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Mysterious radiator splash shield damage

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by mfa-prius, Oct 5, 2015.

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  1. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    I recently noticed the damage ring around the fastener at the center of the radiator splash shield upper cover (aka "sight shield"), p/n 53289-47010 (see image). It looks like somebody took a Dremel tool and carved out a ring around the fastener. The local dealer, however, says it's just from vibration.

    A new splash shield goes for $74 and up. I'm willing to replace it, but I'd love to know how/why this happened, and whether it will happen again, or whether I can fix something to prevent it. There's no sign of damage anywhere else in the vicinity, so I'm beginning to think the dealer knew what he was talking about, but if this is "normal", I'm disappointed.

    Sight Shield buggered.jpg
     
    #1 mfa-prius, Oct 5, 2015
  2. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Clips should be these http://techno-time.net/img/catalogue/400x500/1132.jpg Maybe the wrong type of clip that is there now or wrong type of clip that has been there before caused this? How do you remove the clip that is there? If you just use the cover to pull that stresses the cover. With correct clips you just remove them and then the cover.
     
    #2 valde3, Oct 5, 2015
  3. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    No, it looks like gnawed plastic... (rodent teeth marks) to me. Any signs of mice in the car at all? Check the cabin air filter for droppings. The local dealer is a moron. Vibration does not cause obvious "teeth marks". I have seen this before on extension cords, wire harnesses and various plastics. Hope it helps...
     
    #3 Priusyipee, Oct 5, 2015
  4. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    AFAIK, clips were as originally installed, but they don't look like the image supplied. In any event, it's pretty tight. I've bought several of that part# clip from various sources, and none of them look the same. I like the idea of critter damage, but the car is garaged, there are no other signs of critters anywhere, and the "gnaw marks" look too uniform with no sign of damage on the underlying structure.
     
    #4 mfa-prius, Oct 5, 2015
  5. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    Check out pictures of rodent damage (gnawing) on google. You will be very surprised. I had my Highlander parked in the garage (a daily driver) yet the mice stored food under the engine's air filter and entered through the fresh air vent near the grille. (Winters here can get as low as 40 below zero) Luckily there was no damage other than cleaning out the mess. I own 2 Prii (2005 and 2008). Vibration would not cause this. Neither would clip size. Set a few traps in your garage. You'll thank me...
     
    #5 Priusyipee, Oct 5, 2015
  6. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    I'll do that, and thank you in advance, just in case I catch something. I'll use some pieces of the old splash shield for bait :).
     
    #6 mfa-prius, Oct 6, 2015
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  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The fastener in the photo is not original equipment. What is the history of that car prior to your ownership? Is it possible that the damage is the result of an accident?

    I would think that a rat could find easier places to gnaw upon than the area depicted in the photo, for example the engine wiring harness.
     
    #7 Patrick Wong, Oct 6, 2015
  8. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Yes that's rats there. Huge rat problem in Florida. Inspect your property carefully looking for rat droppings. Especially window ledges. Don't leave any food in the garage like dog food.

    Rodents love the prius. Very tasty wiring.
     
    #8 edthefox5, Oct 6, 2015
  9. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    I would think that a rat could find easier places to gnaw upon than the area depicted in the photo, for example the engine wiring harness.[/QUOTE]

    I thought so too, but the teeth marks are consistent with rodents. I Googled pictures of "gnawing" and came upon quite a few engine compartments showing just this type of damage. One had all 4 corners of the air filter cover gnawed!

    It could also be that the mice need harder plastic to gnaw upon to keep their teeth trimmed. Soft plastic would be of no benefit unless they were breaking through the plastic to get to a food source.

    Winter is on its way and it's time to be mindful of mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks and any other rodent that may like a nice comfortable Prius to call their own! :eek:
     
    #9 Priusyipee, Oct 6, 2015
  10. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    Wow. No sign of rats or mice anywhere else, no sign of nests or food in car anywhere, etc. My first thought was the same as Patrick's -- that's a very tough place to gnaw on, since the shield is pinned flat against the underlying structure. But with the hood down, there's a couple inches of headroom over that area, and those critters are pretty resourceful. But, WTH, traps are cheap. I'll be getting some inhumane traps tomorrow.

    As for history, I've certainly never removed this piece, and looking back on the recent service history, I didn't see any obvious service that would require its removal, with the possible exception of a water pump replacement 2 years ago. All 6 fasteners are the same non-factory types, and all outside service was done at dealerships. I'm also unsure of when it first appeared -- I first noticed it while cleaning up after replacing the PCV Valve in August, but I putter regularly and feel pretty sure I'd notice something like that, so I'm going to say it's recent.

    I'll replace that part tomorrow and see if I see anything underneath it that might shed some light.

    I'll let you know if I catch anything.
     
    #10 mfa-prius, Oct 6, 2015
  11. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    I replaced the splash shield yesterday, and found the smoking gun... dried poop, actually, from a very small rat or mouse or something. Just a few droppings in the flange of the inverter, along with a half-eaten small nutshell of some kind. Have to find a poop expert to tell me what is was.

    Photo also shows the fasteners used by whoever last installed it. Dirt cheap, no doubt, and one-way. It would be really nice of Toyota to offer a kit of often-used fasteners like these. During this little job and the rear-end disassembly to get to the battery fan (for cleaning), I found 8 or 10 different fasteners, most of which aren't reusable, no matter how careful you are when you remove them.
     

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    #11 mfa-prius, Oct 9, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2015
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Sounds like a job for our Shiba Inu.
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Oct 9, 2015
  13. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    I'm thinking more of a scatologist, but the puppy would be more fun.
     
    #13 mfa-prius, Oct 9, 2015
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    We had a small rat, spent some time in the car, some in the garage. We thought we'd got shut of him, and then just happened to be baby sitting this Shiba (it's now more-or-less ours, hehe): brought him home in the Prius, and as soon as he got out of the car in the garage he went kinda nuts, lol.

    He zeroed in on one corner of the garage with a fair amount of boxes and junk, so I started pulling stuff out, and he kept getting more wound up. Finally this fat little rat zipped out, across the garage floor and out the door, never been back. That's a pretty good solution, nobody got hurt. :)

    Whenever we walk him, he seems to be "on", has a tendency to zip around corners fast, thinking to use the element of surprise I think. Always sniffing/hunting, Interesting dog, we love ours.
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Oct 9, 2015
  15. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    I did a little reading on them, and they look like a handful -- loveable, but probably more than I could handle. One reviewer said they were a dog that's more like a cat than a dog. I hate cats, although my wife's cat loves me. I think we're getting a little deep into thread creep here :)..
     
    #15 mfa-prius, Oct 9, 2015
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  16. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    We got rats down here no mice. Lots and lots of rats.

    Pull the spare tire out and look back there too. Look in the ac cleaner box.
     
    #16 edthefox5, Oct 13, 2015
  17. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    This is the only place I've found any evidence of critters. I'm thinking I must have picked up a hitchhiker somewhere along the line, but I'm putting out traps in the garage anyway.
     
    #17 mfa-prius, Oct 13, 2015
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  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I read to put traps along the wall, because rodents tend to run along the perimeter. I put out some, I think once or twice they were triggered (recollection fuzzy), but no catches.

    If anyone can bring over a dog, that would be my best bet.
     
    #18 Mendel Leisk, Oct 13, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2015
  19. johnnyb588

    johnnyb588 Member

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    Perimeter traps do indeed work best. Other than the traditional *SNAP* traps (hit or miss, mostly miss with those), I have had good success with baited glue traps.
     
    #19 johnnyb588, Oct 13, 2015
  20. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    You will find that mice and rats are very intelligent. Only way to rid them is to trap them. I have many a story of them, they knaw on everything. When I saw your pic, the first thing that came to mind was mice. Now, here is the bad part to your finding, once you find a trace of one, the entire family is close by (cousins, nieces, nephews and uncles)
     
    #20 Montgomery, Oct 13, 2015
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