By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — October 29, 2018 — Biodegradable materials used in new Hondas are turning out to be quite the snack for squirrels, costing $1,000 in repairs for one Honda owner.
Lenard Broadhead has been having some issues with his new Honda- the squirrels won’t leave it alone, CBC News reported.
The rodents seem to snack on the vehicle’s air-filters, motors and fuel injector wiring, costing him $1,000 in repairs.
Staying with the trend of being “eco-friendly” many automakers have been recently shifting to bioplastics.
In 2006, Mazda announced the creation of their bioplastic, which was 88 percent corn based. In 2016, Ford Motor Company also announced their development with bioplastic made from the tequila-maker’s spent agave plant fibres.
CBC News revealed that the U.S. has had several class-action lawsuits up against Honda, Kia and Toyota with the complaint that the ecofriendly wiring has a faint scent of vanilla, attracting rodents.
In this case, Broadhead wasn’t just concerned because of the repair costs but also for his safety.
At one point when he was driving all of the alarms went off in his vehicle. When he took it to the dealership to see what the problem was, the technicians revealed that the wires leading to the vehicle’s fuel injection system had been chewed.
The service manager at the dealership said that pesky animals causing damage to vehicles wasn’t anything new and it had nothing to do with the biodegradable parts.
Broadhead seems to think otherwise, never having experienced the problem with other vehicles parked in his driveway.
