Martens feel comfortable under car hoods. There they nibble on insulation mats, hoses and cables – increasingly also in electric cars. The repair costs are sometimes ten times higher than for combustion engines.
It has long, pointed teeth, is nocturnal and causes a lot of trouble for car owners: marten. According to the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV), there are around 200,000 cases of damage caused by marten bites in cars every year. This results in damage of around 90 million euros – and the trend is rising.
Expensive replacement
Because the damage can be particularly high with electric cars, explains Markus Schulligen, a master mechanic from Losheim am See. In his workshop, one or two car owners every week give up their vehicle because a marten has let off steam in the engine compartment.
In electric vehicles, the “elaborately insulated main cable harness” is often eaten away. The problem is that high-voltage technology cannot be repaired, explains Schulligen. “The entire cable harness, charging socket to the electric motor, rectifier to the battery, which is in the underbody, must be replaced.” Even if the cable harness is only nibbled in a small place.
The underside of an electric car engine compartment. If the marten has bitten into the main cable harness, it can be expensive.
Replacement is expensive. According to school leagues, around 2,500 euros are due for the cable harness. The installation costs around 1,000 euros because “various diagnostic and testing steps” have to be followed. This means that the total cost of marten damage is around ten times as high as the average damage caused by marten browsing in combustion engines.
In the medium term could Insurance premiums climb
Anyone who has fully or partially comprehensive insurance is in luck: the damage is covered by the insurance in most cases. In the medium term, Niklas Burmester, managing director of the Saarland Motor Vehicle Association and the Motor Vehicle Guild, expects that it will be more expensive for insured people.
At the moment, the damage to electric cars has not really been noticeable in the overall mass. But that will change when the market is more heavily penetrated by electric cars: “Then, of course, the amount of damage for car insurers will increase, and as a result, the insured person’s premiums will most certainly also rise.”
According to Burmester, this is neither in the interest of the insured nor the insurer. That’s why he assumes that there will be technical solutions in the long term, such as even more stable cables. “I’m really confident if this really becomes a prominent problem.” The insurance industry will put pressure on manufacturers to find a solution.
How to protect yourself
But that is a thing of the future. Anyone who wants to protect themselves against marten bites can now rely on a wide range of defense products. So-called marten sprays are the cheapest (between 15 and 20 euros). Distributed in the engine compartment, a smell that is unpleasant for martens develops. According to vehicle master Schulligen, this can only reliably deter the voracious four-legged friends if you use the spray regularly.
There are small ultrasound devices that can be placed in the engine compartment for less than 100 euros. They emit sound frequencies that are unpleasant for martens. People hardly notice these sounds, if at all. To prevent the marten from getting used to it, the frequencies change. The devices are either connected to the starter battery or operated with their own button batteries.
Turf wars in the engine compartment
If you really want to be sure that no martens get in, master mechanic Schulligen recommends a combination of an ultrasound device and small electrical contact plates. They are distributed along a cable in the engine compartment and emit small electrical shocks when touched. They are not dangerous for the marten, but are so unpleasant that they run away. This combination system costs around 400 euros.
Attention: If there has ever been a marten in the engine compartment, then it has certainly left scent marks. These can in turn attract other martens. This often leads to turf wars in the engine compartment. The scent marks must therefore be removed in any case. Suitable sprays are available for ten to 15 euros. According to school leagues, a defense system should only be installed after this application.