Question about rodent nesting issue

[Anonymous]

I am seriously considering buying a Chevy Bolt. But, I want to know what Chevy has done (if anything) to protect against vulnerability to rodent damage (nesting, chewing wiring, etc). I see online that EV's are susceptible to this problem and that Chevy Volts have had this problem as far back as 2011. I have lived in a city location for over 20 years. Did not have the problem until I bought a Prius three years ago, which ended up having the harness wiring chewed. There are a lot of online postings about newer cars using soy based coatings on the wiring that attracts rodents. Also that the charging process for EV's involves warming that again, attracts rodents. I cannot afford to purchase a new car that will have this same problem/susceptibility. Given that this design is new and advanced, please advise what Chevy says and may have done to prevent the problem from occurring.
https://www.fastcompany.com/1725222/ev-ew-your-electric-car-rats-nest

 

[Anonymous]

If you search online, you'll see that rodents are a problem in any car. They look for a dark, warm place to build a nest. In an ICE vehicle, the engine provides warmth for hours after you've parked. In an EV, battery conditioning may provide some warmth, as the article you've linked notes. That said, living where temperatures are pretty moderate, I don't think I've seen the battery conditioning run at all yet. And an EV probably provides less warmth than an ICE would.

If you read a little further with such a search, you can find tons of suggestions on how to prevent rodents from finding your car habitable.

I have a Prius too. Thankfully, the rats that live at my house seem to prefer their nests just outside the garage to either of our cars.

 

[ssspinball]

I've only had this issue with the engine bay of gas cars in my garage (which also explains the Volt). No similar issue with my EV.

 

[cab]

Our gen1 Volt and my wife's Volvo XC60 both sat outside...squirrels chose to eat the Volvo instead of the Volt.