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MouseProofing the Prius

Discussion in 'Knowledge Base Articles Discussion' started by ebsmythe, Jul 16, 2008.

  1. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    Very true -- actually our cat died a few years ago. Have not replaced him. We have had a giant upswing in snakes and lizards, which is O.K. with me (gophers and mice also, but oh, well).
     
  2. acceleraptor

    acceleraptor Member

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    Having to deal with serial chain sequences of wildlife invading our homes over the past decades (i.e. mice entering via holes torn open by rats, and/or rats/mice entering via holes torn open by larger wildlife like raccoons or opossum), I'm much more well-studied on closing off ingress to the home than to the car. I mean, the hardware cloth over holes/vents in the chassis and firewall will, if you successfully cover them all, eventually protect the cabin itself, but the engine compartment and other wires will still be exposed.

    And even if you could hardware cloth over the entire underside of the car, you've also prevented yourself and mechanics, dealer garages from accessing to do stuff like underside fluid changes too.

    I'm currently looking to clean out the garages and secure them against rodent access. Even the foundation vents will need to be some kinda 2-tier system of my own design so that raccoons can't tear open screening that's proof against mice/rats but only against those.


    Ugh.. this kinda gives me a headache, yet also poses a challenge.. What is this soy-sheathing? I understood some of them were organic and long-term biodegradable but are they only for specific wires or is all Prius wiring sheathed this way?
     
  3. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    The job is not complete without the special tape:

    [​IMG]
    Honda part #4019-2317

    Is there a Toyota version available?
     
  4. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    No, No, No....you have it backwards, that is rodent attractant tape! :D

    J/K
     
  5. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Actually, the rodent attractant tape was used in the lower part:

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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  7. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

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    The last posting in this thread is almost a year old but hopefully someone can help.

    I have a 2008 Prius that has been a problem thanks to Toyota's mice entries that it would have nice if they had screened. After finding lots of mice garbage stuffed above the cabin filter, I finally took the car to a mechanic with a print-out of the hobbit's instructions http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/heatgames/ .

    I brought the mechanic fine-mesh galvanized hardware cloth and stainless steel self-threading screws for him to install. -- For $150, he did a very nice job that looked just like the hobbit's.

    But this work and the expense have not helped one bit. Within a few weeks, replacement cabin filters get holes eaten in them by mice, with deposits left behind that confirm that the intruders are definitely mice. The cabin filter gets mounded and choked up, time and again, with torn pieces of insulation that I suspect come from inside the heater ducts. Today, I again found a mound of black torn up duct lining (I think), plus shredded newspaper that the mice collected somewhere.

    There have never been any signs of mice inside the car, only above the cabin filter. When I look down through the vent holes next to the wiper arms, I don't see any telltale signs of mice.

    Where else can I try to block the mice from getting into the area above the cabin filter? Breathing the mice-debris-laden air is not fun.

    Thanks for any recommendations. (Yes, I have lots of mouse traps baited near the parked car, and have trapped lots of mice, but they keep coming.)
     
  8. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    Maybe add a mesh on top of the filter so at least it's harder to chew through? Like this:
    Diary of a Wimpy DIYer
    Good luck!
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    wherall do you live?
     
  10. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

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    PLEASE HELP!! The mouse problem with my 2008 Prius is driving my wife and me crazy! I posted to this thread last April hoping someone would have knowledge of how mice could get into the ducts even though I've had the openings in the firewall screened off, as described in my April posting above.

    Bisco asked where I live: I live in Oregon, out in the country. We have deer mice here, which often carry the hanta virus, which can make a person very sick, or worse, from breathing dust from their droppings. Having the heat and AC air blow over the mouse debris in the ducts is asking for health problems.

    2009Prius commented that I should add mesh screening above the cabin filter. I've done that. It helps prevent the mice from chewing the paper cabin filter element, but the mice urinate right through the screen, making a mess on the paper filter, and creating a stench.

    I try to economize, so wash the paper cabin filter in diluted bleach and reuse it a few times. It only takes a week or so for the mice to make a mess of the filter. I put a new one in every 2-3 washings.

    Within a couple of weeks, there is usually a mound of duct lining (insulation and foam rubber) on top of the cabin filter, so much stuffed in there that it's hard to pull the filter out in its frame.

    I continue to trap mice, have numerous traps near the car, and have good success with the traps. But the mice continue to get in.

    IF I could figure out how they get in, I might be able to solve this. Does anyone know how the ductwork is routed, and how mice could possibly get in -- given that I've wired off the openings in the firewall?

    The problem has gone on so long that I'm about ready to sell the Prius and try my luck with a different make of car. I like the Prius, but this just can't go on!
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    have you read as many mice threads as you can find here? some have gone to great lengths with the screening.
     
  12. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

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    Bisco - Thanks for your reply. Yes I have read all the postings on this forum, and elsewhere, that I can find. Other methods that people have used relate to keeping mice out of the inside of the back of Priuses, which (for some reason) has never been a problem.

    The mice are all getting into the heater/AC ductwork, that all (and that's enough!). I can't figure out where they could be getting in, which is my question....
     
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  13. DGH

    DGH Thread Terminator

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    Well that really sucks, please call Toyota and get a case number!
    The screening I did seems to have solved my situation but there have been questions about where the firewall meets the fender as possibly being another wide open door to the interior.
    I just ordered an endoscope-like camera and will take a tour of things when it arrives in a couple of weeks.
    Think I will give Toyota another call this week myself.
    Hopefully the "get a cat" and other naysayers stay away with the useless comments.

    Dan
     
  14. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

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    DGH - Thanks for your posting. I thought people might like to see a couple of photos of the cabin filter area, on two different occasions out of many since I had the openings in the firewall screened off.

    You can see all the insulation and nesting material that the mice have torn out of the innards of the car and stuffed into the cabin filter area.
    IMG_1507.JPG

    Here's another photo:
    Prius rat prb 3.JPG

    As you can see, it's definitely not a minor problem!

    You suggested contacting Toyota, but I don't see the point. I drove to the local dealer once to show them the mess I'm having to deal with (I left the cabin filter area "stuffed" so they could see for themselves). Their comment: "That's amazing, really too bad." That's as far as Toyota would go.

    Successfully trapping many mice, and using moth balls, Irish Spring soap bar pieces, sprayed peppermint oil, and cats have all proved completely ineffective.

    The only thing I'm looking for is an answer to the question, if anyone knows it: How are the mice getting in there?!

    I've looked in the cabin filter area, with the filter taken out, using a mirror on a handle, and can see there are holes in the grey foam "ceiling" of the cabin filter space, above the fan, where mice have chewed entry holes to move stuff into the cabin filter area. But how they get above the ceiling of the cabin filter area, I can't tell.
     
  15. DGH

    DGH Thread Terminator

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    Not the dealer, Toyota corporate. The more complaints they receive the better it is for all of us.
    I do understand your frustration, health concerns and disgust with the whole situation.

    Contact Us | Contact Toyota
     
  16. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Since I'm the one who recommended getting a cat, let me point out that it's a far from useless solution.

    There are three effective approaches to dealing with mice infestations: Screening them out, getting a cat, or using poison.

    The problem with poison is that they will often crawl inside your home, get sick and die inside the walls. But the problem with screening is that mice are able to compress their bodies into a diameter less than a quarter, so it's really hard to completely screen out a car or home. The other problem with screening is that it doesn't get rid of the mice, so they'll burrow inside your house instead of your car if they can.

    My suggestion is to hire a professional exterminator, and he will set poison traps near your car, and in a few weeks, the mice will be gone and you can clean up your car for good. But he should keep returning even after they're all gone to prevent recurrence. We had this
     
  17. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

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    As DGH asked, if we could keep this thread focused on my question (how the mice are getting in, given that I've screened off the firewall openings), this would be much appreciated. I have tried all three of the approaches you mentioned, and they haven't helped enough to keep mice out of the Prius.
     
  18. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    This post looks pretty useful:
    Toyota claims not aware of mouse problem | PriusChat
    This post has a good photo:
    Toyota claims not aware of mouse problem | Page 4 | PriusChat
    This post has a photo that looks like an opening in the rear wheel well area, from inside the car:
    Toyota claims not aware of mouse problem | Page 6 | PriusChat
    The first post in this thread is excellent, except that it covers the Gen II Prius, which is probably different from the Gen III. But removing the wiper assembly and everything below should expose all of the openings that are most likely plaguing you.

    You should also screen the engine air intake, which is pretty easy: You have to screen a round hole in the "air resonator," which is a boxy plastic tube that leads into your air cleaner. A mouse can easily enter that hole and neat inside your engine air intake.
     
    #78 Rebound, Jul 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2016
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  19. DGH

    DGH Thread Terminator

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    #79 DGH, Jul 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2016
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  20. Priuses4All

    Priuses4All Junior Member

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    REBOUND: You should also screen the engine air intake, which is pretty easy: You have to screen a round hole in the "air resonator," which is a boxy plastic tube that leads into your air cleaner. A mouse can easily enter that hole and neat inside your engine air intake.[/QUOTE]

    ----------------------

    Thanks Rebound for the suggestions. I'm a novice when it comes to working on the Prius myself. I'll try to locate the round hole in the "air resonator" that you mentioned, and will definitely screen it off if I can find it. Is the hole to be screened off at the point where the tube goes into the air cleaner? -- Thanks for any more instructions!

    I remember reading the posting you gave the link to. It was the same story when I reported the problem to my local Toyota dealer: they had no interest in trying to help.

    Thanks, too, for the subscription idea, but I don't have the mechanical skills myself to do the complete dissassembly that you described. (Wish I did!)