Mouse living in my car !

[marcus a]

After quite a few weeks of my car being unused in my garage the sun was shining at the weekend so I decided to get her out for a play. I noticed an unusual sound from the heater fan as though it was fouling on something.

After talking to my OPC they said the most likely and quite common cause was a mouse getting in through a very small hole near the windscreen wipers and crawling down and making a nest in the pollen filter.
Thought the OPC had found a sense of humour to begin with but they assure me it is quite common and can be very expensive (nor covered by warranty) if the little blighter chews through the wiring loom.

Has anyone heard of this before ?
I'll be getting my spanners out later to see if I can find the evil creature!

 

[GeoffB]

Yes, a few years ago had one store dry dog food (dont store in garage anymore) in the heater intake system of my SC. Car had only been idle for a week. still had charred dog food coming out a year later(Had fallen down into heat exchanger)
Good luck
Geoff

 

[sawood12]

My dad had this problem with his car. The mice were storing nuts in his A/C system. When he took it round to an A/C specialist he removed a 'large bag's worth of nuts' from inside the system. He also found some in his airbox - which could have done some damage if they found their way through the air filter and into the turbo! Luckily no damage done.

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

There was a post on thhe 993 forum a while ago where a chap had his bell housing filled with nuts that he bought for his bird feeder. The mice filled up the clutch with nut shells, and he had to have the gearbox taken out to clear them out! (Another advantage of tiptronics [] []).

Just found it - makes a good read: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/fb.asp?m=261602

 

[patch]

mate of mine in Maine had an unusual (ugly or 'fetching' depending on your view) lightish green 1974 911 that he stored in his barn (6ft snow in winter) and three years ago he found that in spring there was a complete mouse house in and around the engine and they had eaten most things except the metal... an expensive intrusion!

all the best
des

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

They seem to like wiring insulation. What is the nutritional value of plastic for goodness sake, or is it just jealousy?

 

[marcus a]

After some prodding about with various impliments I've now given up looking for the flee ridden rodent for fear of damage, plus it's raining and there's no way my pride and joy is going back in the garage until rentokill arrive on tuesday.

I smelt a funny smell today which I convinced myself was the mouse's doing coming from the heater vent. Could have sworn it smelt like dog food although that could be my sub-conscious starting playing tricks with me! I don't even have a dog!!

Off to the OPC this weekend to see what they can do, I'll be sure to take some photos (before and after) and I'll have a go at posting them, of the mouse that is after I have jumped on it's fat head !! and given my cat a thorough kicking for being so damn lazy!

I can't see me getting much sleep tonight, too worried about my wiring!!

 

[jdpef356]

Off to the OPC this weekend to see what they can do

A friend of mine had the same problem. The tell tale signs were the droppings and then they started to feed on the gear gatter
and then the piping on the seats. He used the old fashion method to rid of them . Poison pellets and then a trap.
The trap did its work and he was wise to leave the trap in after his first beast was caught since anoher three came out to play.
I guess on reflection the poison my not be such a good idea since the mouse could eat it then go off to die in some place that
you could never get at.

John

P.S. I guess they don't train Porsche mechanics on what to do with mice.

P.P.S. Thats a silly thing to say! If they did they would have them dancing on the counter at your OPC!

 

[RSGulp]

I would suggest taking the car to a trusted independent rather than an OPC. This type of problem is open-ended when it comes to labour costs and you might be shocked by a big OPC invoice.

Another solution might be a humane mouse trap. You can find them in Homebase.
http://www.lawsonscleaning.co.uk/productinfo.php?pid=1460

Fill the 'bait end' with peanut butter (mice can't resist it) and leave it alongside a 'mouse run' (mice don't run in open spaces, for example they tend to hug the safe edges where a wall meets a floor). The mouse runs in and see'saws the trap which leaves it trapped inside. You'll probably find there is more than one mouse so leave the trap down once you've set the first mouse free - go for a long drive and let the mouse go ten miles from your house.

Another alternative would be to start your engine, wind the side windows down and leave the car running in the garage for an hour. It'll kill the little b@ggers - but the only problem is you won't know where the ex-mices will end up. And your car might smell for a while. []

 

[ubertub]

not quite the same but did once have a mechenic hand me a bird's nest complete with dead bird, which had been in my airbox. Presumeably the bird was alive until the car was started and driven long enough to notice poor performance... poor bleeder!

 

[beershark]

After servicing and a new RMS on my 996 at an OPC it broke down on the mortorway.

Towed the car back to OPC where they couldnt diagnose the fault.

Took the back seats out exposing the wiring and relays etc. to find that they had gnawed thru a load of the foam padding. And left me some droppings.

OPC said they had to check every single wire etc. So I thinking £££££££££££££.... Turned out a wire wasnt re-attached on the engine properly and had nothing to do with the mice in the end.

Cost the OPC £££££££ though.

 

[GT3 Jan]

What is it with mice and Porsches??? are they fussy about what make of car they eat??

A Partner of my husband had the seat fabric of his 928 eaten.

My husband reckons they get a "BUZZ" out of chewing low voltage cable!! my sister in law had squirrels under the floorboards that ate the phone cables!

Cats are useless with mice, they seem to go out and find them, bring them in and dump them in the house and then sit watching with amusement as I chase the blighter around the house. I will second the humane mouse trap with peanut butter works beautifully, caught many a cat reject with that one!

 

[danofesher]

Mice don't care about the type of car. I've laid up a Vauxhall Astra (it's not even in a garage) and a mouse has eaten through the windscreen washer bottle. I also knew of a cat that lost one of its ears due to sleeping in the engine compartment.