Greetings New Yorkers,
One of the great things about the Internet is the way it allows you to vent your frustrations to many people at the click of a mouse, and that is what I am about to do. I am also soliciting ideas from you creative types to solve what has become a fairly significant problem.
About 3 weeks ago we began to smell gas while driving our 2004 Lexus RX330. We immediately took it into the Lexus service garage, and they discovered that a critter, probably a rodent, had chewed through the fuel line. Cost to repair? $445.02 of which parts were only $37. Well, that was bad enough, but last Monday Kimiko was headed to the airport at 5:45AM when she again smelled gas and then noticed that her gas gauge had gone from full to nearly empty in 15 minutes time. She pulled off the freeway, of course called me, then upon my instructions called the Auto Club. They told her that she would first have to call the fire department, because of the possibility of fire from a leaking fuel line. The fire department arrived shortly thereafter, sirens blazing, cordoned off the area around her car, and then after investigating the situation announced that there was nothing they could do because Lexus has a sophisticated electronic fuel system, and you don't just drain the tank. Besides, they said the gas was virtually all gone. They took our a shovel and (to the amazement of the resident of the house Kimiko was parked in front of who had come outside in his pajamas and slippers) began shoveling dirt out of his flower garden into the street where some of the gas had puddled. The tow truck arrived and hauled the car to the Lexus garage after requiring a $40 payment for mileage beyond the 7 free miles.
You guessed it; another critter had chewed through the fuel line and another electric wire that provides fuel information to the car's computer. Today, when I pick up the car it will be another $445 plus the cost of the electrical wire. Lexus has no suggestions as to how to prevent the problem in the future, and $500 (including towing and gas lost) every 3 weeks is out of the question.
What to do? That's where you come in with your great ideas. In talking with the Service Manager at the Mercedes garage, he said that he used to work for Range Rover, and this problem happened frequently, because many of their customers lived in rural areas. His solution was to get a can of Skol or Copenhagen, punch holes in the top and affix it to the fuel tank. He said that used to work. Apparently, rats do not like the smell of that nasty tobacco; rats are actually very fussy creatures. Well, I delivered a can of Copenhagen to the mechanic this morning, but I remain concerned that the problem will continue. As he showed me, the wires attach to the top of the fuel tank; so the critter can just sit on top of the fuel tank and chew to his heart's content. He could also build a nest there in that cozy place, I suppose. I asked the mechanic if it would be feasible to attach some kind of wire screen or netting to the areas where the critters are getting in, but he didn't think so. I am not certain that we are actually dealing with rats, because we have rat poison traps everywhere (I had Orkin out yesterday to add more traps near the cars), and though I haven't seen any rats, I have seen hordes of rabbits every evening and every morning around where the car is parked.
Just so you know, we have no garage in the house we are renting while building our new home. We have a temporary car port which provides partial shelter for two cars and a large driveway and turnaround near the house where the third car (the Lexus) is parked. The house is situated on 6 acres in horse country at the end of a windy little road in Rancho Santa Fe. Very quiet and peaceful but with plenty of critters of every description.
Please understand: this is not a joke! I do sincerely hope that you will have some helpful suggestions!
Patiently waiting,
Carlyle MacHarg

Hi

I am so glad you brought out this problem w the RX 330. I have one and thsi is the third time we have had rodent getting into the car and leaving droppings in the engine which is the fire hazard. The first two times we really cleaned the car and pressure washed the engine and everything around it. Last week i started my car and the engine light was on. I promptly took it to Lexus Carlsbad and they called me the next day telling me the rat has entered the and build a nest near the engine, chewed off bunch of wires. Total damage $1000????
Yes, i was very surprised. We have a Volvo and Infiniti which are parked in the same driveway every day and nothing had ever happened to the other cars. Why the Lexus??? The service guy told me it has happened to a bunch of other folks w the rx330. I know where the water drains out near the engine there is a hole big enough for any rat to come in. Or is it some glue that they use that the rat gets attracted to. Any way, how to protect our car? We are currently building our house in Cardiff, CA and just cannot avail a gragae until several months.
I ddi call Lexus USA to report this and i think anyone w same issue should do so. Thsi will help them rectify the problem in future cars and maybe propose a wire mesh to be put over the hole where the water drains out in current vehicles. Otherwise we will continue to have this rodent rampage and costly repair cost.

-Anni Sen
Cardiff-by-the-sea, CA

I'm glad to know that we were not the only RX330 owners experiencing this problem. Well, we solved the problem. We completed construction of our home in Rancho Santa Fe and moved from our rented home on 5 rat infested acres without a garage to the new home with a secure 4-car garage. No more rat problems! However, it is interesting to note that our two Mercedes parked at the rental home never had any damage from rats. Only the Lexus RX330. Oh yes, we traded in the Lexus on a RX350 though I doubt that makes any difference.
Carlyle MacHarg

This is not really an appropriate topic for aany'er, but my husband is in the auto business and the word is to use dryer sheets. Google and judge for yourself.

I'm trying to figure out how this problem is exclusive to NY'ers?!?

I don't have a lexus, but I do have a problem with rats nesting on my engine in my 2003 chrysler sebring. At least I think it's rats. My dog has killed 3 very large rats this winter. I quickly realized they have been feeding on the dogs leftover food when the dog is in her crate in the garage on very cold nights. I no longer leave un-eaten dog food out. I have set rat traps around my car (I park outside, my wife gets to park in the garage). One trap got set off, but no luck on catching the offender (YET). I found what appears to be rat droppings around where the spark plugs go in. I vacuumed out the droppings. A few days later I look under the hood and found pine cones, leaves and pine needles all over the left side of my engine. Probably would have caught fire if I drove off with it like that! Dang rats are starting to tick me off. LOL! Luckily no chewed
wires or hoses that I can see yet. I set two large wire & board rat traps behind my two front tires and one plastic snap trap under the radiator. I have them baited with crunchy peanut butter. Hopefully tonight I will have some success on snapping a rat up! LOL! Btw, I'm in Knoxville, TN. and we have a small farmer field behind our house.

hi everyone!recently I found a rat nest in my cars engine close to the battery,my car is a 2006 Mazda MVP has anyone else have the same problem in the same car model and brand? from what I read the Lexus Rx330 is one of the favorites
for the rats to nest,I've own cars in the past and never have this problem.Is there any way to solve this problem?

We solved the problem of squirrels in the attic by putting out something called predator urine. Didn't smell pretty at all, but it was in the attic so it wasn't really an issue. We used it on the cars to keep cats/squirrels/mice out of the engine compartment, which was also unpleasant smelling, but we only had to do it for one winter.
It was effective, but I think we over did it a bit on the engines, used a whole bottle of it on each and it really reeked when the were running. If I had to do it again, I think I'd probably just sprinkle it lightly around their hidey hole, and in the areas where they were gaining access, and keep applying until they went elsewhere.