Had a mouse get in the car and it chewed up part of the back seat. Any idea cost wise to get this fixed?
That might be the tip of the iceberg too: they have a taste for wire insulation, have made nests in the cabin filter. Make sure you're well shut of it (them?) asap. Consider how it could have got in too.
Thanks. I am pretty sure it came in through the filter area. I didn’t see a next but it chewed some plastic in that general area. So far no wire damage. Going to set some cameras and traps tonight.
Garage. I got it on full survelience. It waited till it got dark then I saw it hop up to my wheel well. Set up another camera at the suspected entry point and snapped a pic. Where is it getting in to reach there? Can I access this point easily?
Had same thing happen to our passenger side front seat.......was able to purchase the OEM cushion cover from an on/line Toyota dealer.......installed it myself........FWIW
That is a GOOD picture! It's getting in through the cabin air intake: watch @NutzAboutBolts on spark plug replacement, #13 here: Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat It shows how to remove the wipers, wiper arms/motors and windshield cowl. You will need to put some screen over the intake, maybe with pop rivets. You can get 1/4" opening galvanized steel mesh at hardware stores; it's commonly used on residential vents, for just this purpose. I should do this too. I did but such mesh on the engine air intake snorkel. We had a small rat take up residence in engine bay, but luckily he didn't find his way into the cabin. Around the time we were discovering this guy, we also happened to take over ownership of a Shiba Inu, and he summarily chased the rat out, never to return.
Yep it’s actually a decent size rat. It laughed at my glue pads and called me a newb. Got a full sized cage trap so hopefully that does the trick tonight. I was hoping it would stay in the garage when I left for work this morning but it hitched a ride. Seems to really like the car for some reason. I stayed up all night trying to get the dang thing to leave. I had 2 cameras set up so if I saw him on the floor I can pull the car out but it ran back into the car every time I came to the garage.
You better take the plunge, get that cowl off, harden the entrance with a mesh. Any neighbor with a dog? That'll help flush it.
As to how the rat gets to that firewall vent opening, I'm not sure, but I suspect he's slipping behind the wheel well plastic, up near the top, maybe where the shock goes through, then up a bit further and over into the cavity below the wipers. In any event, a 1/4" mesh secured across the firewall opening will stop him, regardless of how he gets there.
Pulled off the cowl on ours today, and installed a 1/4" galvanized wire mesh. Some pics to come. The opening: (Window trim off, cowl still on.) Possible egress route: (Couple of possible mouse egress from wheel well there.) Screen installed: (Used a 1/8" drill bit mounted on a Dremel, centre punched locations in advance. Still not that easy. A hand operated pick/awl of some sort might be better for this: the steel is quite soft/thin. Locations maybe not optimum, but best I could do with limitted acess. The mesh is stiff material, seems secure with fasteners as located. The mesh I used was 11"x7" IIRC, but cut it generous, and then trim after a trial fit to make sure.) Screws I used:
Thanks for the info. I was able to finally trap it. Will look into it’s entry point. Can anyone tell me if that little slot above the cabin filter where it accessed the cabin had something there? I found this thin black foam piece near it and I think it was over that slot. Here is a video of the culprit.
Speaking specifically about the damage pictured in the original post, my opinion is to have it 100% properly repaired, would mean upholstery work, and that can be incredibly expensive. I've known people that have taken community college course on the subject, just so they could do it themselves. My question then becomes, how much could you ignore? Some type of tastefully done patch? Sewing up the tears and throwing a pillow over the area? Seat covers? You could call around, it's been a few years since I've had to investigate auto re-upholstery, to have the work done well, it's not cheap. I might try to find a compromise I could live with, something between full repair and duct tape.
I called a place and they quoted me $225. Not bad it was a very small spot which is completely covered when the seatbelt receptacle is in its proper place.
