Are New Jersey squirrels damaging your car?

There was a recent post on the next-door app from a woman in South Jersey who had over $1,500 worth of damage done to her car after two trips to the dealership to have it repaired.

She thought she found the reason why. A few years ago information came out that new car makers were using soy-coating on the wiring in car engines because it was environmentally safe and cheaper to use than traditional chemical coatings.

A quick search on the Internet and you will find multiple stories about “soy-coated wires“ attracting rodents to car engines.

Well, recently that “myth“ seems to have been busted by none other than Ray Magliozzi.

You may know Ray and his late brother as "the car guys." The famous public radio duo, who called themselves "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers."

Ray, a veteran mechanic, claims the soy-coated wire attracting rodents to car engines is a myth. He cites studies were done that show there is no credible evidence that rodents prefer gnawing on soy-coated wires over traditional coated wires.

A class-action lawsuit against Toyota related to rodent damage was dismissed by a judge due to a lack of evidence. Mice and squirrels have been chewing on car wires and other plastic parts for over 100 years.

So rather than trying to blame it on modern technology and big corporations, you just might want to try to keep those squirrels and rodents from getting into your car's engine compartment. There are several suggestions for you.

Some are as simple as using bitter apple spray. There are other products and devices you might want to use to keep them away.

But if you’re sold on the idea that it’s soy-coated wiring and are waiting for the automotive industry to change its ways, good luck with that.

It's probably a better idea to take matters into your own hands and try to keep the little buggers away any way you can. But that's not nearly as satisfying as griping about the problem on social media.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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