1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Prius Prime Battery Heater/Rodent Attraction

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Paul3279, May 2, 2020.

  1. Paul3279

    Paul3279 New Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2020
    4
    4
    0
    Location:
    Mass
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    My 2020 Prius Prime had very extensive rodent damage over the winter. Is there any history/data to show increased rodent damage due to the heat associated with the lithium ion battery heater/charging cycle. I live in the Northeast and have been charging overnight.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    not that i have seen. it's not any comfort, but prius has a long history of rodent infestations.

    you can find many threads here with potential solutions. not sure if there are any in prime forums
     
  3. Paul3279

    Paul3279 New Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2020
    4
    4
    0
    Location:
    Mass
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Thanks for the reply. The insurance company has since "totaled" the car due to extensive rodent damage to the battery assembly. It only had 5,000 miles of operation. I have to think that the battery heater acted as a beacon on a cold winter night, when the car was on the charger/ungaraged.
     
    douglasjre likes this.
  4. m8547

    m8547 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2018
    927
    615
    0
    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Weird that they wouldn't just replace the whole battery assembly if that's what was damaged. Or maybe it's too expensive.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  5. Paul3279

    Paul3279 New Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2020
    4
    4
    0
    Location:
    Mass
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I think they saw additional infestation and figured they would be chasing the problem and adding to the bill beyond the salvage value of the car. The estimate to replace the battery assembly alone was $9,890 in parts/$750 labor.
     
    douglasjre and bisco like this.
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    :eek:!!!
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    what are you driving now?
     
  8. krstof

    krstof Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2018
    7
    8
    0
    Location:
    Lexington KY
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Ive not had any issues in the Prime yet but I'm only a month into ownership. However, rodents caused an expensive repair on my 3rd gen Prius. They came in via the firewall HVAC opening and made a nest on top of my evaporator core for the air conditioning. Eventually this led to a hole being formed in the core and a slow leak for the refrigerant. I was quoted close to $2000 by my dealer to have it fixed. I ended up buying the parts and doing the work myself. It was quite the time consuming nightmare to completely remove the dash board and HVAC in that car but in the end I got my repair bill from ~$2000 down to ~$450 including the cost to purge/refill the refrigerant.

    One of the main causes for this is the ease of access the rodents have to cabin. The opening in the firewall is just a wide open hole. There is nothing preventing them from coming in via the engine bay, into the wiper tray and directly inside the cabin. So before I re-installed the HVAC back into the car, i used a roll of mesh wire and cut out a piece big enough to overlap that opening in the firewall about an inch and then bolted the HVAC assembly back in over it. Benefits to this would also be to also keep all the leaves and crud out of the assembly as well because there were tons of crap in mine.
     
    douglasjre, Mendel Leisk and drash like this.
  9. Paul3279

    Paul3279 New Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2020
    4
    4
    0
    Location:
    Mass
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Well we also have a 2019 Camry Hybrid that I am keeping under a watchful eye for mice. Given the pandemic, we only need one car.
     
    bisco likes this.
  10. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2005
    2,542
    2,485
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    So what do the rodents do when the care is being driven? Seems to me they might not like going down the highway at 70 MPH.
     
  11. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Wow... almost brand new PRIME eaten by a tiny mouse. Or was it a rat? Sorry to hear about the problem. I hope you got the full value of the car from the insurance payout exceeding what you paid out of your pocket after deep incentives and discounts.

    After reading some stories on rodent damages, I thought about trying various rodent repellants for automotive available but never did. Most of them are just smelly stuff to deter rodents to come close to the car and need to reapply either weekly or monthly depending on the product. I also live in NE but never had any rodent problem in any of my cars including two PRIME so far. Since we have plenty of feral cats roaming around our house, they are probably more effective for getting rid of mice than any of those products.
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,105
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    There's air exhaust vents at the back too, where rodents can possibly get in. I keep meaning to mesh those on our 2010.

    I have addressed the HVAC intake in the firewall, and engine air intake as well.
     
  13. Michael Wood

    Michael Wood Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2016
    179
    118
    3
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    In the Northeast almost every garage has mice. Prii come off the docks with mice. I've seen brand new Prii on the lot with sound dampening insulation on top of the engine. They love to rip that material off the inside of the center bottom splash panel. On my 2020 they built a nest with it under the EGR cooler.

    Luckily, I've never had any damage to wiring or hoses that I'm aware of. It's a cost of doing business. Set traps and soak that bottom panel in peppermint oil. Just open your oil drain access panel and dump a $5 bottle of peppermint oil onto the inside of the splash guard, maybe a few moth balls if you can stand it. And stay fully insured until you can self-insure.
     

    Attached Files:

    #13 Michael Wood, Oct 23, 2022
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2022
    pghyndman likes this.
  14. pghyndman

    pghyndman Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2018
    498
    463
    0
    Location:
    CT shoreline
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Yes! We set traps and use peppermint oil based rodent deterrent spray from Tractor Supply for our cars and tractor. Works like a charm!

    [​IMG]
     
    Michael Wood and Mendel Leisk like this.
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,105
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    ^hows it smell?
     
  16. pghyndman

    pghyndman Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2018
    498
    463
    0
    Location:
    CT shoreline
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    You can definitely smell the peppermint (not so much in the cabin, but where I spray), and it lasts for a month or more.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  17. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    By totaling the car, they can sell it and make money, which may offset the cost of the vehicle minus the repair costs.
     
  18. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2005
    2,542
    2,485
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    I have already caught 3 mice in the garage this season. All on glue traps with a nab of peanut butter in the center of the glue trap. Also, a lot of spiders and other bugs...so bonus points.
     
    Michael Wood likes this.
  19. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    :cry: More human methods, please?
     
  20. pghyndman

    pghyndman Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2018
    498
    463
    0
    Location:
    CT shoreline
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    OTE="Gokan, post: 3294552, member: 45202"]:cry: More human methods, please?[/QUOTE]

    Yeah, besides being gruesome they are more expensive in the long run and disposal is a hassle. We use TomCat claw type traps with removable bait cups. These are far more effective than cheaper models without the removable bait cups, as no weight is loaded onto the actuator until the rodent is on it. Also easier to bait and no-touch carcass release. We also use the larger sized ones for bigger rodent "guests".

    [​IMG]