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Three weeks ago, I replaced the dust and pollen filter in my son's Fit. That area was loaded with acorns and nesting material. This morning, the draft control was stuck. That's the left/right lever that opens and closes the air intake. Once again, the filter area was loaded with acorns, this time interfering with the movement of the flap for the air intake. i think the one in my car will be just as bad.
Looking under the hood, I found a small panel that could be removed. When I removed it, I saw more nesting material and acorns. People have recommended putting "Bounce" fabric softener sheets in the car.
This removable piece is on the passenger's side. Pull the rubber gasket away and pull out the plastic piece. This is another case of it being nice if we had a shop manual to see how the HVAC is routed.
Last edited by SilverEX15; Oct 28, 2015 at 02:06 PM.
Gah! I hate mice! I'd probably douse that sucker in gasoline and light it on fire, to make sure I got them all!
I remember one time I had a quite impressive bird's nest built in my engine compartment in my truck. For the life of me I couldn't figure out when they had done it, since I was driving it every day. Unless they were doing it a little bit at a time when I was parked at home.
Definitely a good reminder to notice the little details a realize something is up.
Another anti-critter defense trick I've read, is to stash Irish Spring soap in various spots, either inside the car or near where it is parked (in a garage or barn).
Another anti-critter defense trick I've read, is to stash Irish Spring soap in various spots, either inside the car or near where it is parked (in a garage or barn).
Good idea, and it doesn't smell bad. People have recommended using moth balls, but it can be dangerous to breathe the fumes. I knew of a woman who had two pounds of moth balls in her car, and when a mechanic was working on it, he said he saw mice running around inside. I guess moth balls are not the solution.
Look for any chewed up wires near the area where mice had been.
I had cars, tractors ,etc. where mice had chewed up some wires under the hood, and had all kinds of electrical problem like no A/C, engine not starting, running bad, etc.
Look for any chewed up wires near the area where mice had been.
I had cars, tractors ,etc. where mice had chewed up some wires under the hood, and had all kinds of electrical problem like no A/C, engine not starting, running bad, etc.
Yeah, that definitely would be the worst part of this whole mouse situation.
I used to think squirrels were cool but no more. .I had a real problem with my Miata and my SRT 10 truck till my son and I went on the offense and shot 17 in a 2 week period. In the MX 5 they filled the air conditioning fan up with acorns and twigs and in the Viper truck they chewed a trim piece under the hood. The damage they do is sometimes expensive to diagnose and repair. I think squirrels do the vast majority of damage to cars that are parked outside. One time only have I seen a mouse in or under a car. I watched my dog chase one under my car and thought it was funny till the dog bit and grabbed the ABS wire and pull it lose. Cost of that was just over $200.00.
We have both of our Fits in garages, and they both had heater fans loaded with acorns and nesting material. If a car can get into a garage, so can a mouse.
I bought my Fit in December of 2014. Two weeks after bringing my new car home, I started noticing a pile of insulation on top of my engine. I kept clearing it out, and the pile kept coming back. I then noticed some droppings on the floor of my car, and I knew that I had a mouse taking up residence in my new Fit.
I lived on a farm at the time, with tons of cats (who weren’t doing their jobs) and a dog. So, I made sure the animals were out of the garage, and I set a couple of traps. I put one trap under the car and I put another trap in a box-top, on the floor of the car. The trap under the car took care of the issue. I kept traps out for a couple more days to make sure the mouse didn’t have any friends. Now, I keep a few dryer sheets behind the dash of my car. The other farmers in the area swear by that method to keep mice out of their vehicles and machinery.
As a side note, it was my responsibility to feed the cats every day. Maybe I was feeding them too much!
