I lost power steering and all my warning lights came on at once. Honda claims a rodent chewed my cable harness because its soy based material which attracts rodents. I had the car towed to a Honda dealer. this was big inconvenience since I had to go to work. Hondas service dept. was not very courteous or helpful at first. I asked for a loaner car and they said there was not one available. So I complained to a supervisor about this problem and they finally found one for me. I thought this cable problem would be covered but because it wasn't a mechanical failure they wouldn't cover it and I had to pay.

It took 2 days to get the part. I paid 268.00 dollars of which the part cost 28.00 and the labor was close to 200.00. A big cash cow for Honda. Exactly 2 weeks later the same thing happens and I had to have my car towed again. As I write this my car is still in the shop for a 2nd time. This time I told them there is a class action lawsuit which this problem started when Honda switched to a soy based coating on there wire harnesses. I found out they make a spicy tasting rodent resistant tape to wrap around the harness. My dealer acts like they know nothing of this fix. So I am waiting for them to contact Honda Head quarters and find out what there going to do. This problem is very dangerous because you can be driving anywhere when this can happen and it could cause an accident. There are a lot of complaints out there from this issue alone. This problem dates all the way back to 2010.

1st Complaint from April 14, 2022:

(Rodent damage caused "all possible" warnings to display on dash. Towed to dealer under warranty but the damage was not covered. I have lived in this area for 5 years and no other vehicles have this issue. Eventually, Honda and the other car manufactures will be sued. Give it time. cost $622)

Second time this year - rodent damage to wiring harness. Towed under warranty after "all" warning displayed on dash. Power steering was inoperable. Repairs being worked through insurance. Still patiently awaiting the day that Honda is sued.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, I had just gotten back from visiting my fiance in the hospital (2 hour drive one way). Got up the next morning to run errands, and it turned out I had already bought a Christmas Tree and installed it in my dash! 6 systems failed: Power Steering, TPMS, Brakes, Uphill Start, Traction Control, and brake hold. Engine ran fine though and even remote started without an issue. Quickly found out the power steering definitely didn't work, so as I was unsure if the brakes weren't working either I had it towed to a Honda Stealership. $100 later they told me rodents had consumed my SOY covered power steering wiring harness.

They wanted about $300 to replace it, but I went into their shop to take a look and discovered that harness is easily accessible from under the car. So I decided to fix it myself by splicing the wires back together and save a few hundred. Honda is definitely aware of the issue, but they and other auto makers (GM, Ford, Toyota, Subaru at least) are all moving toward soy based covering material regardless. Moral of the story, either get really good at preventing rodents or buy cars that aren't edible. $24k for a damn chew toy.

Going to try some rodent prevention measures, so we'll see what works.

One morning, after the Civic has not been driven for 2 days, right after starting the engine, lots of dash lights popped up (6 different messages: power steering, traction control, tire pressure, etc.). It couldn’t be driven at all, so it had to be towed to the nearest Honda dealer. Since it was still on warranty, we hoped that it would be covered.

Unfortunately, we were informed by the dealer that rodents had chewed on a front steering sensor to motor harness, part number 53680-TBA-A00, so it wouldn’t be covered by warranty. We were told the mechanic had to repair the harness. Harness part would have cost only $6.30, but we were told that the dealer didn’t have it in inventory so they had to do re-solder or crimp the wires and put a special electric tape around it which would repel the rodents going forward. If I had to order it myself online, it would also cost about that much, but I would have had to wait for the delivery. After all, the total bill for the labor was $268.09. That harness is right there; you can see it if you look down between the firewall and the engine, and you can replace it if the car is lifted or even put on the ramps. The problem is, you cannot drive the car onto the ramps to diagnose the issue as it needs to be towed.

Going forward, we were told by the dealer to spray fox urine into the engine compartment to repel the rodents. You’ve got to realize that it would be very stinky though. So, we went to Ace Hardware and bought a can spray based on mint oil and castor oil and couple of packs of rodent-repelling pellets saturated with peppermint and spearmint oil. Very nice smell, but the rodents evidently cannot stand it. We sprayed the can around the harness and inside the engine compartment, and zip-tied those mint packs around the harness. Total cost for a can and a couple of packs was around $20, and you’ve got to keep spraying and replacing the packs every few weeks, for which you’d need to reach down behind the engine with your one hand and hopefully be able to attach the packs to the harness with that one hand. Otherwise, you’d need to put the car on the ramps and remove 2 underbody aluminum panels so you can reach the harness. It’s been a month since, and we haven’t had any problems, but we have to keep spraying going forward. Overall, what a hassle because of the $6.30 part!!! Whoever produced that harness from soy had a convenient excuse of “being environmentally friendly”. Friendly to the rodents, that is (why didn’t they wrap it in cheese!) However, common sense tells you that it is a part of a bigger conspiracy of planned obsolescence when you have to keep spending money on parts and dealer labor. It’s not good enough to get your $23,000 for the car. They’ve got to get your post-sales revenues to support the parts and repair industry. However, the music might end eventually when someone dies because of the electrical short that would lock the steering at the wrong moment and it comes to monetary damages. But for now, crime pays!

P.S. We keep a couple of good old 10 and 13-year old cars on the same suburban driveway for many years, just as our neighbors, and we all have never heard of any rodents chewing electrical harnesses before. Good old NOT “environmentally-friendly” harnesses. Makes you think twice before buying anything new!

While driving to work, steering got really heavy and then all indicator warning lights lit up. Took to the car to the dealer the next business day and was told that rodents had chewed through the engine wiring harness in places where all they could do is replace the whole thing. 6hrs of labor and parts total $1600. I had to file a claim with my insurance, covered by comprehensive, and then make arrangements for a rental. Whose the Design Engineer who thought it would be good to make soy based edible wires???

Rabbits chewed the the soy based covering on the power steering harness which caused the power steering to malfunction as well as other electrical problems. I took it in to DCH Honda of Temecula and they played dumb. Replaced the harness for $342.31. They did not offer any information about why this happened, even though they obviously knew. I didn't know I had rodent food sitting under my hood or I would have tried to take steps to prevent repetition of the problem. Two months later it happened again and I found out about the problem from this site. Honda is, of course, denying any responsibility for the problem. So disappointing. I had such respect for Honda and its cars. Not so much anymore.

I leased my Honda Civic from Herb Chambers Honda of Boston in Nov. 2016. I also took out the GAP insurance on this lease. My car received damage from rodents chewing on the wiring (under my car) due to the soybean coating that Honda is using on the wire covers. I was told that this is not covered. Remind you "this is a LEASE."

I was quoted $2,600 in repairs. I ended up paying a $500 deductible to my insurance company. There are class action law suits in place in CA and other states regarding the "soy-based wire covering" I am seeking reimbursement for my $500 deductible and some type of guarantee that this won't happen again. This issue really needs to be recalled by Honda. Shame on them!!