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What is this! [large quantity of debris on cabin filter]
2010 IS 250C
First, I'm guilty of not checking it annually but we only drive our car perhaps 4-5000 kilometers per year and I had installed a new filter about 3 years ago. I noticed a "different" sound from the blower fan and upon inspection of the cabin filter, this is what I've found. No "mouse pee" smell so I'm hopeful one of those critters didn't move in over the past winter or two. Is it possible a duct is deteriorating somewhere? Luckily none of this mess made it into the fan itself. Car is garaged all winter. Car will be wintering again soon, I'll check it again in the spring but I'm concerned the fan has sucked some of the sound deadening off somewhere.
Dave
That looks like critter infestation! Although it may not smell now, you best set pinch traps about the exterior and wait for the hammer to drop!
New dryer sheets and closet hanger desiccant bags can help deter them but neither stop them.
When storing my motorcycle for the winter I shove dryer sheets/fabric softener in the exhaust, and all about on flat surfaces and it generally seems to help. Traps work best tho!
I had a similar "problem" years ago when I had the windscreen out of an older car I was restoring. The little monsters made a nest on top of the blend air door (out of sight) and when I turned on the hvac next spring, what a mess. I tried multiple chemicals, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, baking soda solutions, the list when on but I was never able to get rid of the mouse pee smell, especially in damp or humid weather......
I assumed the Lexus was pretty safe but maybe not? Certainly there is no smell, thank goodness.
Hopefully this was a recent attempt at a winter nest and I've discouraged them enough to move to the neighbors.....
I had a similar "problem" years ago when I had the windscreen out of an older car I was restoring. The little monsters made a nest on top of the blend air door (out of sight) and when I turned on the hvac next spring, what a mess. I tried multiple chemicals, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, baking soda solutions, the list when on but I was never able to get rid of the mouse pee smell, especially in damp or humid weather......
I assumed the Lexus was pretty safe but maybe not? Certainly there is no smell, thank goodness.
Hopefully this was a recent attempt at a winter nest and I've discouraged them enough to move to the neighbors.....
No care is safe. Mice will always find their way into places they shouldn't be. If the car is garage kept, you should definitely consider laying some traps/poison.
They say every car has gremlins, now you literally have a gremlin, a mouse sized one. That's insulation material that someone is trying to make a nest out of and you keep ruining their day by turning on the A/C.
That looks so bad it is almost funny. I would leave it like that and take it to lexus dealer just to snap a photo of their expression once you show them. It would be Viral.
That looks so bad it is almost funny. I would leave it like that and take it to lexus dealer just to snap a photo of their expression once you show them. It would be Viral.
Its official, I found that there is/was a critter in the car. I found mouse poop under the drives seat while giving the car a good detailing. Hopefully the nesting material is from old blankets I had stored in the garage and not the sound deadening insulation from the car.
I pulled down the knee bolsters and don't see anything there so hopefully the little bugger somehow made his way into the HVAC system and into the car from there. Amazing how well the A/C worked all this summer, presumably with all this crap sitting on the filter.
So far so good, my wife isn't impressed with the trap in the back seat but a week later, it appears the critter has departed (or isn't hungry). I've also built a "log-roller" trap for the garage, complete with peanut butter coated ramp, a 1l peanut butter coated rolling
"Brio" bottle and 2" of non-toxic anti-freeze to hopefully keep them at bay this winter.....
10-08-18, 06:32 AM
What is this! [large quantity of debris on cabin filter]
