Folks,<br>I just found out from the service department that the reason my car stalled and wouldn't crank the other night was because the timing belt came off because there were acorns stashed in there. The good it cleaned out, and put back on, but the car will still not crank. Today, they are taking apart more parts to see what else may be damaged, for he thinks valves, etc., may be bent. My concerns are as follows: Will this cause serious damage that I may be dealing with later? The service guy doesn't seem to be too concerned, for he said that it's just like the timing belt breaking before you should have replaced it, and you just have to replace what ever got damaged when that happens. But, I don't know. Another concern is who's gonna be responsible for payment. The car is barely a year old, so still covered under warranty. However, is this type of damage covered? If not, then will insurance pay? Again, the service guy said not to worry, at this point, but I don't want any surprises (like a multi-thousand dollar service bill), and would like to get things rolling with insurance, if need be. Finally, is there anything I can do to keep this from happening again. I like to think that the little furry creature got in there because the car was sitting in the driveway for a week while I was away on business, so I now know to leave the car at the office or at the airport when away for long periods of time. However, I'm sure I'm gonna wonder if it could happen even overnight, at least during the fall. Anyone ever have this, or something similar happen to them? How was it handled, with respect to warranty coverage, etc. What did you do to stop it from happening again? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.<p>Thinking of naming my car, "Alvin"<br>

I had a chipmunk shred my hood insulation and make a nest with it on top of the intake manifold on my 90Q, but interferring with the timing belt is pretty daring of that little guy. Normally, i don't think this would be covered under warranty since it isn't a manufaturer's defect, but if you dealer is nice, they may do it anyway and not tell Audi that a chipmunk did the damage. Audi doesn't need to know that. That may be why they are telling you not to worry about it. If they don't, then I think your Insurance may cover it, but you'd have to check with them. It might actually be your homeowner's policy that would cover this, but I'm not sure. Otherwise, I hate to think of what that could cost. Being that the belt came off during startup, the damage should not be that bad. Had the engine been running at 6000 RPM, you'd be up a creek. That would cause the pistons to hit the valves, and internal damage would be massive. That's pretty doubtful though, so I wouldn't worry about it. Hope everything works out OK. Good luck! :-)<p>Charles<br>

Squeek, squeek..

Mice are the most common, but if you think about it a parked car is a great place to camp out if your are a small fury thing (or some humans I've known), but traps are the only way I know. Also watch out for Kitty, when your cars motor is warm, cats like to snuggle up in the engine compartment, and if they are close to the fan when you start up...well I think you got the picture! BTW this problem comes up the most as the weather gets cold.