AC Noise & rotten smell - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

ttman · 04-08-2011, 12:03 PM

My 08 corolla's vent fan got real loud lately then a few days afterwards a bad smell starting coming from it. Now it smells really bad, like a dead something stuck in the dash. do I need to take the dash apart? any directions online?

mikered30 · 04-08-2011, 12:55 PM

Check for a mouse on the cabin air filter

TrdSpeed140 · 04-08-2011, 01:12 PM

most likely some kind of small animal got into there. just gotta take the pas. side glove compartment out and then the blower and filter are easily accessible. to prevent "break-ins" in my car, I always turn recirculate on before shutting off the engine, I'm pretty sure the recirc. door would prevent animals from getting in, not 100% sure, but i am like 85-90% about it lol.

ttman · 04-09-2011, 09:10 AM

OMG it was a freaking MOUSE!!! he bit thru the filter & landed into the fan & was crushed. it was so gross/creepy pulling the lil sucker out! car still smells like s#$% though. fan now sounds normal. thanks guys!

bennor · 04-09-2011, 10:29 AM

A family member had the same thing happen with their 4Runner. Mouse got into the duct work, died and they couldn't figure out how to get it out. They took it to a Toyota dealer who spend the better part of an entire day tearing out the dash to get at the dead mouse. Cost them $700 by the time it was all over.

On the plus side their dash no longer sqeeks since it was put back together.

frbl · 04-09-2011, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennor

On the plus side their dash no longer sqeeks since it was put back together.

Neither does the mouse!

mikered30 · 04-09-2011, 04:02 PM

You can put in a screen in the fresh air intake under the windshield. Might want to spray the blower with lysol.

ttman · 04-09-2011, 08:03 PM

where is the intake?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikered30

You can put in a screen in the fresh air intake under the windshield. Might want to spray the blower with lysol.

towtruck · 04-13-2011, 09:43 AM

I had a family of chipmunks in mine a few years back. They made a nest with the cabin air filter. It took $160 at the dealer to get it all cleaned out and a few months for the smell to go away.

At the time my wife was mostly driving the car, so I didn't worry too much