At my last visit to the dealer for service they found my 2020 RAV 4 Hybrid cabin air filter was full of rodent debris. I was told they climb up there for warmth (living in Maine). When I asked how to prevent this I was told to surround the car with mouse traps - Really? After searching the web I see that this is a very common problem. How can Toyota not address this? Rodent droppings are a health hazard. And if one climbs up there and dies? - the car will stink for weeks. I found a rodent repellant at Tractor Supply but they advised using 3 pouches; 1 inside the car, 1 in the trunk, and 1 under the hood. But the advised me to remove the one under the hood every time I use the car. Is there no better way to deal with this? And what's wrong with Toyota that hey can't be bothered fixing this problem. There should be a damper that closes off the air intake when the car is not in use.
Rodents in the Cabin Air Filter
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KenVee
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At my last visit to the dealer for service they found my 2020 RAV 4 Hybrid cabin air filter was full of rodent debris. I was told they climb up there for warmth (living in Maine). When I asked how to prevent this I was told to surround the car with mouse traps - Really? After searching the web I see that this is a very common problem. How can Toyota not address this? Rodent droppings are a health hazard. And if one climbs up there and dies? - the car will stink for weeks. I found a rodent repellant at Tractor Supply but they advised using 3 pouches; 1 inside the car, 1 in the trunk, and 1 under the hood. But the advised me to remove the one under the hood every time I use the car. Is there no better way to deal with this? And what's wrong with Toyota that hey can't be bothered fixing this problem. There should be a damper that closes off the air intake when the car is not in use.
See this post: Rodent issues?
Rodent damage is a major problem with all contemporary cars -- not just Toyotas. You do have to remove "pouches" of repellent from the engine compartment before starting the car be they herbal or moth balls as they are a fire hazard. All rodent repellent methods (electronic, chemical and herbal) are hit and miss. Some work for some people and some don't. You have to test a variety and see what works with your resident vandals (mice, rats, squirrels,) My present regimen is to spray the engine compartment with Harris Rodent Repellent (Amazon) every couple of days focusing on the firewall sound proofing, wires, plastic engine cover etc. I spray the hoodliner and wheel wells with the Tomcat brand (Home Depot) every couple days. I use the Harris in the air intake boxes in front of the windshield (that lead to the cabin air filter). Sprays need to be done about every two days when you can no longer smell the peppermint. I use nylon socks with naptha mothballs laid on the engine cover and air intake box and remove these every time I start the RAV. I have "Just One Bite" poison laid around the walls of the carport and under the RAV. I used rat traps that took out the most damaging ground squirrel that was continually hanging around the RAV. You have to take extreme measures to protect the RAV4.
My home is in the middle of the woods, and I'm sure that there are hundreds of mice within a small radius of where my home and garage are. I've dealt with mice trying to move into the garage and cars almost every year.
I've used a number of things with some success to keep them out of the car. They don't like the smell of fabric softener dryer sheets. So, as we move into winter, I'll use cable ties to attach a couple of dryer sheets to spots under the hood, and I make sure not to attach them to places that will get hot. I also put a couple sheets in the back of the RAV4 where the spare tire is. They also don't like the small of Coast or Irish Spring soap or that of moth balls. I'll put shavings from the soap and moth balls into small sacks that I can also be tied with cable ties to spots under the hood and in the spot where the spare tire is stored.
There are also various poisons that you can use, but they should not be used outside, and they should only be used in a garage where you are absolutely certain that dogs, cats, or other animals will not have access to the garage.
Also, in a garage, I've found that glue traps placed where the mice are likely to travel to can work well.
Good luck.
I've used a number of things with some success to keep them out of the car. They don't like the smell of fabric softener dryer sheets. So, as we move into winter, I'll use cable ties to attach a couple of dryer sheets to spots under the hood, and I make sure not to attach them to places that will get hot. I also put a couple sheets in the back of the RAV4 where the spare tire is. They also don't like the small of Coast or Irish Spring soap or that of moth balls. I'll put shavings from the soap and moth balls into small sacks that I can also be tied with cable ties to spots under the hood and in the spot where the spare tire is stored.
There are also various poisons that you can use, but they should not be used outside, and they should only be used in a garage where you are absolutely certain that dogs, cats, or other animals will not have access to the garage.
Also, in a garage, I've found that glue traps placed where the mice are likely to travel to can work well.
Good luck.
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Our neighbor's killer rescue cat so far has kept the neighborhood free of vermin. No one has had a rodent problem in their vehicle, whether parked outdoors or in garages (our vehicles are garaged). Just to be as certain as possible I routinely spray possible garage entry points with repellent.
People argue this point about poison all the time. I like animals and have always owned cats and backyard poultry and I am as soft-hearted as the next guy. However, I live in a rural area with raccoons, skunks, possums, coyotes, squirrels, field rats and mice. My cat is exclusively in doors. My geese are in a fenced yard. I frankly don't care if varmints or strays eat the poison in my carport. They are trespassing. You have to be realistic. I am not going to have my $30K car damaged.
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Try multiple repellants, moth balls, sonic, strobe, mint .
innmy case moth balls and sonic works ok
innmy case moth balls and sonic works ok
Several years ago, I had a mouse that built its nest on top of the cabin air filter. When I removed the air filter to replace it, the nest got knocked off of the filter, and it dropped into the fan. I ended up having the fan removed and cleaned by the dealer to get rid of the remnants from the nest, but by then, parts of the nest and what was left of the baby mice that were in the nest had gotten spread throughout the duct system of the car. It took me over a year and lots of disinfectant spray before I was able to completely eliminate the odor from the nest and the dead baby mice.
The lesson that I learned from that experience was that, whenever I remove/replace the cabin air filter, I first slide a piece of cardboard below the old filter before I slide it out of the slot that holds the filter. That way, if there does happen to be a nest or other debris on top of the filter, it will end up on top of the cardboard and won't end up in the fan when the filter is removed. I'd suggest that this would be a good precautionary step for people to use when changing the cabin air filter.
Also, I remember reading, about 8 or 10 years ago, that Toyota and Lexus (and probably other manufacturers) had started to use wiring insulation made from re-cycled plant material. And that re-cycled plant material attracted mice who, in turn, gnawed on the material, and, in some cases, caused thousands of dollars of damage to the car's wiring.
The lesson that I learned from that experience was that, whenever I remove/replace the cabin air filter, I first slide a piece of cardboard below the old filter before I slide it out of the slot that holds the filter. That way, if there does happen to be a nest or other debris on top of the filter, it will end up on top of the cardboard and won't end up in the fan when the filter is removed. I'd suggest that this would be a good precautionary step for people to use when changing the cabin air filter.
Also, I remember reading, about 8 or 10 years ago, that Toyota and Lexus (and probably other manufacturers) had started to use wiring insulation made from re-cycled plant material. And that re-cycled plant material attracted mice who, in turn, gnawed on the material, and, in some cases, caused thousands of dollars of damage to the car's wiring.
Toyota and all other manufacturers use a soy based wire insulation now instead of the old petroleum/plastic insulation.
Electronic is the way to go.
My vehicles became nesting places for little varmints. This type of device has completely eliminated the problem.
Search Amazon or other sites. They can be powered by batteries or the vehicles electrical system.
Very easy to place and hook up.
No worries about chemicals or creature harm.
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My vehicles became nesting places for little varmints. This type of device has completely eliminated the problem.
Search Amazon or other sites. They can be powered by batteries or the vehicles electrical system.
Very easy to place and hook up.
No worries about chemicals or creature harm.
.
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I had this problem with a Toyota Sienna----with Squirrels and I used "Cridder Ridder"....I had to spray it in the wheel wells and engine compartment. Worked fairly well. Squirrels can do some serious damage though.
I used to maintain my mom's car when I lived near her, and she had a similar issue. I hot glued some aluminum screen material to the top of her cabin air filter and that fixed the problem for her. I think they stopped hanging out in there since they couldn't tear up the cabin air filter to make it a nice cozy spot to chill in.
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I thought that Louvers close and nothing can get in the air system after car is turned off .
I've wondered about whether there would be any benefit to manually setting the car's HVAC system to the recirculate mode before shutting the car down and if that would stop rodents from being able to get into the air circulation system. But my understanding is that, even when the HVAC system is set to recirculate, the vents are not completely closed. The reason is that, just in case exhaust or other dangerous air gets into the cabin, there will always be some fresh air entering the cabin. And, considering the way the mice can squeeze through openings smaller than the size of a dime, I think that, if mice want to find a way to get into the engine compartment, trunk, or cabin, they will find a way to do so.
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Once rodents start to urinate in engine bay then it’s their bathroom and they will come back.
I realized in my case they like to sit on top of engine’s beauty cover.
I gotta do engine bay cleaning when it gets warmer
I realized in my case they like to sit on top of engine’s beauty cover.
I gotta do engine bay cleaning when it gets warmer
Absolutely. And, in the same way, if they find a tiny opening that allows them to get into a garage, they will follow the urine trail to go back and forth through that opening to get into and out of the garage.
Agree I have something simmular after $1000 of damage to wifes Q5, before I tried pepermint spray, and pison but these electronic things seem to work well.
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Farmers often put a ring of lime around tractors and combines etc when they park them in barns to keep the rodents away. Not solution I know, just a perspective.
Good luck with this one.
Good luck with this one.
Years ago, my wife was driving her Subaru Forester down the highway, when a mouse climbed out, from under the hood, and was hanging onto the wiper blade in the 50 mph wind !
I said, why didn't your turn the wipers on?
years ago, I had mice moving into my old 1993 BMW all the time, when it was parked outside. Only when I got a sealed garage, did the mice keep out. I was always changing the cabin air filter and finding mice bedding above the filter in the ducting..
I said, why didn't your turn the wipers on?
years ago, I had mice moving into my old 1993 BMW all the time, when it was parked outside. Only when I got a sealed garage, did the mice keep out. I was always changing the cabin air filter and finding mice bedding above the filter in the ducting..
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