Mouse in the Miev!

[cdysthe]

Hi,

I have had many cars parked in the same location over the years. We got our iMiev right before Christmas and today as I was coming back from taking my daughter to school a mouse ran accross the dash. I jumped of course and the mouse ran and hid. I have never had a mouse coming into any of our cars, so this is a first! It has been extremely cold here around Boston lately so maybe that made a car tempting to a mouse? What I wonder about though is whether the fact that it's an EV that attracted the little fella? Next question is how it got into the car in the first place but I guess I will have to go over all potential entries and if possible block them.

I have found a lot of information about how to prevent mice entering the car and all the damage they can do. We use the iMev every day so it's not like this happened after some time in storage.

Have anyone else experienced this and is it possible that an EV is more tempting to rodents than other cars?

 

[jray3]

We live next to a pasture and I've had mouse damage to a few cars over the years (what's so appetizing about wire insulation!), and IIRC, I once found droppings in the i-MIEV, but no damage. I can't think of anything particularly inviting or vulnerable about our cars, other than as the most-used vehicle in the household, it stays warmer, has more crumbs on the carpeting, and is parked next to the trash can! It does surprise me how mice can find paths to the interior of modern cars....

 

[JoeS]

OMG, leave the little guy some food right away so he doesn't pick on your wiring! A humane trap to capture and release would be my choice. My suspicion is that perhaps the mouse was carried into the car inside a box or other package, or perhaps you left a door or rear hatch open? I often have mice running around my garage and outside but have never had one in my i-MiEV, although one did get inside the frunk of my Tesla as I leave the hood unlatched when I externally float charge its 12v battery.

Yes, I think absence of fossil-fuel odors makes EV's more pleasant for all creatures.

As an aside, I read somewhere that environmentally-friendly wire insulation was wreaking havoc as rodents discovered its tastiness... :roll:

 

[jray3]

I hadn't heard of bioplastics as auto wiring insulation, but it checks out!
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michae...-give-rodents-plenty-to-chew-on/#458f208f780a
Of course, there's even a website dedicated to the issue, and it does not list Mitsubishi as an automaker who used such wiring.
https://www.howtopreventratsfromeatingcarwires.com/2017/02/10/does-your-car-have-soy-based-wiring/

 

[wmcbrine]

Yes, I think absence of fossil-fuel odors makes EV's more pleasant for all creatures.

But there's also much less waste heat, so if anything, I'd have guessed that EVs would be less attractive to mice. :?:

 

[cdysthe]

There may be less heat overall but I think it's the constant heat available at all times as the vehicle is being charged that may be tempting to rodents. I also use the remote to preheat the car very often which also generates heat at times when there's no one in or around the car to scare them away.

 

[phb10186]

Get a can of air duster (or an air line) and spray all around the car... hopefully it will leave? Whether it comes back is another story, but there arent that many places to hide in there.