Toyota claims not aware of mouse problem

What a mess= poor engineering- Obviously, in Japan the rodents are too "polite" to move into a Prius,
without a formal invitation from the owner.

 

I was at my fathers for two days and a mouse got in and made a nest in/on the filter. I didn't know that and the fan was on full blast. I got a massive blow of God knows what (I shudder to think... back to the Hantavirus stuff... grrr). This was a tiny nest with only a few days of fresh poop, but there was still about a good tablespoon of the stuff I could find.

My car is a 2013 Prius V so I can guarantee that this *design flaw* still exists. Yes, I agree it is a major screw up with Toyota. How could they not know this is a problem. If they had half a brain, they'd read boards like this to get product feedback, which makes me think they just don't give a damn.

HEY TOYOTA--READ THIS: I love my Prius but right now I wouldn't recommend buying one, which is a nice way of saying I don't think I would either!

I went through the same hassle as others and took my lower windshield trip off. I was rewarded with a simply MASSIVE 7 x 11 inch hole where Mr. Mouse merrily waltzed in. Yes, that is a design flaw. It should have a screen on it. Thankfully, one wasn't too difficult to install. Because my car is out of warranty, I did what TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE DONE... I used some self tapping screws and installed a 1/4 galvanized steel mesh.

What worries me is that I have NO idea how to clean the poop that I'm sure was blown into my ductwork. I have cleaned up the blower and assembly and fan so those aren't an issue... But the vents? How does one deal with that? I put the blower on high and sprayed Lysol into the system in the hopes that it would help kill any viruses but, frankly, how well that will work is an unknown to me (needless to say, I had evacuated the area and had the windows down, doors open, etc.

What I can say is that I've packaged and saved the filter (with poop). If I get seriously ill or die, at least my wife will have something with which she can sue Toyota. With the myriad of different sites throughout the internet complaining of the lack of mouse proofing, it shouldn't be too hard to demonstrate that Toyota should have known about the flaw. I recognize that Hantavirus isn't all that common, but it *is* still a reality and it has a mortality rate of something like 35%. Toyota really needs to get their, ahhh, "stuff" together here.

BTW, no, the area where parked is not mouse infested or anything like that. It was just bad luck. Nor was there any food in the car (the mouse actually didn't go through the return air filter screen, so s/he stayed in the vent system only, never venturing further into the car as best as I know.