Rat chewed up wiring. Is this covered under warranty?

[yessar_kd]

Hello

So I have 68 plate Cupra and this morning the car would not start and came up with 14 faults. All were electrical faults. Got VW Roadside assistant and he found rat droppings and suggested the rat may have chewed up some wiring around the back of the engine bay.

Car was towed to Seat Dealers. They will need to check for themselves were the damage is. Service guy advised car may not be covered under warranty. Is that the case?

 

[Toledo TSI]

We had the same trouble with my wifes Leon, a wiring harness was replaced free of charge but the car was a Motorbility car and not our own.

 

[Brimfull]

Hello

So I have 68 plate Cupra and this morning the car would not start and came up with 14 faults. All were electrical faults. Got VW Roadside assistant and he found rat droppings and suggested the rat may have chewed up some wiring around the back of the engine bay.

Car was towed to Seat Dealers. They will need to check for themselves were the damage is. Service guy advised car may not be covered under warranty. Is that the case?

I wouldn't have thought it would be covered under the warranty to be honest

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Dr.Dash]

I can't imagine it'd be covered under warranty. It's not a fault as such, but the result of an "outside agency".

Your car insurance may cover it if you have a fully comp policy, you'll need to read the policy (and warranty) documents and cross your fingers.

If it needs a new wiring harness it can be a costly and lengthy job. I had a Mk5 Golf which needed a complete new wiring harness at only 3 months old, it took 6 weeks as they are not all identical.

Hopefully it will only be limited wire damage and it/they can be traced and repaired. A single electrical fault can throw numerous fault codes, so don't despair just yet.

 

[yessar_kd]

Hope it not a big job. The guy did say as it 68 plate car, maybe able to sort it under warranty. Finger crossed!
Didn't even get a courtesy car as they have none in stock. Have to wait at least 2 days for a courtesy.

 

[AndrewJB]

No chance of warranty, its not SEAT's fault.

A rat or any animal is no different than a car crashing into you.

 

[martin j.]

Doubtful but you never know, the part hasn’t failed it has been damaged, just as if you spill paint on the seats, you may get lucky, could depend on how the dealer makes the claim and maybe your Seat purchase history. Good luck.

 

[LouG]

Insurance should cover that. Act of Rat.

 

[yessar_kd]

Yeah will have to see tomorrow and see what there report comes back with. Worst case will have to go through insurance if there quote is high

 

[SRGTD]

Agree with the other posters who’ve said this wouldn’t be covered under warranty if caused by a rodent chewing the wiring. The primary purpose of the warranty is to protect the owner against having to pay for repairs that become necessary during the warranty period as a result of components failing or being defective.

If the electrical faults experienced by the OP were due to a manufacturing fault or defect in the car’s wiring loom, then that should be covered under warranty, but not damage caused by an external influence such as a rat.

 

[black_sheep]

The warranty claim depends on how hard you’re prepared to fight.

It’s a well known fact that soy is being used for wire insulation as opposed to petroleum based insulation in recent years - this makes it far more likely that rodents will be having a nice little feast on the wiring looms.

My parent’s CR-V has been attacked twice in recent years.

 

[Cuprobbie]

As others have said, I can’t see how this would be covered under warranty.

It’s obviously not a faulty component.

Insurance claim.

Good luck. Hopefully you’ll get it sorted out with no financial implications.

 

[Ivandobsky]

Never heard of a rat eating car wiring before

Can't see as warranty will cover it unfortunately.

Fingers crossed it isn't too expensive a job...

 

[AndrewJB]

Had a rat eat parents sit on mower wiring once haha that was an easy fix though, no complex diagnostics etc.

 

[Ivandobsky]

There's a rat in my engine what am I gonna do

 

[Deleted member 103408]

A friend of mine has a BMW (Cant blame her for that) and she has had the wiring chewed by rats twice in the last two years.

The fix cost something like 300 the first time and 500 the last time, as she has to pay more towards any claims it is effectivley not covered by insurance either. The BMW Garage did say this is a common problem (in our Rural Area)

 

[Legojon]

A friend of mine has a BMW (Cant blame her for that) and she has had the wiring chewed by rats twice in the last two years.

The fix cost something like 300 the first time and 500 the last time, as she has to pay more towards any claims it is effectivley not covered by insurance either. The BMW Garage did say this is a common problem (in our Rural Area)

I read somewhere that rats find the indicator wiring the tastiest on BMWs.

 

[Ivandobsky]

I read somewhere that rats find the indicator wiring the tastiest on BMWs.

 

[Neil Francis]

It's not a manufacturing defect so I very much doubt it

 

[yessar_kd]

As I expected they will not cover the cost and will not look at the car until next week and as good will gesture will not even get a courtesy car as I need one for work.

Most likely will have to go through insurance.