What’s in Your Cabin (Filter)

We should try to get the Honda radiator-protector screen guy to make a critter guard for the cabin air filter.

 

Common in all cars. If your nose works you know exactly when this happens...

 

Las Vegas. Bugs? What bugs?

 

ARRRRGGGGHHHH...
ME TOO !





Better go out and check yours too !!!
There were a few acorn shells in the fray, but my best guess would be a mouse.

I now have some mouse traps set just in case he (she) is still mousing around.

 

I had a similar problem once when I was storing a car. You can use mothballs to dissuade the little buggers.

 

A friend used to park hi PT cruiser outside all winter under a cover. Mice/rats chewed through a bunch of wires. Cost an arm and a leg to fix.

 

Great thread. Made me realize I hadn’t replaced mine in 2 years but since I don’t run much heat in the winter it’s really more like 1 year of normal use.

As you can see, it wasn’t that bad. I bought a cheap aftermarket filter because of the price and the fact that it has some activated carbon in it. Well, you get what you pay for. Notice the Honda OEM has 40 pleats and the cheapo has only 28 which is 30% less filtering area and has no glue strips keeping the pleats apart. Won’t make that mistake again.

 

I know I never changed mine. It’s bad. Going to do that ASAP.

 

Fortunately, your Clarity never sits in one place long enough for critters to find their way into that prime nesting area.

 

As a follow-up to post #6 (4/16) above...

I cleaned out the nest, and ordered a replacement filter. I set some mouse traps (no, not the humane ones... The old fashioned spring-type) just in case the little bugger was still around (either in the car, or the garage). I had not gotten any 'hits' on the traps, and figured my problem was solved.

I Received the new filter and installed in on 4/22.

Yesterday, we brought home a nice pizza with white sauce and broccoli.

Today, I thought something smelled a little off. I asked my wife to go do a 'sniff test' in the car. Her conclusion was that is just smells like the broccoli from the pizza. But... after driving for a while, she got a stronger whiff. Definitely not broccoli !!!

We keep a box of tissues on the shelf under the shifter console. It seemed to be emanating from there...

Well, investigating this after we got home, to our great dismay, we found the source of the aroma... It was a dead mouse, all curled up inside the tissue box.

Not to be morbid, but rather to convince others to take this threat seriously... Here is what you could be faced with:



Once again, I strongly suggest (if you haven't already) - Take a look at your Cabin Filter to see if you are at risk for this sort of thing.
It is surprisingly easy to do. There is a very good video in another thread (no tools required). You can see it here:

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-clarity-maintenance-minder.8189/#post-96939

 

The visible dead mouse is so much preferable to the well-hidden dead mouse!

 

Indeed !
A dead rodent somewhere deep in the ductwork within the dash is absolutely a nightmare.

 

x2. I had to pull the entire instrument panel out of my 2015 Silverado about 2 years ago for this problem. Had nested deep in the ducts. The stank was something to behold lemme tell ya. Had to disassemble in order to bleach wash the inside of all the duct work. A solid day's work.

 

Obviously an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (man, suddenly regret saying that - but the delete key is no defense against Murphy). I have been fortunate so far in not having this issue. Worst I had recently is a skunk got in the garage and apparently my car made a noise it didn't like (was charging) and well - off to the car wash. That was relatively easy to deal with. I haven't googled anything on this, but are there any suggestions about a barrier or something anyone has successfully tried over the years to prevent intrusion? I'm clueless as to a solution, but maybe someone?

Cash

 

I can say from personal experience that there are things that did NOT work for me... This experience was based on multiple vehicles (pre-Clarity) some of which were kept outside. I have tried Moth Balls (supposed to repel rodents). I have tried the ultrasonic gizmos. The best success I have had is with using the old-fashioned mouse traps placed inside the car (this was a vehicle that we did not use regularly).

There was a time when manufacturers had switched to a more "eco friendly" wire insulation that was vegetable-based. That apparently attracted rodents and this problem was much worse. I think they have gotten away from that at this point.

I have seen some special rodent tape that you can wrap over vulnerable wires, but sheesh... There are miles of wires that are mostly inaccessible (except to the rodents) so I can't imagine how that could work. No personal experience, but I don't see how this could be applied generically.

I have always been able to perform repairs myself, but I know this can be VERY expensive if you have to take the vehicle to a professional for electrical problems due to chewed wiring. I too would be curious to hear from anyone else who has successfully employed something to solve this. I have had maybe 6-10 occurrences over the years.

Believe it or not, I have seen a strategy where people build a short wall (maybe 12-18" high) all around the perimeter of a vehicle that is parked outside. Apparently mice are not great at jumping and this thwarts them, but it needs to be a full 360 degrees, so you have to somehow open a side, drive in, and then close it after you,

The thing that works the best is keeping the vehicle in the garage, but that is not foolproof either (as I learned this time), Rodents can get into a garage either through small openings or while a door is open.

 

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/how-to-protect-your-car-from-rodents/

Yep, agree. Putting capsaicin in your air handler of your car would be a bad idea. Would make crying over onions child's play. However, it does appear that at least a fairly high percentage of the time (based on these reports) they come in through the air system. Obviously there is a chance of wire damage in the car from anywhere. However if we wanted to minimize "intrusion" I am wondering about a grid barrier (small enough to stop mice) on the air handler. What comes to mind is something similar to the "Clarity Screen" thing that voltshop made for rocks for the radiator. It would have to be removable for cleaning of debris, but made of a material unappetizing to rodents (metal). Like I need another project, but expanded stainless steel mesh may be an easy solution, tig weld a thin wire frame to prevent cutting yourself on the edges and maybe.... @MrFixit interested in your thoughts? There is room, I think....

Cash

 

In my insurance claim handling days, rodent damage was a very regular claim. Air ducts are not necessarily where they favor. Have found them in door panels, above headliners, inside seat cushions, under rear seat, under front seats, in trunk storage compartments, engine air cleaners, exhaust systems, etc etc etc....

The best claims are when they start chewing/eating wires. Eventually with enough chewing the car dies, or warning lights come on, or accessories stop working. Then mechanics start systematically looking for the electrical failure. And then they deduce from electrical troubleshooting that the problem is inside the dash, or inside the headliner, and they need to disassemble further. And all that labor and time gets REALLY, REALLY expensive. I have totaled many a vehicle due to mice damage, as they can do between $5,000 and $10,000 worth of damage when they start eating up factory wire harnesses for safety systems like airbags, etc...or nest in a curtain airbag, or whatever. Harnesses are expensive to buy, and the labor to route the wires is insane due to the amount of disassembly required, and the salvage value of an unwrecked car is high. That combination = total loss. I'm buying your car from you on behalf of the insurance company and selling it as-is to cut our losses, go get yerself another one...we ain't fixing this one.

One of my favorite claims was when an owner's (large) dog spent the day under his owner's truck, grabbing/chewing/ripping every single wire, fuel line, brake line, heat shield, insulation blanket, and coolant hose he could reach, and destroyed EVERYTHING non-metal on the entire undercarriage of this truck. He went out and turned the key and got nothing. Couldn't figure out why. Towed to dealer. $12,000 of insurance money later, this $35,000 truck was back on the road. Not totaled because it was pretty new and truck had value. I don't know the fate of the offending dog.

I had another customer with a relatively new car where a mouse started packing food so far up the exhaust system, that when the owner tried to start the car, food nuggets got caught in the exhaust valves and the car lost all compression on a few cylinders. Ran like crap, warning lights everywhere, towed to dealer. Dealer diagnosed blown engine due to zero compression on 2 or 3 cylinders. Agreed to warranty engine. They then started disassembling to replace, and when exhaust manifolds came off a pile of dogfood fell out. There goes your warranty. Call your insurance company...now I get involved. I inspect the car, turns out there was no actual engine damage, the stuck valves didn't get rammed by a piston either, but the dealer still had to pull exhaust manifolds to clean the mess, and pull the heads off the engine to remove some valves and pluck out the dog food that was jammed into the exhaust valves. A couple thousand bucks in labor and gaskets, covered by insurance.

I have no advice on how to avoid critter damage. You can't beat nature, you just have to live with it. So park where you're gonna park, be alert to smells, leave NO FOOD of ANY TYPE in your garage or your car, EVER. Baited mouse traps in garages are wise at all times. And pay for comprehensive insurance from a reliable insurance company if you don't want to eat the whole repair bill when the weird thing happens...

 

@craze1cars ,

You are making me re-evaluate my snort at the Farmer's commercials... Going to agree with your statement that you can't beat nature. May still play with a screen on the air handler, have access to a plasma-cam so would be something to do... Thanks all! Cash