Mouse infiltrated Model 3

[neurocutie]

caught six mice in the garage so far this winter... just keep setting those traps...

 

[GaryDz]

Me too. Found a mouse nest in the glove box of my Model 3 yesterday. Had surplus fast food napkins in there. Yes, my Model 3 lives outside. I will be setting a trap today just in case it is still there. BTW - Several years ago I had a mouse nest in my Ford Ranger air filter housing.

 

[hellocar]

Me too. Found a mouse nest in the glove box of my Model 3 yesterday. Had surplus fast food napkins in there. Yes, my Model 3 lives outside. I will be setting a trap today just in case it is still there. BTW - Several years ago I had a mouse nest in my Ford Ranger air filter housing.

Did it do any damage on its way in there?

 

[Roland787]

The HVAC blower on my Model 3 started getting very loud at higher fan speeds yesterday. So as I went to check the cabin air filter, which I replaced just 3 weeks ago, I found that the access panel under the glove box had half the white insulation chewed up into a fluffy ball. I'm guessing that a mouse or mice moved some of this insulation into the HVAC system causing the blower to make a loud "bbbbrrrrr" sound which gets worse at higher fan speeds. All of the vents seem to work properly. As luck would have it yesterday was my first day of a long road trip down to South Florida for a 2 week vacation. The car was parked for 3 days prior to leaving on my trip and I guess that was plenty of time for a mouse or mice to begin destruction of my Model 3. Has anyone else had rodents cause HVAC blower problems on the 3 or Y?

 

[neurocutie]

I put several traps around my Model 3... hopefully will work well enough. So far the traps have caught a few. Any other tricks? have a cat live in the garage?
I have a great vid of a feral cat that patrols our yard finding one of these mice and engaging in "playtime" with it...

 

[Kerry Blue]

We used to trap a dozen mice every winter then a cat adopted us and haven’t seen one for 3 years. The mice know she’s in the garage at night so they stay away

 

[mcorner]

I have the same issue… my hvac is quite loud now. Does anyone know how to clean things out? I replaced the filters already and didn’t find much.

 

[Roland787]

I have the same issue… my hvac is quite loud now. Does anyone know how to clean things out? I replaced the filters already and didn’t find much.

In my case the insulation that the mouse had chewed up had gotten sucked into the blower wheel which is mounted in the very center of the dash. I was able to use an inspection camera with a small hook on it to snag the debris and pull it out which solved my noisy HVAC problem. I was able to feed the inspection camera through the return intake duct which is located just above the panel under the glove box that needs to be removed when changing the cabin filter. The hardest part was lying on my back on the passenger floorboard to maneuver the camera and snag the debris. It was a very small amount of insulation material in the blower wheel making it imbalanced and causing all the noise. I was also fortunate that the mouse messed with my car while I was staying at a beach rental house rather than somewhere where I regularly park.

I hope this helps!