Back in the winter I was having a problem with my Fit (2010, Base model) where I could not move the air recirculation lever from one side to the other. The lever lets you switch between internal and external air. I brought the car to a nearby Honda dealer and found out that the problem was chipmunks had been getting into the area behind the glove compartment. The chipmunks had been storing and eating acorns in there and making a mess and that was blocking the air recirculation lever/door from moving. Even worse, the animal somehow made a hole in the heater box assembly and had chewed some other foam things. In the end, the Honda dealer wound up charging me $477.00 for taking apart part of the dashboard and installing/replacing the heater box assembly. I also was forced to rent a car for a few days and another $100 was gone. It was an overall bad experience especially when you have a fairly new car and are not expecting to take any hits like this.

Fast forward four months later and to my dismay the chipmunks are back. The air lever is sometimes getting stuck again and I can see lots of acorn shells. I'm really getting worried that I'll get hit with more repair charges. Even worse, my fear is as bold as the chipmunks are becoming they will damage something bigger and I won't discover it until my warranty is up.

Some other info. I live in a fairly rural area. I also work from home and sometime won't drive the car for a couple of days in a row. I have been trying to make sure I drive it more frequently to discourage the chipmunks from getting more at home in there.

So I'm trying to find out a couple of things:
1)What are the root causes of the chipmunks seeming to have such easy access to inside my car?
2)What actions I can take to put and end to this?

For the root causes, obviously being rural and not driving every single day does not help, I know. But I'm wondering if there other bigger factors. For one it seems like it far too easy for a small animal to access to the are behind the glove compartment. Is it the fault of bad design of the car? Is the Fit's design prone to this? Do I have any recourse with a Honda dealer or Honda corporate? Also the platform where I am finding many of the acorn shells is a very ideal safe spot for a chipmunk to hang out. It is tucked away and I can't see most of this space. I also recall reading some place that Honda uses some soy materials that an animal may be more interested in chewing on. I could be confusing Honda with another make on this one though.

Secondly what can I do stop this? I put some Dcon out in places where the chipmunks frequent. I only found dead mice though and the chipmunks seem to be bolder than ever. I've been vacuuming the car frequently and keeping it very clean to make sure there is no food sitting around as a temptation. I only rent where I live so I could move, although I'd rather not. I could try to trap the chipmunks but I don't think mousetraps would be strong enough. I have moved a lot so I don't have much in the way of tools or things to build a custom trap with.

Here are some pictures:
Hole in heater box assembly: https://picasaweb.google.com/fgibbon...01564784181218
Droppings: https://picasaweb.google.com/fgibbon...01824939337666
The chipmunks are back: https://picasaweb.google.com/fgibbon...01620651204418

Any help from "Fit Nation" would be greatly appreciated. I love my Fit but this experience is changing that very quickly.

 

Damn that sucks! Maybe use a car cover and/or hot peppers?

 

I'm looking for the best google article, but in the meantime you can google some stuff.... I don't have any experience with Chipmunks, and I don't know anything about how to stop them getting in the fit -

But my advice is to

1st, figure out how the chipmunks are accessing this area so you can eventually prevent access in the future

2nd, i'd trap the chipmunks - i'd use live rat traps those should be big enough - and i'd drive the chipmunks at least 10 miles down the road and drop em off there.

3rd, i'd spray a deodorizer like "rough and ready" in your engine compartment to remove the smell of chipmunks.

4th, i'd use whatever you need (chicken wire?) to close up access to the area.


The chimpunks probably think of this area as their home. If you attempt to stop them from accessing their home, they will find away around it. I.E. if you came home and i put a piece of wood in front of your door, you'd tear it down. So it's pointless to try to exclude the chipmunks from that area before you get rid of them. Get rid of them, so they'll never find yer car again. Also - they are probably peeing and leaving body scent in that area that other chipmunks can smell... this probably would let other chipmunks know "good home here" hence why I say you need a deodorant to get rid of that smell. Finally I'd do your exclusion work - i'm guessing rigging up some chicken wire over the area they are getting in would work.


This is what I would advice for dealing with Rats in an Attic - good luck to you. I'll go back to lurking and watch the actual advice come in

 

 

Get over to Tractor Supply and pick up a spray bottle of "Shot-Gun" Hot Pepper Wax Animal Repellent... I have problems with squirrels and wood rats and have had to splice in many feet of wire in numerous vehicles that these critters gnarled through and used as nesting material... I spray under the hood and on the firewall of all of our cars and stuff with this product a couple of times a year and it keeps them away.. It is about time for me to buy another quart of the stuff since the one I have been using at least 7 years is getting low... It is made for use on fruits and veggies, has very little odor that dissipates when it dries and as I can tell is tasteless... It'll even keep deer away from your car, when it is parked, anyway.

 

You live in a rural area????? Surprised you haven't figured this one out.

Git some cats!!! .....really.

geo

 

I'm having the same problem with my dad's CP2 (09 Accord EX Sedan), except that they're rats.

 

Cats don't last very long around here for some reason.. It used to be that coyotes would eat them as well as small dogs and rats but people have been using burros to protect their sheep and goats and they kill coyotes. People from Dallas, Houston and for some reason California are building huge houses so they haven't been howling hardly at all and are seldom seen... It is funny how the wild hog problem we now have happened about the same time the big houses were being built. There are feral cats in the woods but they seldom take up with people.

 

I chuckled when I read the title, but the chipmunks are possibly entering, maybe the passenger firewall. Look around around the HVAC case also and see.

I've read in a magazine that spices (black and cayenne pepper, nutmeg, peppermint oil, red pepper, etc.) can be used as a repellent. The smell irritates them and the stuff can get on their faces when they groom.

What you should do is sprinkle one of those spices on the cabin filter and see if that repels them, and change the cabin air filter until you see that they are no longer seeking refugee in your car.

 

Living in the woods I've experianced something similar. What finally gave them the idea to move on was to provide them with a new home. Shoebox with the hole didn't get it. A plywood box...no good. Making a small wood pile near where the car was parked did the trick.

 

put them to sleep. that will end your problem

 

i chuckled as well when i read this! i would somehow try to capture the chipmunks then teach them how to sing kareoke using a magic mic, then get rich off their albums...lol...then use the FIT to take them on tour and use the trunk as a mobile stage! complete with sounds and lazer light effects. completely taking a negative and turning it into a positive! HA!

 

Tires, they almost always start their journey climbing up the tires. Put traps, poison, pepper spray, animal repellent on tires. Also under hood, firewall etc.

 

BB gun......get some traps to catch them alive, you don't want to poison one and have it croak in your car. Drive far away release. J/k about the bb gun

 

I have had the same problem with mice getting in my 2010 Fit. They moved into my glove box and tore up my owners manual and everything else in there. They made a nest out of my firewall insulation that filled the whole glove box. I also found turds in my center consul, so I know they had been running all around inside the car. I put bag full of peppermint repellant in the glove box and they just tore it up. I finally caught them one of them in an old fashioned mouse trap using peanuts as bait. The real problem is that I cannot figure how or why they get into this car, and worse yet how to stop future invasions. I have raised the car up and looked around underneath, but can't seem to find anything obvious. There must be something about this particular car that attracts them or somehow invites them, as I have had other vehicles parked in the same area for years, and have not had a problem. Also I have not had ANY mice getting into my buildings. This situation really sucks because I will most likely have to keep baited traps in my car for ever now in case another mouse takes a liking to it. Fortunately they only seem to "move in" in the winter ( I live in south eastern Michigan ). Honda must have screwed up and left a convenient way for them to get in and I have to believe it's in the front end/firewall area, judging from the fact that you had your critters behind the dashboard and mine were in the dash area plus they were pulling insulation from the firewall ( just outside of the dash ). Good luck and I hope we can some how find their access point and plug it before they chew up some wires and cause some real big problems.

 

This animals have strange habits.When they start something they will still doing it again and again.If you have a dog...put the dog dog house near the car.Maybe if the chipmunk see it the chipmunk will not get closer to the car.Many people have problems with mouse too.Park the car in another spot if you can.Maybe that can help too.Good luck.