Rats nest

I had a funny smell coming from the vents and I also noticed that the fan wasn't blowing very strongly. So I pulled out the glove box and removed the a/c filter. Wow!!...covered with rat droppings, urine stains and straw.
I reached down into the fan housing and pulled out a ton of nesting material.
washed it all down with lysol, and installed a new filter and all is well.
This is so strange. Has anyone else heard of this?

 

Wear a mask and gloves when handling mice crap. They are know for carrying diseases like the Hantavirus.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002358/

 

Never heard of that happening unless the vehicle sat for a long time, like my first car. As Cypherian said, you should check for other nests, because where there is one, there may be more. I found a rat's nest ripped into the back of the back driver's side seat of my 1990 Mustang. Found another one in the open glove box, with a dead rat in it. But that car sat for 5-6 years in the back yard before I got ahold of it- that's why it had rats.

 

Happens all the time. We see at least 1 a week in all the products.
Good news is you know what to look for. Bad news is THEY WILL BE BACK unless you find the source.

 

^^^THIS!!

Hey Mike! How goes it bud? Staying warm up there?

 

Constant struggle Jay. You know the score. Not bad for this time of year but things are getting colder this week.

 

I hear ya, hope your turkey day was good. We are struggling down here with this chilly 70 degree daily weather with nothing but sun shine and cool breezes. Cant complain other than that, i guess someone has to deal with it.

 

Yes it was Ty. I'll send you a scarf that you can use when it gets real cold. Like 65.....

 

we have pack rats down here in AZ. we put pine sol (spelling?) the floor cleaner in a spray bottle and spary parts of the car. rats hate the smell of pine

 

Thats pretty cool, i never heard of that before and it doesnt bother the driver cause we (most people) dont mind that smell.

 

I'm sure every part of the country has their own secret weapon.
I've repaired the same Camry for a knock sensor code 3 times in the past year due to mice chewing through the wiring. They won't address the problem so it returns. That's fine with me....

 

Oh we get rats almost daily, we get more tacos with knock sensor codes than anything. That and tundra's.

 

OMG...I had no idea this problem was so common. I live in Florida and use the truck almost every day. After talking with some people I have been told that it can happen when it gets cold. And yes, It seems that if you live in an area with alot of rats then it is likely to happen again.
I bought some poison pellets at wal mart and placed them in areas around the house that I think the rats may be using, but I guess I'll just have to be alert to the symptoms.
What's a knock sensor and why is it vulnerable to rats?

 

Knock sensors sense preignition, pinging, whatever word you want to use.
When it sees the condition it sends a signal to the ecu to cut back timing.
The reason we see a lot IMO is that it's tucked way far into the engine with a nice cozy area to stay in overnight. The block stays warm and is comfortable. They like to chew and someone told me that they like something the wiring is made of. Soy I think. So they get a snack for them and problems for you.

 

Do a search for mice and squirrel damage. There are lost of posts. Here is a fix a NB member found.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/149888-squirrel-damage-2.html#post3308837

Frank

 

As an afterthought. I myself don't use pellets for my house. I use snap traps.
The reason being if you get them sick they go hide to die. So they know a nice place and that's where they go. (Your engine). If your out in the open and have no garage they have products you put in your vehicle they say helps.
They like to ride.
I have 4 snap taps in my garage. My wife went to work one day and I took the van so my truck stayed indoors. I check my stuff every day. About 3 hours after she came home I caught 3 mice.

 

X-1

 

Oh I'm sure at least. Roflmao.
It has happened but it went and sat on her lap as she was driving.
The panic was very real and she was lucky that she didn't take out something.
She traded in the car.

 

We recently had a squirrel behind a 4runner dash. The customer came to pick it up, went to get in it and it was sitting on the floor board. They left the doors open all day with a doritos trail leading out, but no one really knows if he came out or not.

 

I parked my snowmobile, and the next season it wouldn't run.
Found over 100 acorns from the squirrels had clogged off the intake filter housing.