It looks like the Cars.com’s brand new Chevy Volt extended range plug-in vehicle has had a little run in with a furry rodent, and the rodent won. While parked in a garage in downtown Chicago during last week’s blizzard a little rat climbed into the Volt’s engine seeking warmth and decided to have a snack on some electrical cables. It turns out that while conventional gas-engine vehicles turn off and cool completely down, electric vehicles’ batteries retain a minimum battery temperature while charging — making their engines a lovely place for slumber on a chilly winter night.
Cars.com’s insurance didn’t cover the little bugger’s destruction and the price tag for repairs ended up being more than a little disheartening. Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder took the car to Grossinger City Chevy of Chicago where the repair person told him the rat had, “indeed gnawed through a wiring harness in the engine compartment, causing, at minimum, [sic] warning lights and rear defogger failure.” The total bill for repairs was $600 — which was the first repair bill in the Volt’s one month, 3,000 mile life with Cars.com.
So, this actually raises a question for us — will Chevy have to address this rodent problem? Has the minimum battery temperature of anyone else’s electric vehicle attracted any furry friends and thus a nasty repair bill? It seems like the resting state of electric vehicles is going to keep attracting tiny squatters, especially in colder months. Perhaps Chevy is going to have to make those apparently easily accessible electrical wires a little harder for the inevitable rat to destroy.
+ Read the Cars.com post
Via DVICE
All the car needs is a mesh cage around warm areas to keep rodents out.