Pics: Rat mesh installed in my Fortuner engine bay by Toyota dealership

They showed me other vehicles like Innova Hycross and Fortuners where they did similar work and that is when I also went ahead with this.

BHPian narayanang76 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I came across this 'Engine Bay Rat Mesh Installation' solution as a prevention for rat damages to cars. Basically covering ALL potential 'bitable' wires, cables with mesh, and also installation of mesh in the inlets/outlets to cabins. It is a comprehensive installation work and also time taking and expensive. I think it will most likely prevent greater damages in case any future rodent attacks:

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

This is a fabulous solution! If done well (right material + fitment), it will eliminate the problem. Plus, no headache of periodically spraying rat spray etc.

Please share full details + contact of who is providing this. I'd be very interested.

BHPian narayannang76 replied:

Thanks GTO. I got it done at Nandi Toyota, Whitefield Bangalore. They showed me other vehicles like Innova Hycross and Fortuners where they did similar work and that is when I also went ahead with this. It takes approx 1.5 days of work and cost me 18K + Tax. I thought that any rodent damage can set us back way more than that amount, so it would work like an insurance, hopefully.

Materials used are good quality and it is also labor intensive, as they need to wear some strong gloves, and even after that their fingers start bleeding due to the sharp edges from the mesh used in this installation.

However my worry is future cleaning/services in the engine bays will have this additional meshes to be worked around. Also I feel it is better to still keep spraying repellent in future also (maybe less frequent), to deter rodents away from our vehicles.

Here's what BHPian HighOnSpeed had to say on the matter:

I have never seen this before. This looks like a nifty, one-time solution.

However, it would make maintenance a bit difficult. Some caution needs to be taken while working with this as the person handling this has a good chance of nicking themselves on some of those sharp edges, and you also mentioned how the installers even cut themselves while putting this on with safety gloves. We should also wait and see if it is possible to put all this back neatly together after dismantling the setup during regular checkup/maintenance. And I noticed that some bits are touching the engine components. This may cause the mesh to heat up, which may in turn lead to damaging some of the insulation/harnesses, so please do confirm with the technician in charge of this installation if this is not something to be concerned about.

Here's what BHPian Maverick Avi had to say on the matter:

Rats are really stubborn and some of them with weird personalities can really wreak havoc even with all these iron mesh coverings as so many parts still remain exposed. I have had 2 horrific instances which made it clear that the best defense against them is not allowing them to enter your engine bay. If they do then believe me you are at their mercy.

Things I do regularly nowadays is spray pepper spray once a week in engine bay. Keep changing my parking area once a while. Spray a strong termite insecticide (forgot the name) with a revolting smell around the car to keep rats and lizards away. I also keep inspecting the engine bay and even one rat poop or urine is a big red flag for me.

I am fine spending 20k to 30k if the rat proofing solution is foolproof. But this doesn't seem like it. Plus the added complexity of removing and refixing them during mechanical jobs. No. Not for me at least.

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