Car owners across the country are getting into their cars these days, turning the key and finding their engine won't start.
The reason may be hard to believe: an animal ate their car's wiring.
Now, a class action lawsuit claims millions of Toyota cars, trucks and SUVs contain wiring that is attractive to animals like squirrels and mice. Honda settled a similar suit a few years ago.
Thousands of car owners in recent years have ended up like Woody and Mary Herald, who two years ago showed us how animals chewed through their car's wiring.
"On the ground we found this connector, with six inches of wire on either end of it, that the varmints had chewed into completely," Woody Herald said.
This new suit claims Toyota uses soy-based wiring, which is environmentally friendly but tasty to animals.
And from the "doesn't that stink" file: the high cost of repairs.
Replacing under hood wiring can cost up to $2,000, mechanics say. Doesn't that stink?
If you park near mice-filled fields, mechanics recommend products like Mouse Blocker, a rodent tape for wires, or a spray-on or wipe-on product like Vehicle Rodent Defense.
If you see any evidence of rodents under the hood of your car, you should buy a repellent immediately, before they cause hundreds of dollars of damage. That way, you don't waste your money.
