I like how many of todays cars have plastic engine covers to dress up the under-hood appearance. They also hide any nest-building, wire chewing rodents from casual under-the-hood inspections…
I drive my work vehicle every day. I have constant battles with creatures nesting in it. I once cleaned about 500 acorns out of the air cleaner box. Always having to clean out underneath the manifold cover and around the spark plugs. It doesn’t have to sit for long periods to accumulate critters…
Yes! I didn't have any fire, but I had my Buick Century parked for *one day* at a friend's. Dead mouse in the vents, and cardboard and shredded corn husks and junk under the hood. My car, however, has metal fuel lines 8-).
But, yeah, the engine gets pretty hot... although I would not expect the engine block itself to get hot enough to ignite materials. The *exhaust* (manifold and pipe) on the other hand would get plenty hot, and some cars shove the catalytic converter under the hood too, which gets VERY hot. If the car dripped any oil, you'd also basically have oily rags under the hood, which would (I assume) ignite and burn more easily. (I had a car where it never dripped onto the street or driveway, and oil use was only 1/4 of a quart per 3000 miles..but the whole bottom half of the engine was oil-coated, which I'm sure would have soaked into any junk mice, birds, etc. would have stashed down there.)I guess it could happen Sarah. It seems sort of unusual that it happened after only driving 15 minutes though. When it didn’t happen before I mean, even though presumably you’d driven much longer than 15 minutes on occassion. I can’t tell based on what you and they say, I can’t say for sure whether they are shining you on or not. In my experience, Honda is one of the good guys in the car world, so based on that reputation, I’d be inclined to believe what they said. But they should be able to prove it to you. Photos, demonstration, etc. You shouldn’t have to simply accept what they say. All that said, I think you remain suspicous of these goings-on. So here’s some add’l info that might be of help for your research.
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There’s a very recent Tom and Ray column (view it from the link on the front page of the Car Talk website) about a mouse nest in a reader’s car. Read what it says there.
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Visit your local public library and ask the librarian to show you how to use the “All Data” car information service. It’s a computerized data base. Most libraries have it. And it includes a section of all the important recalls for your car, based on make/model/year. See if there is anything there about potential fire hazards for your car.
Best of luck.
Yes it is entirely possible that an animal nest could set your car on fire.
Materials typically found in a nest are, paper, hair, dried grass, pine needles, leaves, string and even plastic pieces. All these ignite easily.
Materials found in an engine compartment include plastic and rubber that ignite easily. Parts include wires, deflectors, hoses, reservoirs, etc.
It’s a good idea to check and remove these items every time you check your oil. Even if you don’t change your own you need to check your own.
Of course. Think of the nest as kindling. At some point, a small fire can get pretty ugly if it in involves the full system. If the car is running and the fuel is under pressure in and around the fuel delivery system, you have the makings of ideal fire conditions. Shut the car off, get out and run !