CARspec offers cabin air filter inspection at no charge, sometimes discovering the handiwork of an industrious rodent in the process. Today we had a Prius with a resident rodent that had been hard at work for some time:
Mouse house in cabin filter
Pretty gross, especially given the droppings scattered around the engine bay. The solution to this problem is straightforward – replace the cabin air filter, remove and sterilize the blower motor, clean the blower motor housing, and liberally apply a disinfectant to the inside of the blower housing.
This is problem is a tough nut to crack – some owner have success putting mothballs under the floor mats and in the cowl of their vehicle. We recommend you not try and use poison in your garage to fix this issue – the rodents carry the poison into the vehicle and then die, making an even larger (and stinkier) mess. In some cases the air box need be removed and cleaned, the system sterilized with an evaporator core cleaning, or the wiring harnesses repaired if they’ve been chewed.
As the local independent Toyota and Lexus repair and rodent debris removal specialist, CARspec stocks the tools and chemicals needed to clean these messes up. If you’ve got the smell of a dead mouse or foul air, give us a call at (952)426-4798 to make an appointment today!
The cabin air filter in my 2002 Toyota Prius that you took out today looked very similar to that picture. My cat found and killed a mouse in the garage last year so it make sense that mouse would be nesting near the engine where it’s warm. Thankfully no new rodents have shown up (dead or alive) in the garage for a while.
In the future I think I will put Fresh Cab inside the car. Fresh Cab worked for me to keep mice away from outdoor garden plants and smells pleasant too. You can buy Fresh Cab at stores or online from Amazon, etc.
http://www.earthkind.com/products/featured-fresh-cab-rodent-repellent
http://www.earthkind.com/how-to-use/fresh-cab
Thanks John!