etc. A 110vt receptacle would also provide you with access point for a trickle charger.
I am not intimidated by your rat damage. My guess is that the rats, liking the "low hanging fruit", attacked the easily accessible underhood wires, as the car still runs. I also guess that the rats did not "eat" the copper wire itself, though it may be severed in places. I hope either Jaguar or your insurance company repairs this at their cost and to your satisfaction. But if you are on your dime, then search out an auto electrical repair shop which has repaired rat damage. Suggest in any event that the easily repaired wires be repaired first before pulling the engine. That may be all that is necessary.

 

Rotten ratty luck. Please keep us informed as to your progress, or lack therof. Hope you have the xk back (in 100% condition) in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I will add to this thread an account of my experience living near the water in Seattle. We drove our SUV every day, yet one random day we were greeted with a "Christmas Tree" of warning lights, followed by a polite message that we should turn the car off immediately and tow the car in for repairs... which of course I ignored. Mice caused $4000 worth of damage, including destroying a vacuum system, which caused an air compressor to freeze possibly because I didn't have it towed in like I should have. Insurance covered it 100% (thank you USAA).

The day we brought it back (and parked it in the garage) the mice were all over it. They don't forget! Let me say that a little louder: They don't forget! Never underestimate those little buggers. I left more mousetraps than you could count, inside the car and out, even under the hood, and caught mice every night for a week before they finally left it alone. After another week of no mice I had the car professionally detailed and ozone-treated.

Neither of the other two cars were ever touched. Apparently they pick their targets very carefully, and trust me, they are patiently waiting for the day you bring it back home. They're geniuses, I tell you. Little, mad, evil geniuses...

 

Myddydog! What am I going to do when I get the XKR back?! OMG...

To add to the drama, after yesterday's posts, I though I'd take a look under the hood of my newly leased Ford Fusion. New car, had it for a month or two... Drive it almost daily, never put a cover on it, etc.

I actuated the hood lever inside the car, then fished around for the hood release, then lifted the hood and put in the rod that holds it up (surprised that it didn't have springs or struts to keep it lifted).

Almost as soon as I put the hood up a BIG rat popped up from the engine, took a scared look at me (and I at it), and then it dove back into the engine! WTF?!

Is this the lone culprit? It was big, at least the size of a soda can, and immediately buried itself inside the engine bay, out of sight. I noticed some chewed up foam insulation and some rat/mouse crap on a small platform in front of the battery. Fortunately, no indication of damage to ANY wires or wire loom. Whew.

Meanwhile, I don't know if the rat hid elsewhere under the top of the engine, whether it hid in the frame/underbody, or whether it jumped out and ran into my ivy-covered fence...

In an abundance of caution, I hit the engine bay with a high power leaf blower, probed around with a metal rod and a fiber-optic scope, and finally exercised the nuclear option: I took a HUGE (riot sized) container of pepper spray, started the engine (with the vents and A/C off), and emptied the immense container in the engine bay, underbody, and any gaps I could find.

Not exactly a calm and measured response, but I was SERIOUSLY mad... Started the engine, drove the car for a few minutes before it stared giving off burned OC smell, and called it a night.

Some of the OC got on my arms, which was no fun. Word to the wise if ever you get pepper spray on you (hopefully just mild blowback when you use it on someone else): do NOT try to rinse it off with water. Just makes it worse and doesn't get it off your skin/pores.

Instead, saturate the area with strong soap (dish soap, liquid shower soap, shampoo, etc). Let it sit for a while and then gently rinse it off with cool water. Repeat until you aren't in serious pain.

So now I don't know if I have a single turbo-rat with a hit out on my cars, or if there are a bunch of the little buggers looking for a nice private dining experience...

If the latter (which I strongly suspect) setting a humane trap (one that won't injure/kill a stray cat that hides under my car, etc) won't do me much good, as there'll be another rat to take the place of any one I catch.

If it is a single ninja rat out to get me, a trap under the car, while not 100% legal, will work. But the odds seem like 1% that it is one sole rodent doing this. And even if this were the case, some other rodent would likely take it's place once this hypothetical alpha-rat is taken out of the equation.

What the F to do?!

I'm cautiously hopeful when I read your posts indicating sub $1k damages for similar encounters. But Jag told me that they were VERY serious about this being a severe problem (e.g. having to potentially pull the engine to look for damage), not likely fixed any time soon, and with not even a rough estimate on cost.

If it were on my property, I'd find a way to get my two Siamese cats access to the area. Problem solved. But can't have 'em roaming around the streets @ night, not an option

Quick research shows that all the 'ultrasonic rodent repellent' devices aren't effective. And setting traps, besides being a HUGE pain in the ***: hey, let's drive the Jag today... First I'll crawl under the car and clear/empty the traps, then I'll take off the cover, a pain in itself, then when I get back, put the cover back on and crawl under the car to lay down a half dozen traps... never mind, I'll take my Vespa or the Ford... is illegal, with some shockingly severe $ penalties...

Plus, any remedy has to extend to ALL my cars, since now the generic leased Fusion is being attacked!

Ugh! I'll set up some motion cams under a car in the next few days and see what shows up.

Keep the advice coming and thanks,


Skeeter

 

That sounds like a totally measured and reasonable response to me.