changing cabin filter -- I SWEAR, I checked several places already??

[dogfriend]

Remember, you are bigger than they are.

[darelldd]

Originally Posted by cyberprius

I also managed to break off the "lifter arm thing." Maybe I can get that back on?

The lower glove box dampener? That just pops off both ends. Unless you have *extra* pieces, it should just snap back on. Use the hole toward the middle of that dampener to attach to the dash, and the hole at the end of the arm slips over the post on the glove box.

Or are we talking about something totally different?

I need a drink.

[Boo]

Those stinky mice. They bring up other potential issues. If they were nesting in your car (i) they might come back and (ii) they have to eat and have been known to cause serious damage by chewing on engine compartment wire/cables.

Regarding their possible unwanted return, I understand that there are spray-on products out there specifically to repel mice and rodents from your engine area. Relatedly, and this may be urban legend, I heard that mice and rodents particularly liked to chew on Hondas' and German cars' wires/cables. Something about the coating/covering Honda and German car manufacturers use to cover wires/cables. Haven't heard the same thing about Toyota. But that doesn't mean that Toyota's wires/cables are immune.

Has anyone else heard about any of this, especially the spray-on rodent repellants? I don't have a mice problem. But I live and park squirrel central (seriously, I think there are more squirrels on the grounds of my NYC apartment complex than there are in the woods), and have heard stories of the squirrels eating out the wires and cables of Hondas and German cars parked here.

[cyberprius]

Originally Posted by darelldd

The lower glove box dampener? That just pops off both ends. Unless you have *extra* pieces, it should just snap back on. Use the hole toward the middle of that dampener to attach to the dash, and the hole at the end of the arm slips over the post on the glove box.

John calls it a damper. Anyway, I am here looking at it and hope someone can help me about how to reattach it. Luckily, it is in one piece

But, I could see it going back on two ways. Either the thick barrel is up toward the dashboard, or the thick barrel is closer to the floor. Does that make sense. I guess if it was earlier, and I wasn't tired, and I had more wine, I could take a pix and post it....Anyway there are two holes on the solid barrel of the damper. So, do those holes go up toward the dash, or down toward the floor.

Also, which hole do you attach to the car body...the one adjacent to the retractable arm or the one at the top of the barrel....Yes, I know, I now have everyone confused.

Finally, I have not heard of Mice repellents for cars, but if they have them, let me know. I had oddles of problems in my Corolla, but it was much simpler to drop the glove box on it and reach into the fan and remove the mice and mice nest, than it is on the Prius.

[efusco]

Originally Posted by cyberprius

John calls it a damper. Anyway, I am here looking at it and hope someone can help me about how to reattach it. Luckily, it is in one piece

But, I could see it going back on two ways. Either the thick barrel is up toward the dashboard, or the thick barrel is closer to the floor. Does that make sense. I guess if it was earlier, and I wasn't tired, and I had more wine, I could take a pix and post it....Anyway there are two holes on the solid barrel of the damper. So, do those holes go up toward the dash, or down toward the floor.

Also, which hole do you attach to the car body...the one adjacent to the retractable arm or the one at the top of the barrel....Yes, I know, I now have everyone confused.

Finally, I have not heard of Mice repellents for cars, but if they have them, let me know. I had oddles of problems in my Corolla, but it was much simpler to drop the glove box on it and reach into the fan and remove the mice and mice nest, than it is on the Prius.

Darell described exactly how to do it.

Middle hole on the barrel (the one closest to the piston/retractable arm) goes on the dash pin/car body. The thinner/mobile part on the glove box.

[cyberprius]

Originally Posted by efusco

Darell described exactly how to do it.

Middle hole on the barrel (the one closest to the piston/retractable arm) goes on the dash pin/car body. The thinner/mobile part on the glove box.

You are right. He did, except, which end up....or am I being dense. Does the hole side face upward or does the barrel side...or is it obvious once I go out tommorrow. For the heck of it, I did just snap a pix.

[JimboK]

Originally Posted by cyberprius

I had to drink the wine to get up the nerve to chase the mice....YUCK

Where is hubby during all this? He needs to "man up" and come to your rescue.

[efusco]

Originally Posted by cyberprius

You are right. He did, except, which end up....or am I being dense. Does the hole side face upward or does the barrel side...or is it obvious once I go out tommorrow. For the heck of it, I did just snap a pix.

up/down...irrelevant...it pivots on the hole. Just snap on the barrel portion first. You'll have to close the glove box part ma bit and wiggle your fingers in to snap on the piston part (it's a little clumsy but doable). Then you push in the sides of the glove box to get the tabs past the edge of the glove box and it'll close right up.

[Jack66]

Mice and squirrels eat the wiring and harnesses in just about any automobile -- they don't seem to have a preference. The rodents (just referring to them as an animal class) start out making a nest because the car's interior and engine compartment are drier and warmer than outside. I've also seen squirrels use engine compartments as a nut warehouse for the same reason. Vehicles that sit idle for a long period of time are big targets. The gnawing happens not too long after the nest is built.

Here is a link where other folks are discussing some solutions: AnandTech - Mice nesting in engine compartment

Two solutions that seemed interesting were mothballs and Bounce dryer sheets. I would try the Bounce sheets first since putting mothballs next to your air filter might make the cabin smell like your grandmother's closet. One poster's suggestion of dousing the engine with gasoline and setting it on fire every other day would probably work but then we would have more posts on the "My Prius Spontaneously Combusted" thread.

On the more comical side, my neighbor let his Ford F350 sit over the winter and squirrels made a nice nest in there. They snacked on the wiring insulation all winter and had a great party until spring. He found the squirrels and the babies that were born sometime during the process but couldn't get them out -- he didn't want to hurt them. I finally saw him go back inside and bring his cat out. He called his cat a de-squirelling tool and wasn't sure if Ford mechanics had anything like it in their toolboxes. The cat refused to go into the engine compartment (smart cat). He finally resorted to a garden hose with a nozzle on the end. We both felt sorry for the squirrels until he got the bill to replace all the wiring harnesses.

[patrickindallas]

This entire thread needs to be printed and sold.

Title: Changing Filter-thingie (using many super technical word like things)


I don't have much to add though. I changed my cabin filter and don't recall any problems. But, then again, I don't think I had been drinking.


Long live the Toyota electrical gas mix car type thingie!!!

Thanks for the laugh; I needed it.