###Score One for the Rats/Mice
----
Although thus far I have been able to keep the rats and mice out of
the living area of the house, I have been hearing activity
underneath in the crawl space. Most likely they are attracted to
the warmth of the house during the colder winter months. Okay, I
guess I'll have to live with that. The problem lies in that they
have also taken up residence in the cabin area of the Prius (parked
in the carport) and doing considerable damage to the upholstery.
Apparently, they have come in through the a/c intake under the hood
and then chewed their way through the evaporator behind the glove
box. Once inside the car, they have been happily peeing and pooping
everywhere as well as trying to establish nests in various and
sundry hidden locations.
Several Prius owners have had success with covering the a/c intake
with 1/4" hardware cloth and securing it with self tapping sheet
metal screws thus preventing any entry through that route. On the
rear of the vehicle behind the rear bumper cover are pressure
equalization vents (on the driver and passenger side of the car)
that also need to be covered with hardware cloth. Of course all of
these are difficult to expose. To access the a/c intake requires
removing the wipers, cowling, wiper motor assembly and wiper
sub-assembly (not easy, but doable):
http://melton.sdf-us.org/images/ac-intake-screened.webp
Not exactly pretty, but it will hopefully do the job.
*A brief interlude with a trip down memory lane. (part of my wish
list)* Any of you old folks remember this one?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/1965_Plymouth_Barracuda_at_2015_Rockville_Show_6of6.jpg)
The venerable Chrysler slant six. A picture of elegance and
simplicity. Totally bereft of gadgets, computer modules and other
complexities. Brings tears to the eyes doesn't it? Alas those days
are long gone...
Getting back to the Prius, removing the rear bumper cover was only
slightly easier, but managed to apply the hardware cloth before my
drill failed. I was running out of light (and stamina) so I don't
have a pic of this one. Other Prius owners have recommended keeping
the hood open (when parked of course) to allow the engine to cool
faster (rodents are attracted to the warmth of the engine
compartment). In addition, the open hood discourages rats/mice from
coming as they tend to avoid open spaces. It has been about a week,
and thus far I have not seen any evidence of activity in the
passenger cabin. \*sigh\*...modern problems with ancient residents.
[Research has
revealed](
https://www.reddit.com/r/priusdwellers/comments/cghlq7/mouse_proofing_the_prius_guide_warning_prius_is/)
that many modern vehicles manufactured after 2008 have wiring
insulation that is soy based instead of petroleum based which may be
an added attraction for the rodents. It seems Toyotas and
particularly the Prius are quite vulnerable. Thus far, I have been
lucky. I have not found any wiring that has been chewed. My
greatest fear was that rodents might have nested in or around the
hybrid battery area. Part of the procedure to access the hybrid
battery, was to remove the rear seat bottom which afforded an
opportunity to patch the chewed areas on the upholstery and clean
under the seat:
Pretty bad, but maybe it can be patched together. Gorilla tape to
the rescue. Short of totally replacing the rear seat bottom, this
will at least do the job and keep the holes from expanding.
Although I did not remove the metal shroud from the hybrid battery,
I did not see any evidence of activity around it. At some point in
the future, the hybrid battery will need to be replaced, but there
seems to be a plethora of Youtube videos on how to perform the
hybrid battery swap out.
The Toyota Prius and I am sure many other hybrid/ev's are impressive
engineering accomplishments. Fuel economy on our vehicle has
consistently been 50+ mpg and if I am paying close attention to my
driving habits, it can exceed 60 mpg. My main complaint is layer
upon layer of complexity may not have necessarily made the vehicle
safer (Toyota has had their share of software problems related to
braking) or for that matter more economical. We have all seen
images [drivers sleeping at the wheel of a moving
Tesla](
https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/tesla-model-x-driver-caught-sleeping-at-the-semi-autonomous-wheel),
so it makes one wonder if we have been lulled into a technological
stupor where we not only have more driver distractions, but have
lost the ability to receive sensory input from the vehicle. [This
is an older article, but the issues now are even more
poignant.](
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-03-05-0003050117-story.html)
It appears the increased number and sophistication of safety
features may have improved the chances of walking away from a
serious crash, but there does not appear to be much evidence of the
number of crashes being reduced. For that matter, crashes seem to
be occurring at higher speeds. To add another layer of complexity
to the debate, since newer vehicles are becoming heavier, [a 2011
study by researchers at UC
Berkeley](
http://freakonomics.com/2011/07/29/killer-cars-an-extra-1000-pounds-increases-crash-fatalities-by-47/)
found an extra 1,000 pounds increases crash fatalities by 47%.
Visibility may also play a role. My own observation is that my 2003
Hyundai Sonata has significantly better visibility than the Prius
since the latter has a higher waist and much thicker pillars. I
find myself having to exercise extreme caution when backing or
changing lanes. A camera is no substitute for organic visibility.
The total number of crash fatalities may have come down over the
decades as a result of air bags, abs and the like, however total
fatalities is still an extraordinarily high number [compared with
the rest of the
world.](
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/12/13/why-the-u-s-trails-the-developed-world-on-traffic-deaths/)
Total number of crashes resulting in injuries only or property
damage only continues to climb year by year. The debate will rage
on most likely until fossil fuels become a more scarce commodity
then the problem will be solved for us. [Even the roads we drive
on](
https://web.archive.org/web/20170606050701/http://www.pavementinteractive.org/2012/02/21/energy-and-road-construction-whats-the-mileage-of-roadway/)
require hefty energy inputs. <\*end of rant\*>
Aside from the rodent infestation, the Prius (ours is a gen III) has
been relatively trouble free and we purchased it with total cost of
ownership in view. As I mentioned, fuel economy is quite good.
Although the energy footprint to produce a hybrid vehicle is much
higher than a conventional vehicle, the hybrid more than makes up
for the gap by its low energy footprint during its operational
lifetime. Had I known about the rodent issue earlier, I might have
reconsidered the purchase, but now that we have it, we might as well
get the best service life we can out of it. Living in a remote rural
area, our cars are our lifeline so it requires that they be well
maintained. If I were in an (sub)urban area, most likely I would be
utilizing public transport and/or a bicycle.
Tags: transportation, energy, wildlife, retro
