Meals on wheels: Hungry squirrels go nuts over this man's Honda

LenardBroadheadsaysbiodegradeablematerials used in his new Honda are so "eco-friendly,"hungry squirrels find them irresistible.

Broadhead, who lives in Ottawa, says the rodents have made a series of targeted strikes on hisair-filters, motorsand fuel injector wiring, with repair costs eatingaway about $1,000 of his savings.

Now his new routine is to remote-start his vehicle from a safe distance and then watchthe underside for escaping squirrels.

"I'm paranoid about this, because it's freaking expensive,"Broadheadsaid.

Watch as LenardBroadheadexplains what squirrels have been doing to his car:

Snacking squirrel causes car trouble for Ottawa man

6 years ago

Duration 0:41

Lenard Broadhead says a squirrel that finds his Honda car irresistible has cost him $1,000 in repairs.

A gnawing problem

Manyautomakershave shifted tobioplasticsin recent years.

Resins derived from soy, rice husks, corn, castor oil and even agave are used to make seat cushions, plastic mouldingsand insulating coveringfor wiresin newer vehicles.

In the U.S., several class-action lawsuits have been launched against Honda,Kiaand Toyota, with plaintiffs typically arguing that the environmentally friendly wire insulation gives off a faint smell of vanilla when warmtoo tempting for rodents to resist.

InBroadhead'scase, hesaid the damage is more than just an expensive inconvenience. He worries it's also a safety issue.

While driving earlier this month,Broadhead'scar "went crazywith all kinds of alarms,"he said.

He headed back to the dealership at 30 km/hand waited while technicians discovered that wires leading to his vehicle's fuel-injection system had been gnawed.

Hot tape

At Hunt Club Honda, service manager JamesRingwaldis sympathetic,even to the point of making repairs toBroadhead'scars at cost, but he isn't so sure the parts are the problem.

He saidrodents wreakinghavoc on vehicles isn't anything new, and that cars of any vintageand any manufacture can be irresistible to nesting pests.

ButBroadheadis sure the problem is with the formulation of the plastics in his car because on other occasions,Kia, Mazda, Hyundaiand Ford automobiles have been parked in his driveway and none has been gnawed-upon.

He thinks the existence of Honda Part No.4019-2317, a cayenne-pepper infusedanti-rodent tape, stands as a tacit admission that there are uniquely-Honda problems with the company's plastic formula.

"How come they're the only manufacturer that sells this?" wondersaskepticalBroadhead.

At $91 for a thin 20-metre long roll of tape, it's not just the taste of the tape that madeBroadhead'seyes water.

Last week, he paid for technicians at Hunt Club Honda to add short lengths of the special rodent-deterring Honda tape to wiring under the hood.

He's waiting to see if it works.

Eating the costs

In addition to investing in the spicy electrical tape, the 69-year-old former bureaucrat with the federal government now parks in the garage.

"It's the only safe place,"Broadheadsaid.

He has also added a mesh bag containing both mothballs and cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil to his engine compartment.

Additionally, he's mixed up his own elixir of dish soap, water and hot pepper sauce to spray around the perimeter of his driveway.

Honda Canada did not respond to questions about plastics problems fromCBCNews.

Honda isn't the only company developing bio-plastics for industrial applications.Dupont'sZytelRS is a nylon resin made withsebacicacid extracted from castor oil.

In 2006, Mazda announced the creation of abioplasticthat is 88 per cent corn.

In 2016, Ford Motor Company and JoseCuervoannounced they were developing a sustainablebioplasticderived from the tequila-maker's spent agave plant fibres.

None of it impressesBroadhead, who believes he has been eating the costs of environmentally-friendly plastic.

"I'd like to see cars that are not friendly to rodents,"Broadheadsaid.