I have a 2019 Hyundai Tuscan with under 25000 miles. I had my temperature guage register hot & the service engine light came on. The car was not overheating so I made an appointment with the dealer. They told me that the soy based wiring attracted a rodent that chewed thru the . They repaier the wiring on the temperature sensor & the wiring harness that was also chewed on. I was there exactly 3 hours & was charged $600.00 labor. They said they gave me a $60.00 discount but $200.00 an hour labor for fixing something that was their fault is ridiculous. I’m goung to the BBB about this & talk to my attorney also.
Unless they actually delivered the rodent to your car it was not their fault .
4 Likes
I doubt that, I’m guessing that was labor and parts together, which I could see.
- the BBB doesn’t care for about you. They care about the businesses that pay them dues. 2. going to an attorney sounds like another waste of money. You agreed to pay for the repairs, there is literally nothing an attorney will be able to get you back, and even if they did, you would probably lose most of it to said attorney.
1 Like
The BBB is run by businesses…NOT the government. They only look out for themselves. Years ago the one dealer near where I lived had a reputation of being one of being very shoddy. You’d read about the lawsuits against them almost weekly. If you asked the BBB about them they’d say they have a clean record and no complaints. I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that the president of the BBB at the time owned that dealership?
2 Likes
So, rodent damage is not comprehensive? I don’t know.
You must be one of the people who naively believe that the BBB (a private organization) has any punitive or regulatory powers. Even though I don’t think that you have a valid “claim” against the dealership, the only agency that might be able to help you is the Office of Consumer Affairs, which is a government agency that does possess both punitive and regulatory powers though the office of the state’s Attorney General.
And, as others have hinted, paying an attorney to intervene in a $600 situation is sure to cost you more than you paid for those repairs.
The dealer had nothing to do with how the car was built. Your time might be better spent figuring out how to keep rodents from invading you engine bay. If the car sits idle for a few days or more, rodents might be attracted to it as a place to nest and dine in. There are also sprays to deter rodents.
2 Likes
No, it was just labor
Just labor
Double check what their high tech electrical labour rate is. Most times shops have higher labor rates when doing electrical diag and repair.
This repair is no more Hyundai’s fault than running over a screw and ruining a tire would be Goodyear’s fault. You as the driver are the one who placed the car and the rodent together. Your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance will cover this under vandalism.
Our regular shop labor rate is $144 per hour. Electrical diagnosis and repair is billed out at 1.5 times the regular rate. Your repair bill sounds fair to me.
3 Likes
Homeowners insurance pays for rodent damage on car? I don’t think so. Unless I’m wrong.
+1
If the OP hasn’t yet phoned other dealership service departments (as well as independent mechanic’s shops) to ask about their labor rates for electrical/electronic diagnosis and repair, I suggest that he should do so. However, he should be sure that he is sitting down before he hears their labor rates because he will surely be stunned to find out that the Hyundai dealership’s labor costs are in line with the current industry standard.
But, over and above the issue of labor costs for this repair, I am fascinated by his belief that the dealership bears responsibility for a rodent invading his garage.
Certainly. Every time I see a car with rodent damage that’s more than a couple hundred dollars to repair I tell the driver to contact their homeowner insurance. As long as they can demonstrate that the damage happened while the car was parked in the garage/carport/driveway, the repairs minus deductible are covered. Had one last fall that was over $2K.
My deduc is huge for HOMEOWNERS ins. Lowered my premium by 50%. I don’t like paying $2000 for insurance. Never had a single claim in my life. Well, except the time I dropped my sisters camera. Home insurance paid 100%. No deduc for damaging someone else’s property.
Ase said homeowners pays for car damage. I still don’t think so. But he said it is, so it must be true.
+1
Because I have not had an accident in more than 50 years, I finally decided to bump my deductible up to $2k.
While it didn’t result in a 50% cost reduction, the cost saving was substantial.
How substantial could the savings be? Isn’t car insurance pretty cheap anyway? We have 3 cars, one is 4 years old with full coverage, and we pay $113/month.
A friend of mine just got his 2017 Toyota Prius declared a total loss by a local Toyota dealership.
The car, with 48K miles, had so much wire damage from mice that the repair cost more than the car was worth. I’m assuming some of that damage was to electrical parts as well.
Last winter we had an '06 or so Tundra towed in for a no crank, no start after sitting for 3 months. The engine bay wire harness was chewed up so bad that there was no repairing it. A new complete harness was something like $4400 plus something like 10 hours to replace. We found a used harness from a salvage yard for $1000. Installed it and still no start, the ECM was dead. All I can figure is trying to crank it with dozens of wires shorted fried some circuitry inside. Another $1400 and the truck finally ran.
Rodents in cars can be a pretty costly affair. Original Poster should be glad the bill was only $600.
1 Like
NJ car insurance rates are very high, my wife also has $2,000 deductible collision and comprehensive, and pays $170 per month for her policy.