When my SE was new, I would frequently pop off the inverter/motor cover to show what's underneath. I did it so often, I lost one of the cover's rubber grommets that fit over the locating pegs for the cover. I subsequently bought a few new grommets so I'd always have a spare.
After a while, none of my friends cared about seeing under the cover and I stopped taking it off.
Last week, I took my SE in for its 4-year maintenance, recalled battery cover replacement, and "thermal event" software update. Afterwards, my service adviser said it makes sense to pop the cover once in a while just to see what's underneath. He showed me this photo of what they found on the inverter of my SE:
My SE gets driven almost every day, but it appears there were unauthorized passengers who enjoyed spirited driving. Fortunately, the service tech couldn't find any evidence the rodents tried chewing on my SE's electrical wiring.
Back in 2000, Honda went full-eco with their first hybrid, the Honda Insight. Somebody decided to use soy-based insulation on the Insight's electrical wiring harness. A friend's Insight was totaled because replacing her chewed-up wiring harness would have cost more than the car was worth.
My 2000 Insight was, fortunately, spared this fate and Honda switched to less palatable, petroleum-based insulation for the harness in my 2006 Insight that I drove for 13 years.
Last week, when my service adviser showed me this distressing photo, I recounted my Honda story. He told me MINI made the same soy-based insulation mistake years ago. I'm glad MINI got that figured out before making my SE!
After a while, none of my friends cared about seeing under the cover and I stopped taking it off.
Last week, I took my SE in for its 4-year maintenance, recalled battery cover replacement, and "thermal event" software update. Afterwards, my service adviser said it makes sense to pop the cover once in a while just to see what's underneath. He showed me this photo of what they found on the inverter of my SE:
My SE gets driven almost every day, but it appears there were unauthorized passengers who enjoyed spirited driving. Fortunately, the service tech couldn't find any evidence the rodents tried chewing on my SE's electrical wiring.
Back in 2000, Honda went full-eco with their first hybrid, the Honda Insight. Somebody decided to use soy-based insulation on the Insight's electrical wiring harness. A friend's Insight was totaled because replacing her chewed-up wiring harness would have cost more than the car was worth.
My 2000 Insight was, fortunately, spared this fate and Honda switched to less palatable, petroleum-based insulation for the harness in my 2006 Insight that I drove for 13 years.
Last week, when my service adviser showed me this distressing photo, I recounted my Honda story. He told me MINI made the same soy-based insulation mistake years ago. I'm glad MINI got that figured out before making my SE!
