Toyota claims not aware of mouse problem

Black2006. You want Toyota to secure the perimeter of your car but you haven't secured your garage. How about using a trap whose bait is more attractive than your car's wires and allows you to humanely relocate the rodents?

 

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I might try this.

 

I blame Toyota for the openings knowing full well that being tiny little doggy doors for mice was not their intention but this problem has existed for years now and if the customer puts something over the opening like say oh ... the screen that should have already been there... then Toyota says that it voids the warranty because it alters the design... well if the design wasn't flawed it wouldn't need altered ... and as far as the point you try to make about mice getting into all cars... your as full of $#!% as my glove box! I have had several cars and have kids ... have you ever seen a car that has had kids in it without food everywhere? And have never had a problem with mice getting in the cabin before ... because other manufacturers screen the vent openings and mice don't chew thru metal …and in reply to your aquatic prius... DUH!

This has been reported to Toyota before and they refuse to do anything ... I have called the NHTSA at1-888-327-4236 and let them know because mice running across your dash while driving is a safety issue! Not to mention really scary!! The NHTSA may force Toyota to fix this design flaw if enough prius lovers demand it. Let your voices be heard people we want fuel efficiency and rodent free cabins! Why should fuel efficient vehicles only be able to be owned by those who probably car pool to work anyway because they live in a big city? This problem has gone on long enough without a solution

Yes a screen with wide holes would work (like the size holes in chicken wire) and yes other manufacturers do screen the vents and those that do you can put a large mcfry in the center console and leave it for three days and not get one mouse in your cabin (I've tried it with my non Toyota just as an experiment)

Fuel efficiency should not require you to keep a mouse trap in your glove box!

Contact the nhtsa... if enough people do then Toyota will be forced to acknowledge and fix this design flaw

Contact the nhtsa and tell them about this issue they will try to tell you its not a safety issue and it is especially when the lil buggers run across the dash while your driving!

It is the contractors fault if he forgets to put doors or window on your house ... so yep... I'm blaming the design flaw of the gaping holes that the mice are waltzing thru unhindered ... and I'm not even asking Toyota for sealed doors just screens on the vents to keep mice out of the cabin and from scampering across the dashboard while driving! And this is a really simple thing to fix and has been going on long enough!

 

, You're kidding right?

 

I wish you the best of luck with your Prius and your rodent problem.

I do not wish to rehash my opinion(s) on the matter but they remain the same.

PS.
You can have children, dogs and an automobile and still keep the interior clean and absent of food. That's a personal maintenance choice.

And Yes...Rodents can chew through metal. A cursory google of the question will reveal that the very evolution of the species has created an animal very capable of getting into almost any space it decides it wants to get into....including but not limited to Prius interiors.

 

Chicken wire has openings that are way too big to prevent entry, use hardware cloth.

 

Nope not kidding

Your thinking of rats... rats can chew thru anything ... mice can not. That's why aluminum foil works with mice but not with rats as any medical researcher knows... which proves you don't understand basic biology but oh well at least your not in my car...

 

i think there's a disgruntled toyota worker coating internal parts with peanut butter.

 

What about the finer mesh chicken wire has an opening the size of a key on a standard keyboard...?

Your probably on to something!!

 

even though i'm kidding, there has to be a reason why a few people seem to be affected.

 

Standard galvanized hardware cloth, openings about a quarter inch.

 

Because mice will take shelter anywhere they can get in easily ...they take the path of least resistance ... or in this case , no resistance

 

Which is why I said "Rodents" which proves you have limited reading comprehension skills but at least your not in MY car.

Listen.
Mice, Rats, or Critters.....

I know this happens and is a legitimate problem when it does happen.

I wish anyone experiencing this problem the best in finding a defense and resolution. BUT...

My basic thoughts are the same. Rats can chew through nearly anything, mice are small enough to make their way into nearly any space. I think things can be done to make a vehicle (like any "space") more RODENT resistant, BUT you're never going to make ANY vehicle rodent proof.

By the process of evolution RODENTS are adept at getting into almost any space.
By the process of necessary design vehicles MUST have vents and openings.

All the advice you have received has been good. Screen, traps, poison...it all may help...it could all fail.

If I was you...I'd clean the food out of my car. Screen some openings. Those are the things you can control.

 

And again I am talking about mice not rats I do not have food in my car I have mice in my car and I am not trying to seal the air out I am trying to get Toyota to let me screen the mice out without voiding the warranty... you obvoiusly work for Toyota since you love using the generic term rodent, which also includes beavers! I'm not expecting Toyota to keep beavers out of my car. Just to determice from easy access... so you tell them to fix it

I have now realized that this is what my dad used for the chicken coup ... and the rabbit cages as well ... and repairing screen doors good memories... he could have told me what you were saying was the same thing if he were still here... I called my mom and she says he just called it chicken wire because the boys would bring him shop towels when he said hardware cloth... lol

 

Pick a reality and stick to it.

Best of luck getting rid of your mice.
Really.

 

Ok let me rephrase that... there is no food in the prius we just got it this year and the kids aren't little anymore ... the only car I have not had food in is the ONLY car having problems with mice

Peppermint oil has helped... so far... but the big thing is going to be having the nhtsa force Toyota to render a permanent solution by making screens mandatory in the design. We are using a combination of peppermint oil and tei-fu which is wintergreen oil ... have also bought peppermint plants to grow around the parking areas

We have been using peppermint oil and tei-fu which is wintergreen oil and have not had any more problems yet ... please call the NHTSA though and let them know about the problem ... the more people who report it the more likely Toyota will be forced to find a more permanent solution... like screening the vents properly or allowing owners to screen them ... but the peppermint wintergreen smells lovely... don't mix them together though... it seems to be the peppermint that works... the wintergreen just helps with masking the mouse piss smell on the seats

Not long before it happens ... call the NHTSA and report the mouse problem and let them know the concern for snakes... the more people who report it , the quicker they will do something ... we have been using peppermint oil now and have not had a problem this week (was daily) and also using tei-fu or wintergreen oil for the smell ... not really a cost we had planned on when buying a prius but better than mouse poison which then kills the mice that crawl out of the vehicle to die and are then eaten by hawks or eagles and then the birds die... some environmentally sound company Toyota has turned out to be!

 

I have contacted Toyota, and got the same response. Now I'm getting another car, and it won't be a Toyota!

 

I weep for society when people think that rodents can identify the make of a vehicle

 

Or that a car maker is somehow responsible for every persons' rodent problem.