f'n mouse/mice/rodent inside my air system!!

I noticed a stench coming from my vent 2 days ago, pretty soon realized its a rodent of some sort. opened up where the micron filter sits and sure enough its covered in shit and stinks like hell.

i can't figure out where the little bastard may have gotten in, or if its even in the vent system but any help would be appreciated.

i bought another filter which came to 40 bucks from the dealership. i want to make sure the thing is dead or long gone before installing this again.


where should i start looking in the truck for signs of damage or where its living right now??

 

this happened to my moms land cruiser too..the rodents go under the hood because they like the heat from the engine..we found the rat dead inside the intake manifold..id say just make sure your wires are ok,they chew that shit up and you will have severe electric problems..good luck

 

i've been looking everywhere but can't see any damage so far. I can't figure out where these things would be getting inside in the first place.

 

If it didn't make it through the filter, you should be good. But you might want to take the cowl off below the windshield and have a look in there. There's plenty of room under there and that's how they enter the cabin.

Here's where they enter under the cowl and it is straight above your cabin filter (notice the lack of a screen):


Might want to add a screen like this:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/89878-made-pre-cabin-air-filter.html

 

I recently changed my engine air filter and found a HUGE rodent's nest in there. I'm sure that wasn't too good for performance!

 

How'd you access this space?? I was messing around my cabin filter the other day a noticed it looks like something has been nibbling on it, I'd like to make sure there's nothing taking up residence in my truck that I dont know about

 

....k nevermind, from under the hood, passenger's side, just below the window...you have to pull off that black plastic grating somehow??

 

Yes. Two plastic pieces at the lower corners of the windshield pop off, then there's a bunch of screws along the edge against the engine bay, and then there's two pop-out rivets: There are two pop-out rivets, one at each corner toward the front by each fender, that look like phillips-head screws. You have to pop them up a little bit then they'll come out (same type of rivet that holds the mudflaps on). Once those are out (along with the windshield wipers), lift the cowl cover up at the engine bay side and slide it out from under the windshield.

 

I opened it up and looked inside today. Surprised first of all to see that there's not much between the engine and that filter but found no sign of anything inside or even any mouse shit.

I did remove the blower and the old filter, i had to try my best to clean out the blower and everywhere around it cause whatever got inside just hung out for a day or 2 and the whole bottom of the blower was soaked with urine.

After cleaning out the nasty mess, I've made a temporary filter using a cardboard cutout and a piece of furnace filter stapled on top. Left this on there for now before installing the expensive micron filter in case the bastard comes back.

The one thing i noticed under the windshield area was two large holes on either end of the truck, i'm pretty sure this is where the rodent's getting in, the holes from the engine bay seem way to small for it to squeeze through. Now where are these openings on the side leading from? looks like they end up somewhere under the wheel well.

 

Those two holes should be the drains for the cowl. You need those or else downpours will fill up that area and lead to water intrusion inside the cab (and into your blower).

And don't discount the other holes. I once opened the BBQ and turned it on only to see a large rat (at high speed, mind you) squeeze up through the grate and hightail it outta there! And the space between the slots was only like an inch. So if a large rat can squeeze through an inch-wide space, imagine how small a space a mouse can squeeze through.

And, no, I didn't feel much like BBQing that night, so we had something else.

 

Here are some pics of what I had in my intake...on a 'certified vehicle' believe it or not changing air filters is not part of their certified inspection.

Acorns, and other shit.....WOW...anything to save a buck...

 

How do you take the windshield wipers off?? I removed the little plastic tabs on the head of the wiper arm and the bolts underneath...but couldn't get the arms off, didn't wanna hurt anyhting, do they just pull off with enough force?? or is there something im not getting, I'm hoping to do this before it gets dark

 

don't take off your windshield wipers man. open the hood, look at passenger side next to the firewall, you'll see the cowl..just move the rubber a bit and you'll reach it just fine

 

aight, I'll try that, I was going off this from an above post
"....Once those are out (along with the windshield wipers)"

 

The wipers do come off easily, however. Once the bolts are off, they slip right off.

 

weird, mine wouldn't budge once those bolts were off, they just pull straight off, no twisting or anything?

 

They're on grooves so they can get pretty tight on there. Lift them off the windshield first because that will apply pressure to keep them on, then wiggle them back and forth a couple of times to loosen them. They should just lift off after that. You might want to add a piece of tape to the windshield to mark where they rest before removing them...makes it easier to put them back on the same groove.

 

I know this is an old thread, but here I am in June 2016 trying to figure out what to do to get the rodent crap machine out of my 2015 Tacoma. I'm just sick about it! Here is what I have done so far:
1. called Toyota for advice once I realized they were getting INSIDE the cab...unacceptable since no other vehicle I have ever owned has had this problem. Outside, yes, in the engine's air filter in my Mitsubishi Montero. That's just life in a rural area.
2. Took it to the dealer I bought it from and they installed a metal mesh wire over the intake vent, which is WIDE OPEN and invites the little bastards in. Service guy said it's very common. Also said that may not be the final fix but I'd have to see if it worked then come back for a 10-12 hour appointment to block other holes, and clean out the headliner (which requires removing all the interior paneling!).
3. Less than 2 weeks later they were back spreading poop, pee, and God only knows what kinds of germs.
4. I wrote a letter to Toyota demanding that they pay whatever the repair amount is to fix this. They say that because it's an "outside thing" they can't. I asked what if it was rain leaking in and causing damage, then would they fix it? That's an outside thing. No answer.
5. Called dealer service again. It could cost "$150 or up to a couple of thousand dollars" to fix depending on how far into the vehicle they have gotten.
6. I filed a consumer complaint with my state attorney general's office to see if they can force them to do something. If they can then I believe a class action lawsuit could force a recall and they would have to fix it if there is a legal decision saying they have to.
If this doesn't do it I'm going to very reluctantly and sadly sell this truck and buy something else. I don't want to, because otherwise I love this truck and have wanted one for years.

 

Sorry for your troubles, just went through this with my Mom's car.

There's this stuff called "Fresh Cab" Rodent Repellent, available at hardware stores. Smells herbal/fragrant to humans but apparently mice can't stand it. May want to try bombing your cab with the stuff.

Good luck.

 

You have a rodent problem, Maybe get a few cats. Toyota has no control over your rodents. Class action lawsuit, good luck with that.

Get some clothes dryer sheets and place them in the car. Mice hate them.