Michael Recently, Angelika texted me during work hours, excitedly reporting that our (relatively) new car, a 2011 Honda Fit called "Brummi," was acting up and the automatic transmission was suddenly shifting gears very ungracefully. On my "Automatic" app on my phone, I could see that the automatic transmission was reporting an error, so I called my mechanic to schedule an appointment at his workshop. But he waved it off, saying he usually stays away from transmissions, and referred me to a transmission specialist in the Outer Mission district. Oh dear, I thought, this is going to be expensive.
I got an appointment right away and dropped off Brummi. A few hours later, the transmission guy called me back and cheerfully told me he had good and bad news. The good news was that the transmission was fine. The bad news: A rodent, most likely a mouse, had gnawed on some cables in the engine compartment and caused a short circuit, which had disabled a sensor connected to the transmission. The latter is programmed to switch to the so-called fail-safe mode in the event of any errors, slamming the gears in such a way that the driver panics and takes the car to the nearest workshop.
For the cost of $350 for the electrical diagnosis and the replacement of a few cables, I got Brummi back and thought about how it could have come to this. Well, in our underground garage, Brummi is parked right next to the compost bin, so the rats have their parties there at night, that's clear. And in January, it was unusually cold for a few days (almost zero degrees!), and since Angelika drives the car daily, it stayed nice and warm for an hour after being parked, likely attracting shivering rodents who also wanted a little snack.
Rumors are circulating on the internet that car manufacturers have recently started making the insulation of cables in the engine compartment out of rodent-friendly material made from soy for environmental reasons. The good old PVC coatings from the 90s are said to be more deterrent, according to the internet. In fact, our 1991 Acura Integra, the legendary Perly Perlman, was parked in the same spot for at least five years without any cable-chewing rodents causing damage.
Honda seems to be aware of the problem and offers a special tape under the part number "4019-2317 Rodent Tape" at the exorbitant price of 30 dollars per 20-meter roll. Supposedly, cables wrapped with it are meant to deter mice. I bought a roll and will try it out to see if it helps.