Just had my 17 MDX in for service and they discovered the start of a mouse nest in the cabin air filter. Kind of boggles my mind how they even get in there. Ive never even seen a mouse around my home lol.Any others have this issue? Tips or tricks to keep them out?
Mice
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Its automne.... mice are beginning to scramble and prepare a hiding place for winter..
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Had that problem in my '14. There is NO SCREEN at the inlet in the firewall below the cowl. I had a momma and her brood get in there and DIE. Nasty smell.
I cleaned it all out, sprayed some rubbing alcohol through the system a few times, then installed window screening at the inlet with caulk.
The mothball idea is fine if they keep getting into the engine air filter and eating it, but you really don't want the naptha fumes inside the vehicle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothball
I cleaned it all out, sprayed some rubbing alcohol through the system a few times, then installed window screening at the inlet with caulk.
The mothball idea is fine if they keep getting into the engine air filter and eating it, but you really don't want the naptha fumes inside the vehicle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothball
I had a couple of rats move into the engine compartment f one car that was parked outside - next to the MDX. The vehicle had been driven within 2 days before I saw them there so driving the vehicle doesn't guarantee they won't move in - but it helps.
I shooed them out of the engine compartment over to an adjacent wood pile - one almost bounced off of me when he scrambled out. I then put an electronic rat trap at the wood pile and got one of the rats within a couple days. I then checked the MDX and could see some droppings on top of the engine cover, cleaned it off, and then could see more droppings. I couldn't see any actual signs of a nest though including in the air filter area. I got a couple of wooden rat traps, tied them to a stick so if they went off I could retrieve them easily from the engine compartment, and set them it in there on top of the engine cover after the MDX was home for the evening. I saw that the traps went off a couple of times, but with no rats/mice in them, but it may have scared them enough because after then there were no more droppings in there. This is easy and cheap to try - just don't forget to take it out before driving the vehicle in the morning.
I wouldn't recommend putting mothballs in the the ventilation system - you definitely don't want to smell those.
I shooed them out of the engine compartment over to an adjacent wood pile - one almost bounced off of me when he scrambled out. I then put an electronic rat trap at the wood pile and got one of the rats within a couple days. I then checked the MDX and could see some droppings on top of the engine cover, cleaned it off, and then could see more droppings. I couldn't see any actual signs of a nest though including in the air filter area. I got a couple of wooden rat traps, tied them to a stick so if they went off I could retrieve them easily from the engine compartment, and set them it in there on top of the engine cover after the MDX was home for the evening. I saw that the traps went off a couple of times, but with no rats/mice in them, but it may have scared them enough because after then there were no more droppings in there. This is easy and cheap to try - just don't forget to take it out before driving the vehicle in the morning.
I wouldn't recommend putting mothballs in the the ventilation system - you definitely don't want to smell those.
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One of the few things that smells worse than mice. And they're just as hard to get rid of. A few years ago the Wisconsin DNR proposed a hunting season for feral domestic cats, because they are endangering song bird populations. The proposal got shot down. But it made my dogs smile.
But reducing the population of Cheerios and Cheetos inside the vehicle may reduce its attractiveness to rodents.
The filter was checked a few months back and it was ok, so this must have just happened recently. There was no poop and it didnt smell, it was just the makings of a nest. Looked like paper towel and some grass. I put a new filter in and stuck a Bounce sheet in there too. Its easy to check, so I'll be looking at it regularly.
No signs of mice around my home, but my wifes work parking is near a field, so Im guessing maybe from that area. My TLX has no signs of a nest either.
No signs of mice around my home, but my wifes work parking is near a field, so Im guessing maybe from that area. My TLX has no signs of a nest either.
It is more common than you may think. I had a big problem with my old Maxima, and it took a lot of cleaning and then a long time for the smell to go away. Ugh. A few months ago I took the MDX in for a planned $220 oil change - they found evidence of mice so changed both filters and cleaned things up. Another $300...
The stock screen clearly doesn't stop them. Even if there isn't a way in through the wheel well the fit is so bad that it is not a challenge for them. Gluing a screen over the entry sounds like a great idea.
Greg
The stock screen clearly doesn't stop them. Even if there isn't a way in through the wheel well the fit is so bad that it is not a challenge for them. Gluing a screen over the entry sounds like a great idea.
Greg
I have cars that parks outside in the yard by some trees. I started to notice mouse activity in the engine covers for my Infiniti G37x and Acura MDX 2017.
For the MDX, I see activity in the cabin filter which I replaced right away. Some how they figure a way inside the Acura MDX few times and left me some goodies to clean up. It chew a candy cane i left in the console from Christmas. I have my mechanic lift up the car, but no easy way to see how the mouse could have gotten in. Anyone have suggestions?
Will be contacting an exterminator to see what they can do with the yard.
For the MDX, I see activity in the cabin filter which I replaced right away. Some how they figure a way inside the Acura MDX few times and left me some goodies to clean up. It chew a candy cane i left in the console from Christmas. I have my mechanic lift up the car, but no easy way to see how the mouse could have gotten in. Anyone have suggestions?
Will be contacting an exterminator to see what they can do with the yard.
I had some kind of rodent chew through the wires to my oil sensor on my BMW 335i. When I fixed it, I bought a brick of that mouse bait poison and taped it the top of my underbody tray. That way, that's the first thing they find if they go crawling around up there.
I'd never put some repellent spray in the air flow system such that I'd end up breathing it.
The only real way to take care of it is to clean out the filter area of mouse droppings and nest material and exterminate the mice in the area of the vehicle by setting traps, mouse bait, etc.
Earlier this year my friends had $700 worth of wiring damage due to mice/rats chewing on the environmentally friendly wiring in their 2017 MDX. Their car was always parked in their garage. He went on an extensive campaign of rodent eradication and now keeps traps and poison in the garage.
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