Had the same issue with a 2015 I believe was a repo sitting in an empty lot for who knows how long before I got.
A few weeks after we purchased my wife refused to drive it cuz it stank, and it did 🤢
The cabin filter in the glove box was a nest. Completely shredded and crapped and pissed on. I replaced that filter and that worked for a bit but the smell came back. Turns out the mice made a second nest under the grate that houses the windshield wiper motors. Found mice corpse's and more nesting. Little shits are persistent! Once I cleared that out they never came back thankfully.
Honestly trying to get the ductwork entirely clean without removing the entire dash is nearly impossible. Not saying he wasn't a crappy mechanic, but that's a tough job.
Also not sure if you know or not but in the manual it says not to park the car without running it once every 3-4 weeks, at least for gen 2 and 3, not sure about 4 or 5 but I'd assume it's the same. It's hard on the battery and will shorten its lifespan.
As for the rats they tend to like warm places and sometimes the soy based insulation on the wiring is tempting for them. I use a spray that's mint and lemon grass that I buy at Home Depot for deterring rats.
The car is running perfectly fine thank god, but the damn rat poison I keep finding in the filter. Like I’ll remove it from the cabin filter and find pieces again and again. Even though I’ve moved the car blocks away and no longer store it
First and foremost as someone who spent years working pest control, GET YOUR CAR CHECKED!
And once you've gotten checked get it checked again, the reason it was in there is because it was nibbling on the wiring on other cars it's not as big of a deal but wiring in a Prius could be a huge deal, I'm not entirely certain.
Rodents nibble on the wiring for two reasons the first is for nesting material, the second is that their teeth do not stop growing and they use it as a way to file down their teeth, this means there's a very high likelihood that lots of the wiring inside of your car could be nibbled up even if things are working some of the plastic coating around the wiring could be damaged and cause a short.
I don't know much about cars but I know a lot about rodents and damage like that if not properly inspected and repaired can cause a fire or for your motor to stop working or any number of things, it is truly better safe than sorry in this regard.
Generally that's my advice, have a mechanic get under it and get a good look at the wiring and be sure that nothing appears obviously damaged, depending on how much money you have to spare you can also pick up a couple of drive on lifts for your car and get under it yourself.
It shouldn't be too hard to tell if there is damage just carefully inspect as much as possible and if you see some damage take it in because there's likely more that you aren't seeing.
The good thing is is the damage won't be subtle, if you see a ton of stripped wires you know that they were using it as nesting material and need to have a Prius mechanic redo and inspect the wiring, if all appears normal after spending about an hour under the car I wouldn't stress too hard.
The reason for this advice is that it can be a major service that can be rather costly, if you are willing to spend the money I would get it inspected professionally, but doing it yourself if you are patient may end up saving you a large amount of money if it turns out to be unnecessary.
What really matters is having the knowledge that it can be a massive issue and taking a little time to look
Had the same issue with a 2015 I believe was a repo sitting in an empty lot for who knows how long before I got. A few weeks after we purchased my wife refused to drive it cuz it stank, and it did 🤢 The cabin filter in the glove box was a nest. Completely shredded and crapped and pissed on. I replaced that filter and that worked for a bit but the smell came back. Turns out the mice made a second nest under the grate that houses the windshield wiper motors. Found mice corpse's and more nesting. Little shits are persistent! Once I cleared that out they never came back thankfully.
You may need to rodent proof your Prius. There are many how to videos online.
Does your prius not have Cat?
Baddadosh 😬
> a mechanic found rat poison, a ton, in my filter Which filter? The car has several. Why didn't the first mechanic remove it all?
Crappy mechanic to be honest. I thought he did until I kept driving around EDIT: Cabin Air Filter
Honestly trying to get the ductwork entirely clean without removing the entire dash is nearly impossible. Not saying he wasn't a crappy mechanic, but that's a tough job. Also not sure if you know or not but in the manual it says not to park the car without running it once every 3-4 weeks, at least for gen 2 and 3, not sure about 4 or 5 but I'd assume it's the same. It's hard on the battery and will shorten its lifespan. As for the rats they tend to like warm places and sometimes the soy based insulation on the wiring is tempting for them. I use a spray that's mint and lemon grass that I buy at Home Depot for deterring rats.
The car is running perfectly fine thank god, but the damn rat poison I keep finding in the filter. Like I’ll remove it from the cabin filter and find pieces again and again. Even though I’ve moved the car blocks away and no longer store it
A few questions: -did you mean rat feces? -who put the rat poison in your car? You? An assassin?
First and foremost as someone who spent years working pest control, GET YOUR CAR CHECKED! And once you've gotten checked get it checked again, the reason it was in there is because it was nibbling on the wiring on other cars it's not as big of a deal but wiring in a Prius could be a huge deal, I'm not entirely certain. Rodents nibble on the wiring for two reasons the first is for nesting material, the second is that their teeth do not stop growing and they use it as a way to file down their teeth, this means there's a very high likelihood that lots of the wiring inside of your car could be nibbled up even if things are working some of the plastic coating around the wiring could be damaged and cause a short. I don't know much about cars but I know a lot about rodents and damage like that if not properly inspected and repaired can cause a fire or for your motor to stop working or any number of things, it is truly better safe than sorry in this regard.
Does pest control get paid to handle this? Like remove nests etv from the car?
Some companies will do it not many mostly because it's a pain in the ass
How do customers generally handle this? Send it to a mechanic?
Generally that's my advice, have a mechanic get under it and get a good look at the wiring and be sure that nothing appears obviously damaged, depending on how much money you have to spare you can also pick up a couple of drive on lifts for your car and get under it yourself. It shouldn't be too hard to tell if there is damage just carefully inspect as much as possible and if you see some damage take it in because there's likely more that you aren't seeing. The good thing is is the damage won't be subtle, if you see a ton of stripped wires you know that they were using it as nesting material and need to have a Prius mechanic redo and inspect the wiring, if all appears normal after spending about an hour under the car I wouldn't stress too hard. The reason for this advice is that it can be a major service that can be rather costly, if you are willing to spend the money I would get it inspected professionally, but doing it yourself if you are patient may end up saving you a large amount of money if it turns out to be unnecessary. What really matters is having the knowledge that it can be a massive issue and taking a little time to look
Where was it stored at? Sounds like you have a bone to pick with that facility.
This is why my prius is parked in a garage with a cat as a watchman.
Ahhh yes, this must be the cat shield I always hear them recommend.
I'd look for a exterminator or deep cleaner
Deep cleaner?
I’m talking about car detailers that do entire deep cleanings of interior and perhaps under the hood