If you have found rodent damage to your car this is certainly one of the first questions that may pop into your head. Your liability will ultimately come down to whether you have Comprehensive Coverage on your insurance plan.
Comprehensive Coverage will cover pretty much anything outside of collision damage, such as damage from environmental factors, fire, and theft.
This is an optional type of coverage that you can add on that is not required by the state, BUT it typically IS required when you enter into a lease agreement and/or by most financing companies. So, if you lease your car and/or if you still owe a decent amount on your car, you probably have Comprehensive Coverage.
In rare cases, I have heard that rodent damage is not covered with Comprehensive Coverage as it is not part of the “stated” coverage items. You should check with your insurance carrier to double check if your insurance plan covers this.
Even though Comprehensive Coverage typically covers rodent damage, there is still a deductible (i.e. the amount that you pay out of pocket until the insurance coverage starts). Usually the max deductible is $500 (though I have seen up to $2,000 if the insurance payments are super low). Remember this is per incident, so if you have rodent damage once and have paid the deductible, don’t think that the deductible is not required for the next round.
If you lease your car, you should certainly expect to pay the deductible as the mechanic is required to use parts directly from the car manufacturer which are more expensive. The lease usually requires that company made parts are used in the repairs versus third party made parts which are cheaper.
On a separate note, I have seen that individuals may assume that Homeowner’s insurance may cover rodent damage to your car since it was parked in your garage/driveway. This is certainly not the case. It will always be your auto insurance that would do any type of coverage.
I hope that this information has been helpful. If you have any questions/comments, please drop a note below!
Thank you!!
-Rat King Dave
This page contains Amazon Affiliate links. I will receive a commission for any purchases made through these links, though at no additional cost to you.
I also have 5 other cars in the same driveway with no issues
Hello again! Yeah, makes you question the wiring, right!? Even though your other cars haven’t been touched doesn’t mean they won’t be hit at some point. Rodents go into the engine compartment of cars for shelter, so now that your other car is gone, they might start looking for other places. I would certainly at least take a peep under the hood of each of your other 5 cars to ensure there isn’t something going on. If you find anything, implement the steps on the Home page. Hope this helps! Any more questions/comments, please let me know! RKD
Has anyone heard of a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica having soy based wiring issue. I just had ours towed to our dealership because it would t start and the steering wheel was locked. So then the dealer looked at the van the next morning said there was a recall for this issue but also found that a rodent has ate through wiring in 15 different areas so they want me to pay to have it fixed I want to know if there is a class action law suit on Chrysler for this. Please and thank you
Hi Jeremy, I haven’t specifically heard anything about that particular make and model, but honestly every big car manufacturer is using this wiring. If you really wanted to know you could go into a Chrysler dealership, act like you are interested in purchasing that exact same car, and ask them if there is soy-based wiring used in the car. I would also relate to the dealership that it is important to know this information before you can make a decision on the purchase. Depending on the state you live in, the Lemon Law may require that the sales person disclose this information to you by law. I haven’t heard of any new class action lawsuits being filed against any of the large car manufacturers because the judges dismissed all the ones that were filed a few years ago (see Soy Based Wiring Lawsuits – Update). Rodent damage has been happening to cars for many many years prior to soy based wiring hit the scene so I could see how it would be difficult to prove that there was an increase in the number of instances of rodent damage due to the wiring in court. Now that your car has been hit by the rodents once, they are more likely to come back. Be sure to head over to the Home page and implement some preventative strategies once you get your car back. You certainly are not out of the woods once you get your car fixed (as I and many others unfortunately found out), so be sure to take action. Hope this helps! RKD