After taking fan out of A/C duct system, and cleaning out remnants of a mother and 6 little mice, then replacing cabin air filter. I don't want to do this again. Can someone tell me where do I put some screen mesh so the critters can't get into the duct system. I left the car 1 night in a friends standalone garage (away from house) and they got in. I had the recirculate door closed while it was parked there but after a 40 minute drive home I opened the door up to let in the outside air. 3 weeks later I have an extra family. Does this qualify as extra passengers for the HOV lanes?
I haven't read up on the HOV rules to be sure, but if you can convince the officer who pulls you over that your passengers are gainfully employed and you're driving them to work, then you might have a chance. To plug the holes, you'll need some wire mesh, aka hardware cloth, and some sheet metal screws. The areas to cover are under the hood at the base of the windshield. Do a search for mouse threads and you should find one with detailed instructions and pictures. Do you like cats?
http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/51005-mouseproofing-prius.html my diy posts front: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ting/71909-diary-wimpy-diyer.html#post1096535 and back: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ng/71909-diary-wimpy-diyer-2.html#post1141598 even after all that work mice could supposedly still get in through the openings for the hood hinges.
This is certainly not a Prius specific issue. They can get into most any car. Your best bet is to have either mouse traps or poison around where you park your car. If you use poison, make sure it's inside some sort of sealed container that only mice can get into. A small plastic rubbermaid type box with secure lid can work well. Then make a small hole in each end that's just large enough for mice. If in a garage, you can put the box up high enough on a shelf to keep any kids away from it. Then replace the poison every 2 - 4 weeks. It works well. Tomcat block bait works good and is easy to keep contained.
If you park your car in garage don't also feed your dogs out there. Everyone I have ever known that has done that has mouse issues nesting in their vehicles
