There are any number of potential disasters that could befall your precious new automobile. One of them, though, may prove especially dangerous to electric car owners. According to the boys from Kicking Tires, their Chevrolet Volt test vehicle was damaged when – and we’re not making this up – a rat named Chilly gnawed through the car’s wiring harness.
It’s not known for certain what caused the rat to choose the Volt over any other vehicle, but speculation points to the warmth of the plug-in’s battery pack. As you may be aware, batteries don’t particularly like being cold, so the computer controls of any modern EV or PHEV attempts to keep the large-scale packs warm, especially when plugged in and charging.
Such was the case with Kicking Tires’ Volt. Worst of all, the $600 in damage (replacement costs would have been much more, but the dealer apparently was able to patch up the wiring) was not covered under the car’s warranty, as it was most definitely an act of nature. The good news: Other than its mishap with Chilly, KT’s Volt has delivered 3,000 trouble-free miles.
In any case, we thought you should be aware of this potentially harmful (yet somehow furry and kinda cute) issue, which could potentially be a problem for owners of cars like the Volt, Nissan Leaf or any number of future plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles.
