twister

You can't make this stuff up. Just recently had my 15k service (well, just an oil change since I do my own rotation outside and buy/change ac cabin filter). Finally decided to put a new filter in. I park my car outside since our townhouse doesn't have a garage. Also, our private townhouse community has a ton of acorn trees around. OK, before even opening ac filter compartment inside, I popped the hood to clean up some leafs. Right away noticed crushed acorns on top of the battery. Than, went inside of the car to open glove box to take the filter out. DIY instructions in GS manual are very easy to follow and I had no problem taking the cover off. Than I tried to lift the filter's top cover (actually not listed in DIY instructions) before removing filter case - and it was STUCK!!! Finally it opened up with a crack, which made me almost ****** my pants thinking I broke something. To my surprise, I had these acorn shell roll out from there. When I removed and replaced the filter - found more crashed acorn shell particles and other crap in there.

Can anybody explain to me, how did it get in there? I did see acorn shells under the hood on top of the battery case. So, is there a direct path from under the hood into the ac cabin filter? And, is the opening that big to get full acorn shells inside?!?!? Makes me wonder if there are more in there. How can I check?

spwolf

thats why you have filter :-).

sonyman

You should have seen the filter I pulled out several months ago. There were bits of paper towels from my garage and pieces of foam from my A/C ducting. Apparently some sort of rodent was making a nest on my filter!

wingster

I'm note sure, but you should check to see if your recirculate/fresh air works... I made a mistake by trying to access the cabin air filter by lifting that door without putting the recirc/fresh in recirculate and broke the arm that controls the recirc/fresh door... (The door should open or close with a push of the recir/fresh button). A very expensive mistake. Dealer quoted me $1400 to fix it.

twister

But how the hell do they get inside under the hood in such a tight space? I wonder if I had a squirrel or a chipmunk crawled up in there? Next time I smell a burned fur after the engine start, I will not be alarmed Sheesh!!!

twister

I'm pretty sure it was in recicr mode, but that lid was jammed with acorns pretty badly. Now, you bring up a good point, how am I going to prove them it wasn't my fault but rather stucked acorns? Hmm... Will have to wait until tomorrow morning to speak with service department. Damn

rkb43

My guess is a critter of some type.

wingster

Did you verify if the recirc/fresh works or not?

For being honest to the dealer... and pleding that door on the blower was a flawed design... I ended up paying $400...They called it a goodwill fix. A friend of mine (that works with corporate Toyota) stated that I probably should have claimed ignorance... that it worked one day and the next it didn't... but then he stated that they would probably figure out that I was farting around in there. I think this happens alot. A couple of dealers have delt with this around my area, they all wanted $1,400.

The breakdown of the original estimate was about $600 for the part... which was the whole blower unit... (they don't offer the broken part alone) and the rest was labor. Aparently, they need to remove the whole dash to replace the whole blower unit.

twister

Just went back to the car, and try switching recirc/fresh while filter lid was open. Nothing happening, I mean the lid is not moving up/down, so its probably busted?

lexuslover

yeah i would also say it's some sort of critter leaving you those gifts

it's very common in the winter for critters to make their way under car hoods for protection and warmth. i don't know if they actually live there or just hang out for a bit, but it happens quite a lot. my sister had an SUV that she parked outside and it turned out that critters had chewed on things under the hood which wasn't pretty.

wingster

Yep, I think it's busted.
I think this happens to alot of people who change their cabin air filters on the third Gen GS and Second Gen IS, but they don't realize the recirc/fresh is broken... You feel a little resistance then bam! the door opens... you think the door was obstructed...and you just fixed it... then you realize it's broken, because there's no difference between recirc and fresh.

Although I got a break in the repair... it was still an expensive lesson... not to mention the lecture from the wife.

Someone in the PriusChat website mentioned that they had mice living in the same place... It makes me wonder when some owners complain about a urine smell in the vents.

EyeKutr

iTrader: (5)

I had a camry that some mice made their home, when i pulled the CAF I found dog food and pieces of tree foliage they had used as a home....the a/c simply stank as I ignored it for a while......disgusting.....

ek9vboi

iTrader: (3)

dirty lil bastards!!! lol, i hope nothing like this happens to me. I am going to make sure i take my sweet time changing the filter. i tend to rush things and just pull it apart and worry about the rest later.

twister

Damn!!! Came back from dealership, and they confirmed it was a pure "acorn" damage that affected blower motor housing and the jammed/broken blend door. Can't be fixed, everything has to be replaced, and as it was mentioned before $1450+tax. What is sad, if I would have carelessly broken it myself, I'm sure they would work something out with me to fix it. But this is an official diagnostics by their tech with a conclusion of rodent damage. I will have to file it with my insurance company under comprehensive coverage. Still, will have to pay $500 deductible, for nothing

Out of all the cars (Mercedes, Infinitys, BMWs, Acuras, and others) in our townhouse parking lot this little bastard (most likely chipmunk since we got a number of those in the area) had to pick my car!!!! That little SOB!!!

wingster

I'm not sure, and I'm not trying to flame you, but looking at physical dimensions of the door and the way it operates, if the acorns were in there and was obstructing the door, I believe it would not close (back half of the door is not there to wedge against anything)... I remember you stating that it was stuck closed.

You can try another dealer... You can tell them you broke it by accident when you were changing the filter!

I think it's a design flaw with a manufacturing defect of the parts involved. How the hell does something that's designed to open and close for the life of the car break so easily? And to add insult to injury... make it inaccessable, and make the part that actually breaks unavailable as and individual item?
>>>Sorry, just venting... I'm still sore at the $400.