# Guess what went wrong with car, for fun? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409 "2025-05-15T15:30:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/81 "2025-06-10T12:20:10Z")
So it turns out it is NOT the water pump – some critters thought my car was a good place to hunker down and had chewed up wires causing shorts and such. Bad news: expensive repair Good news: covered by insurance Bad news: adjuster determined car is a total loss (repairs \> car is worth) Good news: Shop negotiated and new estimate is within allowable amount. Mediocre news: will be next week until I get it. I am picking up a rental today, and shop will give me a loaner (free except gas) for next week. Brian ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/82 "2025-06-11T03:27:16Z")
I’ve read somewhere Ford and GM both are formulating wire insulation that isn’t so tasty. I never heard of the phenomena until a few years ago and now it’s a lot. Critters evolved to eat wire harnesses? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/83 "2025-06-11T03:31:11Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Critters evolved to eat wire harnesses? It’s not clear to me how much of this is true vs. myth, but there has been a switch to soy-based insulation on wiring harnesses in the past several years, and allegedly rodents have found this more appetizing than petroleum-based insulation. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/84 "2025-06-11T03:40:11Z")
Shucks. I was picturing a squirrel or skunk saying, “Destroy my habitat will ya? I eating your car!” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/85 "2025-06-11T11:43:21Z")
The Germans pioneered that inadvertently tasty edible insulation as part of their greenery push 30+ years ago to ensure cars can be disassembled and recycled and bio-degraded. For awhile BMWs were famous for having mysterious wiring glitches that could be traced back to gnawed-on (or fully eaten) wiring harnesses. The problem, if you think about it, is that “biodegradable” and “edible” are the very same idea. It just depends on who/what is doing the eating. Formulating something that bacteria and fungi can thrive on, but that macroscopic critters like mammals can’t is a bit of a tough chemical engineering project. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/86 "2025-06-11T21:45:53Z")
Granted, plants have evolved a tremendous variety of chemicals for exactly that purpose. Of course some of them, like capsaicin, have made some plants _more_ attractive, at least to humans. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/87 "2025-06-12T13:30:00Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > plants have evolved […] made some plants _more_ attractive Delightful, yes? Tasting good to humans turns out to be one of the best survival strategies there is. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/88 "2025-06-12T15:14:33Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Critters evolved to eat wire harnesses? Marmots chewing on wiring and rubber parts has long been a problem at trailheads in the Sierra. The National Park Service even has this advisory: [Marmots - Protecting Your Vehicle](https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/marmots.htm). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409/89 "2025-06-12T15:18:52Z")
ETA: @Napier 2 posts up. At the species level definitely yes. This graphic is about animals, but good bet the case for plants is similar. [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/land_mammals.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/land_mammals.png) At the individual organism level not so much. We raise, and eat, an awful lot of biomass taken in its youth after a stunted existence by its standards. Plant or animal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-car-for-fun/1018409.md?page=4)