just got my car, exactly one week ago today and found out yesterday morning that i had a mouse living in it. not sure when it made camp and decided my car was the place to be, but saturday morning when i went to my car, i saw urine all over the dash and fecal matter everywhere. i setup a bunch of mousetraps, but they didn't work. i guess it's bigger than a mouse (possibly rat sized) so i bought a rat sized poison trap. i kept on checking back every few hours to see if the mouse took the bait in the trap and died. no luck. so this evening as i was taking the dogs out, i was looking through the front windshield with a flashlight and to my dismay saw damage to the airvent grating. the mouse had chewed threw all the grating. this is probably his point of entrance into/out of the cabin from inside the dash. i can only imagine what else the damn thing's chewed up. my question is...since my car is just a week old, what can i do/what are my options? will the dealership replace the dash (probably not, right)? i took it in to the service center the day i found the mouse. they offered to clean the car, but will they take all the panels out and find the mouse and replace all necessary wiring if they are affected? this is the first i've ever seen of this and we have 5 other vehicles that park outside. we have another prius and never had this problem. is this more common w/ the prius?
If you have that much damage and you've only had the car for a week, it would seem that the critter was there when you bought it. I would have the dealer make it right - hopefully for no charge. If the dealer won't fix it for free, I would think your insurance would cover the repairs.
They climb in through the engine compartment (into the vents, and nest there). Many posts on this topic (I still have yet to see anyone with clear pics on what to cover with screen to keep them out). I've been placing the green mouse bait sticks *everywhere* - do to my worries and reading other posts (eating a wire harness is $$$$$$$$$).
thank you for the input guys. took it into the dealership and the service rep was pretty friendly. he took it in and said since the car is new, they'd look through it and see what the damage is and what he can get toyota to pay for. will have to start putting poison under my car in the evenings. it's weird though, because we have 5 other cars parked outside and my brother's gf has a prius and this is the first i've ever heard of this. chalk it up to bad luck i guess?
Some cars attract rodents, especially if stored for the winter. I went through a number of summer cars that I stored each winter. Knock-on-wood, I never had a problem either in my garage or at a nearby u-store garage.
Moth Balls will get them out quick. Also a sad note. The one thing that your car insurance agent never told you. All policies EXCLUDE rodent damage.
took it to the dealer today and they ripped everything open and didn't find the little guy. they checked all wiring and cleaned the car but they won't replace the damage to the dash. gonna get on the horn w/ the sales dept about a new dash tomorrow. might try the mothballs in the car!
I had a car where the mice were taking the hoodliner backing and the jute under the dash to make nests. After I started putting mothballs in a sock and keeping it under the hood, the mice didn't come back.
It boggles the mind that Toyota will not mouse proof the Prius. My GenII had the same problem, I had to disassemble various areas and add metal screening. A buck or two during manufacturing would solve it. Check out the various mouse threads in the GenII forums and good luck.
I read you have had little luck with traps but I would recommend continuing trying to catch the mouse/mice versus poisoning them. Would you want them to die up inside your dashboard or air vents? Try different types of traps, like sticky traps or just a regular old fashioned snap trap.
what kind of bait did you use with the traps? i have had great success with the d-con covered trap and peanut butter.
They say dryer sheets like bounce work also and smell better! Had this happen to me on other car, they were chewing the hood liner also!
My advise from my sad Prius experience is to monitor carefully. The following is the major excerpt of a letter I mailed to Toyota Headquarters in Japan: ~~~~~~~~~ Begin letter excerpt: I am writing to your office to express my displeasure with the aftermath of my purchase of a 2010 Prius in November 2010 ... In May of this year, I noticed I no longer had radio reception. After 2 separate trips to the dealer, it was determined that the problem was due to the fact that a mouse (or mice) had penetrated past engine firewall and up into the passenger compartment ceiling liner, where the cable to antenna was chewed upon. I was told that the cost to fix radio reception would be $600. I have tried to have Toyota USA remedy this issue via phone calls to Toyota Customer Service center in California to no avail and also pursued resolution via the Toyota USA sponsored National Center for Dispute Settlement (NCDS) which also led to an unacceptable result. In my 35 years of driving and car ownership I have never experienced such a problem. I am not an automotive engineer – but it seems to me that rodents being able to enter past firewall so easily on a brand new vehicle, and do damage to a function of the vehicle does at minimum, suggest a design concern. The summary of the NCDS Arbitrator’s decision noted: “The Customer’s request for a repair of the vehicle is denied. I have reached this conclusion because the Customer failed to provide compelling evidence to support the claim that there is a manufacturing defect that substantially impairs the use, safety, or value of the vehicle.†Clearly, the value of the vehicle (and perhaps safety too) is diminished without a working radio..... " ~~~~~~~~~ End letter excerpt Toyota in Japan punted my problem back to Toyota USA where they told me the same thing - not covered under warranty. Not a happy driver here.... its too bad as I like the car but as things stand now, I sure would NOT recommend Prius or any of its automotive siblings to friends and family. Nice 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty! Any one have similar issues or recommendations for action, short of hiring a lawyer?
If the little fur ball chews through the traction battery wires, there will be nothing left but a burnt mouse outline. Feces on the dash will ruin your day.
