Cabin Air filter filthy

Q

quickpick

New member
Took wifes 2012 4runner in for routine service, service guy tried to sell me new filter, showed me one packed with grass and insulation of somekind. Ask him to clean it and put it back in. When I got home I got curious and went out to look at it myself. Pulled somewhat cleaned filter out and found pile of grassy insulation inside. 9800 miles is this normal? Looks like a rats nest.
 

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BlackWorksInc said:
Probably is a rodent's nest from the looks of things. Not uncommon to find them nesting in HVAC units.
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Dude! My buddy sent me a text 2 days ago explaining how he took his truck in for service and the guys found a rodent nest in the engine air filter. My other buddy on the thread was like, "yeah that happened to me once".
I've never heard of that in my entire life!
Can the little bastards survive in there while the vehicle is being driven? I wouldn't think so, but rodents are resilient little creatures (bastards).
 
quickpick said:
.... Looks like a rats nest.
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It is ..... mouse most likely.

[MENTION=94060]quickpick[/MENTION] I strongly suggest you read, and take the advice posted in the link [MENTION=85512]eddiebx[/MENTION] posted. You have the potential for a giant PITA there. Been there.
 
Thanks All, hoping this was there from being on lot but will definitely keep an eye out. I swept out garage a few days before finding this and didn't notice any signs but I did put out traps last night, no trapped rodents this morning.
 
I used to work at toyota and we would see it maybe once a week. Just keep your eyes on it.. its fairly easy to check both the air filter and cabin filter
 
Can anyone show me (with pics, hopefully?) where the fresh air intake(s) is/are for the HVAC system? I need to put some mesh over that opening before I get a mouse surprise.
 
stinknugget said:
Can anyone show me (with pics, hopefully?) where the fresh air intake(s) is/are for the HVAC system? I need to put some mesh over that opening before I get a mouse surprise.
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Sorry man. If a mouse wants in bad enough he will get in. You could weld a plate over it and the mouse would figure it out. A friend of mine had 10K worth of damage done to his vehicle by mice. Had a new BMW in storage while he was working overseas. Came back eight months later and wiring harness, wires to instruments, under seat padding and other crap was ruined, including seats from mouse pee. His vehicle was stored along with several others in a concrete building and it was locked with all windows and doors closed. No other vehicle was harmed. Lesson: don't piss off mice.
 
Yup - every spring I have to go through my tractor and riding mower. Every year I have to clean out mouse nests. I have not had any damage - just the mess. One thing that has helped is to put out "bar bait" which is a block of poison bait that mice love. They eat some and then leave to find water. The only place I've been able to find it is at the farm co-ops here. You might try that, however, I'd check in relation to pets if you have any.
 
Aww come on now 1Engineer! Be fair, its not all the mice's fault! It WAS a BMW after all, it probably caused 8k worth of damage just sitting there! LoL

But yeah, rodents will eat your car up, quite literally...
 
1engineer said:
Sorry man. If a mouse wants in bad enough he will get in. You could weld a plate over it and the mouse would figure it out. A friend of mine had 10K worth of damage done to his vehicle by mice. Had a new BMW in storage while he was working overseas. Came back eight months later and wiring harness, wires to instruments, under seat padding and other crap was ruined, including seats from mouse pee. His vehicle was stored along with several others in a concrete building and it was locked with all windows and doors closed. No other vehicle was harmed. Lesson: don't piss off mice.
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Who knew that mice's or mice had bad taste when it came to vehicles....LOL
 
Replaced the air filter in my '85 P/U back in the day and found a handful of dog food inside. Squirrel(s) had been storing it in there I assume. Took me a while to figure out how dog food got in there.
 
Just took mine out to check. Filthy! Going to check out the local Part Source or Crappy Tire to see if they stock the Bosch.

Awesome how easy it is to change out on our trucks.
 

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Good luck keeping mice out of anything.

They can get through any hole they can get their head through, that's less than 1/4".
 
Could be worse.....my buddy has a beast F350 that he uses pretty much only for hauling firewood around his property, and it just sits outside for a few months of the year. Last year, he popped the hood to check things out before the cutting and hauling season, and found some, um, reserve protein storage, courtesy of the local squirrels. So you just never know.......
 

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When we bought our house the old wooden garage doors were pretty much shot. Lots of mice in and out. Had some building a nest in the engine compartment of my Jag. Literally had to put traps in the compartment to get them. After I replaced the doors I think they got pissed and tore into a 74 GMC pickup that was parked outside. We used it just for hauling crap around the house. After a few months of it sitting idle, I fired it up and it really fired up. Their nest caught fire which spread around the engine and the blower fan sent it into the cab. What a mess.
 
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