Just back from a trip to the Netherlands. After two days parked in a neat suburban street the Yeti (1.2 tsi elegance) wasn't happy at all, misfiring, full set of warning lights etc. A trip to the local dealer (very efficient, thank you Broekhuis) who diagnosed rat damage. They'd nibbled three of the plug cables, completely severing one. All fixed quickly, but £100 we'd not planned on spending. Anyone else had this problem? And how to stop it happening again? The mechanic said that I Was Not Alone!

Yikes! I've also been in The Netherlands a few weeks back but thankfully came back sans any rat damage! Least you got it fixed and it was on a day the dealer was open!

If it was a petrol Yeti, you could have used the 'cat' to keep the nasty rats away

Hello,

It's not a rat but a Beech Marten (Martes foina), also known as the Stone Marten or White Breasted Marten.

Beech Marten

His habitats

Greetings

I'll bet it was a rat and not a marten?

I'll bet it was a rat and not a marten?

As it was explained when a Marten ate my Peugeot (206CC about the only thing it was good for!) - the first Marten comes and sleeps/pees in your car. It's the 2nd Marten visiting the territory that cannot stand the smell and starts to destroy anything the first one left its scent on. Rats don't eat cars apparently. It's a very common problem on the continent anywhere with adjacent woods or parkland, trees or foliage, judging by the number of friends and colleagues who have experienced this. It's almost impossible even with a steam wash to eradicate the smell (at least as far as a Marten can smell it).

One suggestion from the dealer was to fit the protective panel under the engine bay to discourage martens from choosing your car to sleep in.

I vote this thread...

"The Best Thread Title 2011"

Thank you all, that's very helpful and interesting; though I still don't know what to do to prevent a recurrence, at least I know which rodent to send the bill to!

I've just noticed something that looked like a rodent. It didn't resemble a rat though, rather a hamster. It slipped under my Yeti just a few minutes after I had parked it. I hope it won't make a nest or eat wires while I sleep :wonder: Anyway, it is just useless to try to make sure it is not under the bonnet: I already tried to find a clip that I accidentally dropped into the engine compartment of my Yeti

Had mice in the engine bay before with a couple of previous cars (chewed up the sound insulation in one); left a nipper trap under the bonnet overnight which resolved the issue

TP

That's not good! Hopefully you didn't smuggle any of them back!

It's one of the first topics on any of our technical bulletins when looking for faults and specifically lists beech martens as a known issue.

It's not a rat but a Beech Marten (Martes foina), also known as the Stone Marten or White Breasted Marten.

For a rodent, it's pretty darn cute:

Apparently they may be trainable. I could get one and train it to eat through the starter motor cables of the cars belonging to the dickhead speeding drivers in my area.