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Prius is home sweet home for mice.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by KeinoDoggy, Feb 9, 2016.

  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    'i think when a manufacturer concedes, and lends themselves to this kind of problem, the first thing they are going to do is deny it,' said glen hayward.o_O are they conceding, lending themselves, or denying?
     
  2. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    The are looking for that plant-based eco plastics;... uhm, yummy!
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    in my tummy.(y)
     
  4. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the whole thing? :eek: mutant squirrels? bio lab nearby?:p
     
  6. KeinoDoggy

    KeinoDoggy Member

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    Bisco me boy...don't leave your day job for stand up comedy.
     
  7. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    Zika mice?
     
  8. tanglefoot

    tanglefoot Whee!

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    I never had any trouble in the suburbs but shortly after the rural move, I started noticing their signs. Not just in the Pri but also the old truck--they practically took it over! I had the nesting on the cabin filter of the car. Cleaned off the filter a few times and started distributing peppermint oil on the filter and inside the car. After a while, the signs disappeared so I replaced the cabin filter and haven't seen them since.

    I don't blame the car, or the mice (they're just looking for a home/nest), but it happens. It can be a frustrating challenge but keep your wits about you, just keep making it a less-pleasant place for them and hopefully they'll leave your stuff alone too.
     
  9. Dion Kraft

    Dion Kraft Member

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    So are these two cars parked in a garage or driveway or ??

    Also they say that recent storms bring out the mice I understand
     
  10. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    My pickup sits hardly used in the driveway. Twice a rodent has gotten in through the fresh air intake and built a nest in the blower motor assembly.

    Last time I put a Ziplock bag in there with some mothballs (holes cut into bag). I hope that discourages his coming back. No grill or anything over the air intake. Sadly, I can't get to it to install something.
     
  11. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    Bisco's not doing so bad... those small critters can do some interesting stuff under the hood of a vehicle. I had to put a strong wire screen in front of our old Frontier's air intake to keep chipmunks from filling the resonator box full of their favorite acorns. I headed out to commute to work in a snow storm one evening and I could just barely keep the truck's motor going up the hills. Same problem on the way home late that night. Next morning I investigated and found that chipmunks had gotten all the way to the edge of the air filter and had started chewing up the edge of the filter itself. I took the whole intake plenum apart and found it full of acorns and other not so nice debris. The truck had not been used in about a week or two. I had recently noticed that we seemed overrun with the little guys that Spring.

    Nature did thin the herd a bit that year. We had plenty of hawks and owls that hung around through Summer. The metal screen worked out really well. I used a thick wire screen with quarter inch square openings. Saw some tooth marks on the screen, but the acorns stayed out of the intake.

    Luckily chipmunks and squirrels haven't attacked our hybrids. I do check under the hoods once in a while and check for evidence. Don't know if I'd ever stick mothballs under the hood... would make for some smelly air if it got inside the car somehow. If mice and rats were a problem, why didn't she put some traps around the carport?
     
  12. KeinoDoggy

    KeinoDoggy Member

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    Well under the hood is one place, but you should also take a look at your cabin filter. That is there favorite place to settle down and raise a family!
     
  13. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    i don't believe prius is necessarily a specific target for rodents. i had rats in my garage and they attacked fertilizer bags and my lawn mower, but left prius and another toyota alone. i used a combination of traps and poison to get rid of them (3 very big adults).

    as for toyota claiming ignorance, that's their standard procedure for liability sake. it's comical how they deny problems till the midnight of the day before they issue a recall or a TSB.
     
  14. KeinoDoggy

    KeinoDoggy Member

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    You might want to pull your cabin filter and look at it to confirm they have not gotten in your Prius.

    Both are parked in an attached garage.
     
  15. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    We've had mostly mice but some rats as the rats are attracted to dog poop which our neighbor has. unless you know difference you might say a small rat was a mouse.,
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i suspect this is true for all corporations.
     
  17. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Cheese? Not peanut butter?
     
  18. Sugar Silva

    Sugar Silva Junior Member

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    I see the same complaints on the Tacoma forums. I don't think this issue is worse on the Prius than any other vehicle.
     
  19. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    Buy some TOMCAT bait blocks and place some around the inside walls of your garage. That will get rid of the mice.
     
  20. mindfk

    mindfk Junior Member

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    ..."A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."