Well, the dealer finally figured out why the windshield washers stopped working.

[PaulLR3]

Driving the LR4 after a snowstorm with road grime spray piling up on the windshield, the washers stop working and the low washer fluid warning comes on. Really? I just filled it up last week...so I wonder how washer fluid my wife is using, since that reservoir holds well over a gallon.

So when I got home, I filled it up, closed the hood, and see all the orange washer fluid pouring out onto the garage floor. Reservoir must have cracked, so I take it to the dealer to get a new one installed. Turns out the reservoir is fine, but some rodent had chewed through all the washer fluid lines. My wife parks near a field at her job, rodent must have crawled in to find a warm spot then found the washer fluid tasty. Of course washer fluid lines seldom fail so the dealer does not stock them and had to order them from the factory.

Last year a friend of mine had a squirrel in his garage that ate a $2000 wiring harness on his Porsche. I wonder why rodents eat car parts...unbelievable.

 

[umbertob]

They normally enjoy chewing through electrical harnesses, apparently they sharpen their teeth that way and the warm engine bay makes it an ideal place to spend the night while they do that... You were lucky they took a liking to your washer fluid lines rather than a wiring loom, you might be chasing after mysterious electrical gremlins for weeks otherwise.

 

[danrhiggins]

Ouch! I wonder how you protect against that. Many years ago our family was camping near Aspen, CO and we were warned about porcupines chewing the gas lines under our vehicles (minivans). So we had to have someone "stand guard". Sure enough, about 3AM I had to get up and chase a porcupine away from underneath our friends minivan.

You would think they could find a way to protect against this stuff. Maybe harder to do than I think.

On the lighter side I am trying to picture a rodent with a mouthful of washer fluid.

 

[PaulLR3]

I guess Rain-X washer fluid = rodent Gatorade.

Now I remember one of my kids telling me that rodent's teeth grow at a constant rate all their lives. They have to chew to wear down their teeth or else they can't close their mouth. No sense chewing on a piece of wood when you can chew on a $64K LR4 in a warm & cozy engine bay in winter.