I had a dead animal smell in my car and when I replaced the cabin air and I found a small mouse. There was a big wad of, what looked like, wool, enough to fill up my hand. It was white-ish. The mouse was amongst the wool, so I figured it was obviously his doing. The used filter didn't have any wear or chew marks, so I'm wondering what he (or she) was scratching or chewing to create the mess. The canal (or whatever you call the air flow section) seemed dark. Any idea what could have been scratched to create the wad of wool?
Is it possible that the 'wool' was from him scratching the filter (without a hole being created)?

Thanks!

 

The mouse most likely shredded something else somewhere else and carried it back to his 'nest.'

You have a bigger problem; how did he get in there? Did he eat away part of the plastic grill on the air intake? If you don't fix that it could happen again.

Joe

 

Not an expert, but spoke to my mechanic friend and he said he sees mice do this all the time.
Considering how small a space a mouse could squeeze into, it's possible that she found a gap, although, admittedly I don't know how big the spaces are.

 

called the dealer's service area.
they, also, said they see that all the time and that there are many places for a mouse to easily get into.

 

The most common access is around the wiper drive shaft. If you leave a car parked outside for 3-4 days or more, especially in the wintertime, it's best to cut a rubber "seal" to slip over the wiper drive shafts but under the cowling.

 

i dont even wanna think about the smell, thats nasty...glad u found it...
uggghhhh

they do like warm spaces though...

 

actually, the really strong smell only lasted a few days (drove with windows open)
there was a mild smell (for a few weeks) that your nose gets used to after a while...others noticed it, but I didn't
I bought lava rocks that (supposedly) absorbed the smell

 

Larry: There’s a black plastic strip on top of the fire wall at the back of the engine that can be removed. After removing this, place a screen over the hole. This hole is used by the TCH for outside air intake. The hole is rectangular in shape and for the life of me I don’t know why Toyota left this without a screen over it.

 

Mice are not supposed to be able to get through the plastic mesh, and they probably don't except at the wiper shaft opening.

 

Willard: I’m not referring to the plastic grill in front of the windshield; I’m talking about the solid plastic strip that’s under the hood on top of the fire wall at the back of the engine. At each end under this strip there are holes that a mouse can enter through. Look on the left side as you face the front of the TCH and you should see this rectangular hole that I’m talking about. This hole is the place where the out side air enters the cabin air filter. Place a small screen or wire mesh over this hole to stop leaves and MICE from entering the intake air system.