In-Cabin Air filter Debri

[Tgrds]

Cabin Air filter Debri

Anyone know what the hell is this stuff clogging up my cabin air filter. All the debri you see in the bag I actually had to pull out from between the dashboard and the plastic frame containing the cabin air filter. Half of it was on top of the filter the other half was hanging down from the dash. Looks like some kind of animal is living in there? I checked for rodent droppings but did not see any.

Only 10k miles on 98% paved road driving.

 

[kingpin748]

Jesus, it looks like something died in there.

 

[arvmark]

what does it smell like?

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

Thats kinda scary looking!!

 

[jam23r1]

omg you found my cat!

 

[Reata]

You must have hit one of those darned flying squirrels!!:sobbing:

 

[4ShoreRunner]

what does it smell like?

+1, stick your nose in it and report back

 

[Will733]

Take it to the dealer.... they'll probably tell you it's normal.

 

[wjb4000]

Looks to me like a rodent's nest. There's a lot of times I pull the A/C filter out of the cars I work on, and I see that. It looks like insulation from inside the car somewhere and a rodent has put it there. We get that a lot in south Florida during the winter months. Rodents like to find a warm place to sleep, and thats a nice warm place. I wouldn't worry about it too much, I've actually seen dead rats laying on top of the filters before. And that STINKS!!!!

 

[rickwol]

It's unanimous. We are all awaiting the "smell test" !! Kidding aside, I once had what I suspect must have been a mouse nest in my air cleaner. There was a kind honey-like resin that was quite possibly the worst odor I had ever experienced smelling.

 

[chetJ]

How does one access that filter? Damn- that looks terrible! Now you have scared me into wanting to check on mine! Is this the filter that one accesses from the glove compartment?

 

[K.C.]

Impressive!!

 

[Dispense]

How does one access that filter? Is this the filter that one accesses from the glove compartment?

Yep, just open the glove box and it's at the bottom. I checked mine and it was fine.

But it was installed upside down.. The "UP" and arrow, were upside down and pointed down.. :redbrick:

 

[philsey]

My money sez you have a mouse/mice in your truck. They pull insulation for their nest, the also pee in their nest.

I'd suggest setting some spring traps in the car and/or under the hood. Put it on a towel, and bait with peanut better. Also set some in your garage. Check daily, keep setting until you catch no more. Do it now, this will get out of hand, they chew wires, insulation, rubber foam, etc. Nasty!

 

[wjb4000]

Yep, we constantly see knock sensor wires chewed up on V6 Honda engines due to little rodents making a nest in the "V" of the engine and then chewing on that little wire. I guess they get bored. And that's not a cheap fix and warranty doesn't cover that since it's not a manufacturer defect.

 

[tlflow]

re

I looks like a Chia Pet gone wild ... roll some up and smoke it and tell us if has any medicinal value

 

[Tgrds]

Well took it into the dealer today, and the service guys said it looks like some kind of mouse or pack-rat must have gotten up in there. I asked how the heck could that happen, he just smiled and asked if I smelled anything funny to see if it had died yet. I said no, how about you rip apart my dash and kill the bastrad. He laughed again and said sure we charge by the hour, and if we find it is indeed a rodent we charge you if we find it was Toyota's fault we do not charge you. I said well, when you rip apart my dash and find the rodent I want it's DNA checked to verify that it came from Nagoya Japan!!!

At that point he was roaring laughing... :lmao:

At least I know what I will be doing this weekend... Feck my life...:moping:


P.S. Killed three field mice two months back in the garage. Since then I have both mechanical and chemical traps all over my garage and have not seen any sign of them since. I honestly can not believe one these was up in my dash. How in the holey hell could they have gotten up there.

P.S.S. Edited to add, I am now placing mechanical traps inside my vehicle and under the hood. Teh warz is on..!

 

[SeattleMike]

P.S. Killed three field mice two months back in the garage. Since then I have both mechanical and chemical traps all over my garage and have not seen any sign of them since. I honestly can not believe one these was up in my dash. How in the holey hell could they have gotten up there.

What a parked car looks like to a rodent:

A tire is merely a really convenient ladder.

 

[wjb4000]

If you keep your HVAC system on fresh air, they can easily get in that way. It's just one big door that goes straight to the filter. But they can also chew their way through plastic and get through VERY small openings. There's no way to tell how they got in, but it happens all the time. If you do put mechanical traps under your hood, for the sake of all us mechanics, at least tell your mechanic that you've put them there so he doesn't get a handfull of hurt!!! :cheers:

 

[Tgrds]

Well did a few things today:

Added some more mechanical and chemical traps around the garage and just outside the garage even though I have not seen any activity here for the past two months.

Added a few mechanical traps to the interior of the vehicle and under the hood. So far no luck. I also thoroughly went through the interior of the vehicle from front to back and could find no sign of anything. All my MRE's that I have stored in the back are A OK. Hopefully this is good news. This makes me suspect that it/they just got into the dash area only.

Edited to add: Does anyone know where the air intake is located that goes into the cabin air filter area? I want to take a look at this area and the dash this weekend.