Rodents in Heater Box - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

danhounjet · 10-22-2007, 09:13 PM

Have owned 03 Camry since new. Keep having problem with rodents in heater fan motor compartment. Cannot see where or how the squirrels can get in...they filled the whole compartment with pine cones, until the fan wouldn't even turn. I've never had this happen with other makes of cars....maybe there is a screen missing???

TRD VVTi · 10-22-2007, 09:38 PM

Do you not have a cabin filter?

Usually they nest on top of the filter and not in the blower area.

Rodents can fit into the smallest spaces. It probably a mouse/rat/chipmunk type of animal and not likely a squirrel.

You really need to get rid of the rodent. They like to chew wiring for some reason and can lead to very expensive damage.

My father recently had mice nesting in the air filter box and under the engine cover of his car. They chewed through the wiring for the transmission range sensor. I had to splice in a new pigtail for that part of the harness. He didn't even realize that the transmission wasn't shifting properly until I noticed the harness during a routine visual inspection. This occured on his Oldsmobile.

danhounjet · 10-22-2007, 09:44 PM

Thanks for the quick reply...I'm positive it's a squirrel....they chewed through the filter and I removed the cabin filter and installed a heavy wire mesh to stop them...two days later..FULL of pine cones...again. Thanks again!

TRD VVTi · 10-22-2007, 10:04 PM

The only time that I've seen a rodent that large inside the car was because the cowl was removed and a possum climbed inside. When the cowl was reinstalled it was trapped and died inside the vehicle because it was trapped (this happened at a body shop).

Mice eat acorns, pine cones and the like also. For a squirrel to get in you must have large hole/gap in the cowl area at the base of the windshield or the firewall area. Be sure to check the door jamb by the front door hinges also.

Make sure the rodent is gone before you block it's access point. If it dies in your car you're in for a serious mess.

***Yazovets*** · 10-22-2007, 10:15 PM

Your problem is not strange at all.

When I go to the cottage, I have a similar problem with our Benz ML500. Basically, chipmunks steal drywall insulation (fire and sound fiberglass stuff) and create a "next" right on top of the battery.

The battery is located in the top-left corner in the engine bay. The ML's V8 really heats up and in the winter the engine bay remains warm for quite some time. That's why the chipmunks love it.

I've cleaned up probably 20 times, and they keep up setting up "shop" in there. When the Camry is parked in the exact same spot, they never ever set up shop in its engine bay. Only in the ML for some reason.

I have found absolutely no solution to this. In fact, each month during the winter, I get my mechanic/friend to inspect if any hoses in there have been eaten or else.

***CharmCityES*** · 10-22-2007, 10:49 PM

haha this isnt uncommon at all....any rodent (squirrels included) can get into the smallest of spaces....theyre very creative....there are many openings under the vehicle's engine bay in which they can crawl into, and hence they have an easy way to get into the heater box and keep warm....inspecting it regularly is the only option, o creating some sort of shield under the vehicle to keep them from being able to enter....
i can consult my toyota manuals and see if i can locate the closest acess point so you can make some sort of way to close it off....just make sure the "guest" is gone before doing so...dead animals dont smell too good in cars

Aceventura9586 · 10-23-2007, 07:50 AM

This is one of the reasons, why my car, sits inside, door down, and stays down.

TRD VVTi · 10-23-2007, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aceventura9586

This is one of the reasons, why my car, sits inside, door down, and stays down.

That doesn't stop mice. Most of the cars that I've seen with mice are parked in a garage.

JSM1284 · 10-23-2007, 10:00 AM

Put a little cup of rat poison in there, But make sure you keep checking in there so when the die, they dont rot.

onsknht · 10-23-2007, 10:06 AM

Yup, the mice sneak in the garage when it's open and you're not looking, they then find warmth on the car when the light goes out.

In the old days of waterpump mounted fans and huge radiator shrouds, cats would be a problem... Start the engine and mmmmmeeeeeeyyyyyooooooww!

They will get anywhere that isn't protected and chew the hell out of wiring... I've rewired countless trailers and we'd find mice and such in snowmobile pipes and airboxes... Boats accumulate them in the winter time. Mothballs will keep them away, but I wouldn't really want mothballs in the heater blower.

Are you sure there's no other opening they're getting through, like maybey through a floor vent? Maybe a hole in trunk and there's a path to the blower box, look for evidence like scat or dropped nest/food material.