Mouse infiltrated Model 3

[forumer]

Curious if you park outside or if your garage is open or is an old garage with areas for mice to get in. Never seen any signs of mice in my garage, but these posts are making me a bit nervous. I do make a point of mopping the floor around my car with ammonia once in awhile. Also placed some bars of Irish Spring soap around the garage as I've heard that the smell deters mice.

My Model 3 stays outdoors, year-round, but so have all my past vehicles of various makes which never allowed rodents into the passenger compartment (that I'm aware of). If you have a tight, well-sealed garage then that's a major line of defense at home, but unless it's a museum piece the car has to leave the garage and presumably will be parked in a place that you don't have as much control over. I know someone with a garaged car that started seeing signs of mice in his car's engine bay after he started a new job. Later he discovered that the parking lot at his new company was well known for its mouse population. So it's still important for the car to be fortified against such attacks.

I live in a rural-ish area with plenty of wildlife from woodlands and fields. The mice getting at our family cars peaks as the weather gets colder for the winter season, which is to be expected as they look for warmer places to shelter. We have no issues with them getting into the house because we have sealed the place up very well. I've lived in old houses where mice were in the walls, so yeah, I'm very familiar with detecting, eradicating, and keeping them out. I just wish Tesla was as good about sealing the car's cabin so my skills wouldn't be necessary.

 

[SMAlset]

I hate to say this but setting traps is not going to assure you of much. If your area has rats, they can and will get in your house - especially your attic if you don't anticipate them.

We live in a fairly low density area of Marin where lots of people keep horses, etc. But rats can be virtually anywhere on the West Coast. We likely had them last year, as did many people around here.

This Summer, we had the trees and large bushes around the house trimmed back quite a bit so that the rats could not get in. The summer is best, because your roof gets way too hot to sustain a rat or most mammals. They leave or die. So it's safe to assume in our hot summer, that your roof is free of pests and they are hiding elsewhere in the neighborhood. When the cooler weather comes, so do the rats. Rats are very good at jumping, so you are best to have your vegetation cut back 4 or more inches from the house. We went for 18" or more. If a rat can jump onto your roof, or get high enough to climb into an exposed gap (in siding, or especially roofing) they will get in. So it's all about preventing access. If they are in the roof, they can get anywhere, especially in older houses.

Believe it or not, no new signs of them this year.

But rodents in a car (like a Tesla) are likely coming from the garage or outside.

I think his thought was if some "escaped" from the neighbors and went into our yard, they might be enticed by the peanut butter I think he set them with and the fewer out there reproducing the better. So far nothing.

As for softscape around the house we have kept things away from the house for this purpose (also didn't want roots cracking any foundation). However with stucco walls like almost every building around here, doesn't matter much. Even squirrels can adeptly climb the walls and have seen them do that in fact one house with a Spanish clay tile like roof had their attic infested with a number of squirrels. They'd climb the stucco and gained entry through the tile area somehow. Our house is checked periodically for roof tile cracks and recently repainted and the guys specifically look for points of entry. We're on a slab so I'm sure that helps not having a crawl space. The neighbor's house however has an apple tree planted right against the house (I advised him against that but he took no heed) and he planted ivy at this two story front entry (another favorite of mice/rats). He also has low lying ground cover that I suspect is also a good hiding place for them. Maybe the cost of getting all this done and replacing the insulation will get him to change his ways.

For those asking about location of the vehicles affected I'll add this. When our neighbor was living there (been rented for last several years) he had a dog and kept the dog food in the garage in a bag. His suv was garage kept and he did tell me his service center said he had mice in it. The roof rats are a different issue. My husband's Camry was parked outside in the driveway. Not sure if the one chewing on his air filter cover came from our neighborhood or from where he would park his car during the day when he went to work.

 

[Huskyfan]

Yep, parked outside. Got the car in March, so this is the first time it's really cooling down. We do have a greenbelt behind us, but our driveway is paved. Added a bait box in the glove box and dryer sheets in trunk/frunk. Gonna think about outdoor solutions too. I'm considering parking the car on the street now. Did that with last car and never had an issue.

Bait box typically contains food with poison (typically Coumadin) laced through it. It will attract the mouse into your car i would bet. That sucks. I’ve had mice underneath my house (think they were actually rats). You need neighbors with cats. Once my outside cat died the rats returned in force.

 

[Bill Foster]

yes, I'm aware of that, just trying to understand if most of the people having this issue are parking outside or in an open garage.

Doesn't matter.

They will still get in

 

[Magnets!]

Doesn't matter.

They will still get in

Well, so far we've only heard of this from a few people, so something explains why that is so.

 

[MexiCanuck]

I had two vehicles at the same time before my TM3, a Prius v and a B4000.

I had mice in the Prius, not in the truck. I don’t have a garage.

I tried putting mouse traps in the car and using an electronic mouse repellent. Neither seemed helpful.

Eventually I tried two techniques.

1 I moved the car to various parking spaces in my driveway and on the street. I read that rodents are creatures of habit, so breaking up the routine is helpful.

2 I took used litter from my cat’s litter box, put it in a small container, and left it in the car when it was parked at home. (I took it out of the car when I was using the car.)

Something worked. I stopped seeing evidence of the rodents.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

the mice had been in the HVAC ducts I’d also expect to see signs of them getting into the cabin on the outside of the trim, on the surfaces people normally touch, but as best I can tell the mice have only been under the trim. As we know, this includes the inside of the closed glovebox on the Model 3 as it lacks a solid back shell. I’ve also seen signs of them under the center console, on top of the floor pan, which is really all part of the same series of connected cavities. Again, this is all outside of the HVAC ducts but under the interior trim.

I guess I'd be surprised if the mouse was under the trim that it would not be possible for it to get into the passenger compartment - if you reach up to that carpeted panel next to air filter (the one you have to remove to access the filter), you can reach around it with your fingers way up in the footwell, without removing any other panels. It doesn't look like it would take anything for the mouse to be able to go back and forth, once it is in the cabin. Might be more a question of luck (or warmth?) that it didn't intrude further?

I was looking at this yesterday (interested because this has happened to me before with another car that was parked for 3 days in the wilderness, and I'd like to make sure it can't happen again) and honestly if it came in via some other route other than the air system I think you'd have to take the entire dash apart to figure out what the ingress path was - maybe some hole in the firewall. I suppose it might be easier to take out the frunk trim and inspect from that side for "evidence." Usually the evidence is all too obvious...

Regarding this hole under the center console - I stuck a piece of aluminum tape over it while I was in the car last night and had that panel off, just in case, but I wonder whether it is possible that there is a path there? I assume this hole would align with the channel in the attached picture. I assume that this is all sealed up water tight under the car but who knows.

Let us know if you figure it out! You would think you could trace the trail of shredded insulation and figure it out eventually.

Also there are a lot of possibilities on the front firewall. Only takes a tiny hole! Attached is a screen capture from the part catalog of the front insulation.

I put the tape over this hole, but see the battery picture - this would align with the center channel? I can't tell from the part catalog since they do not have the chassis available for viewing.

Based on the part catalog, does not look like bolts go in these holes in the center channel - but not sure what they are for if that is the case.
2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus Battery Pack 1104428-00-M "000,218" Miles | eBay

 

[EVcowboy]

I had a mouse distroy wiring in my work truck and it's wasn't cheap to have that repaired. I bought tape off Amazon that they are supposed to hate the taste of and wrapped the new wiring. Never had the problem again. Don't know if the tape worked or coincidencem. Toyota had a huge problem with this before with thwyr soy based wire insulation. Anyway if you find any small holes to tape up maybe try the rodent proof tape. There is also a copper mesh that they aparantly can't chew through.

 

[JetFalcon]

Are these mice trying to give birth so they make a nest?

My bunny made a nest out of ripped newspaper and her fur. And put it in a corner of the cage.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Are these mice trying to give birth so they make a nest.

Yes. That is the next step. Pink little mice babies. I remember my cat finding a mouse nest at one point. It was traumatic, mostly for the mouse babies.

 

[Bill Foster]

Well, so far we've only heard of this from a few people, so something explains why that is so.

wat

 

[forumer]

I guess I'd be surprised if the mouse was under the trim that it would not be possible for it to get into the passenger compartment... Might be more a question of luck (or warmth?) that it didn't intrude further?

Yeah. I wasn't suggesting it was impossible for them to get from the underside to the topside of the interior trim, just that there was no evidence I could see that they had done so. And yes, I suspect things like the main computer module (the one that holds the Infotainment and Autopilot ECUs) that sits between the glove box and the firewall, and the battery under the floor pan (radiant floor heat), end up being attractive sources of heat inside the cabin.

...if it came in via some other route other than the air system I think you'd have to take the entire dash apart to figure out what the ingress path was - maybe some hole in the firewall. I suppose it might be easier to take out the frunk trim and inspect from that side for "evidence." Usually the evidence is all too obvious...

Right. We are on the same page(s) here too. If I could inspect all the holes in the firewall I could probably see if any of the seals, gaskets, grommets, bushings, etc. were disturbed. I haven't yet had the time/energy to take the frunk out, but I'm not so sure how much more that will allow me to see given all the equipment in front of the firewall. Have you seen pictures with the frunk removed? The firewall is still quite obscured. I think you can actually see more of the firewall by simply removing the cabin fresh air intake plenum, which I did. I suspect removing the 12v battery may also allow me to see more of the firewall. To see some areas of the firewall I suspect I'd also have to remove the front belly pan to get a look from underneath. I don't have access to a lift to make that easy.

The things is, there might be holes elsewhere. For all I know the mice might be finding a way in from the rear end of the car and taking interior paths forward. This is why I was hoping someone else that had already worked to address this might be able to share what areas of the car were worked on.

Regarding this hole under the center console - I stuck a piece of aluminum tape over it while I was in the car last night and had that panel off, just in case, but I wonder whether it is possible that there is a path there? I assume this hole would align with the channel in the attached picture. I assume that this is all sealed up water tight under the car but who knows.

If you are talking about the round hole in the floor pan in the picture I posted (which you zoomed in on), I wasn't worried about it because it is "sealed" tight from underneath with a very solid black plastic. I figured the plastic was the top of the battery pack, but regardless, if you stick your finger in there it's tight around the edges where the floor meets the plastic. There are no gaps or channels I could detect beyond that raised contour of the floor pan itself. In my winder angle photo I wasn't drawing attention to that hole but rather the evidence that mice were on the floor pan under the center console. They clearly had a meal of nuts in there. And like I said, I had to clean that area and the glove box.

The thing is, there could be other holes like this in places we haven't seen and maybe those holes aren't right up against the battery and aren't otherwise sealed tight.

Let us know if you figure it out! You would think you could trace the trail of shredded insulation and figure it out eventually.

If I figure it out I will definitely share my findings, but at the moment I'm not really up for tearing the car apart. If I decide to have Tesla deal with it I will be looking to get as much info from them as possible, both before and after the work. But again, I was hoping someone else that has already been through this could share what they did/had done for work.

Open Questions - Has anyone with this particular type of mouse incursion been able to:
1. Determine the point of ingress to the passenger cabin? There must be some hole allowing them to get on the wrong side of the sheet metal.
2. Find where the insulation was taken from?
3. Determine all the cavities/passages that needed cleaning?
4. If you had Tesla do the work, did they do a good job putting everything back with no damage to the trim, all clips replaced, etc.?

 

[ovid100]

I've heard that most if not all auto manufactures are using wire that are coated with a grain bi produced, probably an oil used to manufacturing process in the wiring harness/ coating. I was told this at an auto parts store. This issue could be a game changer for me buying a Tesla, This needs to be resolved. I live in the country.

 

[Garlan Garner]

You might want to avoid parking where any part of your car (except tires ) is touching anything else.

Mice cant climb tires.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Also....there is insulation like that right behind the interior kick panels on the car. Left hand drivers can find it behind their right foots carpeted console kick panel.

The left side(passengers) kick panel has the same insulation behind the carpeted panel next to the left foot.​

 

[BluestarE3]

I've heard that most if not all auto manufactures are using wire that are coated with a grain bi produced, probably an oil used to manufacturing process in the wiring harness/ coating. I was told this at an auto parts store. This issue could be a game changer for me buying a Tesla, This needs to be resolved. I live in the country.

If that's the case, wouldn't it then be a game charger for you buying most if not all auto manufacturers' cars?

 

[C141medic]

You might want to avoid parking where any part of your car (except tires ) is touching anything else.

Mice cant climb tires.

You mean like this?

 

[timk225]

Here's a neat computer controlled Lego experiment that sees how small a gap a mouse can get through.

 

[Magnets!]

Curious by this thread I set up a motion activated infrared illuminated camera in front of my Tesla on the ground. Only thing I saw in a month was a lone silverfish that would come out and cruise in front of the camera every night. He eventually ate some bait I put out and I no longer see anything moving in the garage.

 

[SemiS3XYR]

OMG discovered this morning. I am a victim.

my shituation looks exactly like OPs

Any more info what holes I need to block? I will be taking apart the frunk and replacing the air cabin filter TODAY