Help! Something died in the cabin vent system

Hi guys, new member here... sorry for not lurking a while but I have an urgent problem.

I was out of town for four days, and when I got back, the interior of my 2016 Tacoma smelled distinctly of dead animal. After a careful search of the cabin and engine bay I decided to try driving it around for a bit and found that the smell was coming out of the vents, too.

So next I pulled the cabin filter and found misc mulch-like pieces and TWO MAGGOTS in it. I used a mirror to look up inside that housing and saw what looks like a mouse nest on top of the grate inside there. Ugh. So while I didn’t see a dead mouse, there’s almost certainly one up in there.

So my questions are:
1) is there an easy way to get to that area without pulling the whole dash? Obviously I need to get this fixed ASAP, tonight if possible, before the smell completely soaks into my interior fabric.

2) How the heck did a mouse get up in there in the first place? Where is the intake for the cabin air?

Many thanks for your help!!

 

Coat hanger?

Oh, and Welcome to TW

 

Vac with a flexable hose?

 

What about a powerful shop vac?

 

Air hose or blow torch.

 

There is a plastic like grate just above the cabin air filter that would prevent me using a shop vac... unless one of you can tell me how to get at that area from the topside?

 

Not sure if this helps but here is a break down of your hvac system from camelback Toyota parts...

 

So it looks like the nest is on top of #14, which is directly above the #3/4 fan assembly, but I can’t really tell what I have to remove and from where to get to the topside of 14... unless I pull the dash, which I really don’t wanna do if I can help it... anyone know of another route?

 

Can you pull out the trim where the vents are and see if you can reach it that way

 

#14 looks to be the fresh air inlet, have you tried pulling your cabin air filter?

 

Yes, the nest is above that, but i can’t get to it because there’s a plastic grate in the way that doesn’t look to be removable.

Do you have any idea where the fresh air comes into that piece? Below the windscreen somewhere, or in that wheel well, or somewhere else? (I’d be out there tearing it apart right now to see for myself but it’s raining)

 

Depending on the size of the animal, the smell might go away within two weeks

 

This might be of some help
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/effing-mice.461226/

 

Usually it is going to come in at the wiper cowl, don't know for certain until I get out of work.

 

Yes it enters from the passenger side wiper cowel

 

If you remove the wipers and 2 plastic push pins, you can remove the cowl..... clean and then place a piece of "mechanic's Cloth" over that opening. (1/4" X 1/4" galvanised screen)…. Works like a charm.....

 

So he probably has to remove #1 in this picture to get to it then right?

 

Exactly...

 

Well the good news is that Over60’s guidance got me to the nest! The bad news is that the mouse wasn’t in it, or anywhere else in that wiper assembly area that I could find. But the nest smelled terrible so maybe that was all of it?

Is there a place a mouse could get trapped and die past that hole in the corner?

Also, what’s the deal with the plastic push pins holding in the wheel well liners that have square openings instead of Phillips heads like normal push pins? How do you get those to release?

 

Those you can use a panel popper to pop out. Sometimes they break. You can try releasing the tabs from the back side with a pick or screw driver. Sometimes that’s more of a bitch. They use that setup because it allows a good hold, and you can put a screw into them. That’s how they mount the OeM mudflaps.

Here is a pic of one so you can see how it works