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endless
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I would have figured it would have decomposed a lot more if it were vintage 2003.

But I am DEFINITELY not an expert on that.

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7 replies
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Scoobatz
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@endless: In the first picture, are those mouse sunglasses?

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allnitecp
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Scoobatz: Yeah, unless there was formaldehyde in the insulation (like in FEMA trailer wall boards) there's no way that mouse would look like that even a month after death. Its too plump (was it not dehydrated after being dead that long?). The one I found this weekend in my newly constructed home was dead less than six months and already looked like the Crypt Keeper.

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Jfielder
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@endless: Exactly... If that mouse had been dead in there for 5-6 years it'd be a pile of bones, and maybe skin and fur, and definitely with no smell. Even large animals (deer) will become almost entirely decomposed after two years. That mouse has been dead a month at the most, I'd bet.

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floraposte
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Jfielder23: Yup. Mice get in cars with some frequency, as I know to my annoyance, and they get in spaces that people would never imagine. They also chew on wiring and make nests that block airflow.

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chiieddy
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@endless: Agreed. In addition, mice can get through the TINIEST spaces. You'd be amazed. It probably looked like a great place to winter and he died of CO2 poisoning.

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rambo76098
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@endless:
That mouse looks a lot better than one that was dead for two weeks before I took my dash apart and removed it from the blower. I'd say the OP's one got in there recently.


IIRC Toyota is notorious for not sealing off their cars well from small critters.

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tbax929
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Well, you can't prove when the mouse actually got into the car. They are resourceful little creatures and can get into really tight spaces, so it could have happened at any time.

Also, yuck!

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Xay
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@tbax929: Exactly. A mouse got stuck in the air conditioning system of my car. I'm pretty sure it hadn't been in the car for 6 years.

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TCama
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@tbax929: Yeah, I'm constantly surprised at the size of holes that mice can fit through. Even if the OP thinks that area is seal off, I'd be willing to bet there's at least a tiny hole somewhere.

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halcyondays
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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The OP should sue for pain and suffering (sarcasm). It probably came in with the shipment of insulation from an outside supplier. Accidents happen.

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FangDoc
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I think the mouse built a nest. Even mummified, I wouldn't expect the fur to look that good if it had been in there since the factory, and the smell suggests a more recent demise as well.

As far as \"no way it would have gotten in\": a mouse can enter your home through a hole the diameter of a pencil, according to my exterminator. What looks impossible to a human is what makes the little buggers so darn efficient.

Call CSI: Rodentia!

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humphrmi
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@FangDoc: Quite correct. A mouse can effectively collapse its own skull and ribs in order to get through holes that seem impossible. Some say a dime sized hole, others have said holes as small as a pencil eraser. THey are very resourceful.

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shalegac
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@FangDoc: Just had an exterminator out last week who said the same thing. Also a few years ago my car wouldn't start in the middle of winter. I popped the hood and there was a pile of dog food. They were heading to the engine for warmth.

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The Porkchop Express
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@FangDoc: yeah, that thing looks way to \"fresh\" to have come with the car. Having had hamsters, gerbils, and pets that eat mice and rats I know they can get into/out of just about anything even close to the size of thier heads.

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FangDoc
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@FangDoc: Also, mice like cars. There have been numerous calls to Car Talk about dog food mysteriously appearing in headliners and air vents, and it's due to mice living in the car and using it as a place to stockpile garage-stored dog food.

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teknowaffle
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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It almost looks more like a pet hamster or gerbil

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OneTrickPony
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@teknowaffle: Looks like a deer mouse, rather than a field mouse.

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aloe vera
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@teknowaffle: I agree. Unfortunately, I have some experience with dead rodents. I live it a really old house and we get mice on occasion.
The ones I've seen are not that color, they're usually grey, but I suppose they can come in different colors in different regions/parts of the world.


The smell may not have been the decomposition- it could have been feces/urine that was in the nesting material. Mice are disgusting little creatures that piss and crap in thier own nests.


Needless to say, during some remodeling in our house we've come across dead (for quite a while) mice that still have the fur intact like that, so it is possible it's been there a while. The nests ALWAYS stink, though - and it's probably a combo of death and excrement.

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bornonbord
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I found a rats nest in the air-intake of a motorcycle stored in a shed for the winter. Had a mouse cook on an car engine after driving for an hour.

This shit happens - vermin can get anywhere. You clean it up and move on.

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econobiker
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@bornonbord: My father and I used to find alot of mice nests in the airboxes of 1980s cycles- very dry and often a fuzzy foam covered air filter to pull off and use as nest material...

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pecan 3.14159265
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Shh. It's just asleep. No, seriously, that's not a \"prefectly preserved, dried out, hollow\" mouse. It looks like it died in the last two weeks.


The rule of thumb when it comes to mice is that if they can fit their heads into the space, they can fit their whole bodies in. Knowing this, there are thousands of crevices in cars in which animals can crawl. How many people have stories about cats snoozing in their cars? If a cat can get in, a mouse can definitely get in.

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DasSavva
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: I have to agree. He looks like he passed on recently. R.I.P. Mickey.

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Anathema777
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I think the mouse is a more recent acquisition. There are lots of reports of mice nesting in cars as the weather gets colder. And they can get into some pretty tight places. You'd be surprised what they can fit through.

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H3ion
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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If you found a little treadmill in the space, you found the engine compartment.

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pecan 3.14159265
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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IM IN UR CAR, KICKIN TEH BUKITT.

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4 replies
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jaya9581
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: Walrus is angry.... you took his bukitt AND ur kickin it!

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Chris, the sweater is a nice touch, but I would have prefered a little motorcycle helment. The Mouse and the Motorcycle was my favorite mouse movie as a kid.

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Laura Northrup
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Kimaroo - Fortified with Kittydus Purrularis: I loved the book, but never saw the movie. I loved Beverly Cleary.

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nbs2
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Kimaroo - Fortified with Kittydus Purrularis: They made a movie? How did I miss that?


Relatedly, I've been trying to teach my daughter to say \"MOORV! MOORV!\" when she rols her toy cars backwards.

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redskull
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Believe it or not, I've had a mouse in my car on two separate occasions. The first mouse sort of got caught in the heater fan, and the second ran across my leg while I was driving. I actually had to set a trap to catch that one.

Seems unbelievable that a moving vehicle could be infested with mice, but it happens.

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econobiker
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@redskull: You haven't seen anything until you've seen a 1970's Jeep Grand Wagoneer infested with huge Alabama cockroaches. This was rock climbing/kayak/hiking transport for a college acquaintance of mine in the early 1990s. I told him to \"bug bomb this mofo!\" the first time I had to smash one of those roaches while sitting in the rear seat.

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Hogan1
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Based on my experience with deceased rodents, it looks a lot fresher then 2003. As many have already commented they can squeeze in into tiny places. There are plenty of access points into a car and this little fellow seems to have found his way in through one.


So basically:


There's no way to prove it came from the plant this way and asking for a letter of apology is just stupid. Move on with your life.

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jaya9581
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Hogan1: Agreed.

Even if the mouse IS OEM, who really cares? You're gonna not buy another Toyota Camry because of it? It's no different than any other manufacturing mishap. Grosser, sure, but no different in the end. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face, and don't look for stuff you don't deserve, be it discounts, apologies, etc.

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JennQPublic
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Hogan1: \"Based on my experience with deceased rodents...\"

That's a sentence I hope I'm never comfortable typing.

With that said, you're right- move on already. The mouse was in your car, not your box of Wheaties. Formal letter of apology? Please tell me you're joking!

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GitEmSteveDave_HazEnvy
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Just remember. The only part of a mouse/rats body that is no compressible is the skull. So as long as there is room to get the head in there, the mouse will follow. As someone who lives on a farm with a few barn kittehs, there's no way a mouse over 1 month old looks that good.

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humphrmi
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@GitEmSteveDave_HazEnvy: I thought I heard that they could compress their skull bones too. Maybe I misheard.

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humphrmi
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag: What I heard was that some part of their skull is \"hinged\" or such... I'm trying to find the article where I read that...

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katstermonster
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@GitEmSteveDave_HazEnvy: My mother found a mouse in a box of Life cereal in our basement. The little bastards been going in and out and had eaten their way down too far to get back out again. Oops! She said it was naaaaasty and it had been there probably about a month.

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RedCatLinux
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Ugh - I dont think that I'd want to have touched that either, but ...geeze dude - It's a 2003.


Your car has had years to pick up little passengers like this. I wouldn't automatically think \"factory installed\" upon finding a dead critter in a 2003 Toyota in 2009, and it shouldn't change your mind about whether you like the car or not.


..As long as you don't find Jimmy Hoffa in the stuffing.

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SkuldChan
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Factories are relatively hostile places for mice (lots of people, bright lights, noise etc) - I highly suspect that mouse made its home after the car was built.

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GitEmSteveDave_HazEnvy
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@SkuldChan: But he had goggles. That would help with the bright lights.

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tbax929
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Didn't we recently have a story on Consumerist about a mouse getting into a can of soda? Or did I imagine that?

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JulesNoctambule
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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'The Secret of NIMH' is on right now.

Oh, poor little Timothy mouse! Guess moving day didn't go so well after all.

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henrygates
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Likely entered recently. Even in an enclosed space the mouse would have been completely decomposed if it had been in there since it was built. Poor little guy.

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zentex
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Dude finds a mouse in his car and instantly convinces himself that it was Toyota's fault sex years ago? (remember kids, if it stinks its still fresh!...not 6 years old)

Maybe...just maybe...you have mice OR...maybe you have random mouse that snuck into your car when you were at random place?

Never, NEVER underestimate the power of a rodent. Their bodies are not like ours, if they can get a nose in, the WHOLE body follows.

Mind you, I'm not blaming the OP, I'm just saying the OP seem like one of them sue-first-ask-questions-later kinda people based on how the submission was written...aaaand they aren't using deductive reasoning in their assumptions. Sorry, I just see so many faults with this that I cannot side with the OP.

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Scoobatz
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@zentex: This is why I never shop at Lowes... I mean, Target... I mean, Circuit City? Wait, let me read this again...


Toyota.


Yes, you should never, ever buy a Toyota again. In fact, don't take your chances. Never buy a car again.

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Sudonum
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@zentex:
A friend of mine had a rat get in her car in a parking garage. She left the garage, got on the interstate, and the rat decided he didn't want to be in the car anymore, started running back and forth across the dash board. I'm surprised she didn't hit somebody or something as she just started panicking. She managed to get to the side of the highway opened the door and got out screaming, and the rat did the same. After calming down she went back to the garage and pitched a fit, but they didn't believe her. What, someone would make that story up to get free parking?

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maltboy1
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I agree 100% The mouse would have been nothing but a skeleton after 6 years. He got in there recently all by himself. It happens.@zentex:

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JulesNoctambule
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@zentex: 'Dude finds a mouse in his car and instantly convinces himself that it was Toyota's fault sex years ago?'

Love the typo!

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dveight
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Sorry OP, but I have to called BS on the mouse being there since the car was manufactured. Having worked in car audio for seven years, I can pretty much tell you that there is no place in a car that is air tight and that a mouse cannot get to.


If you ask for a formal letter of apology, they most likely will give you one, but I honestly doubt that they should issue one.

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failurate
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@dveight: It seems pretty clear from that he is wanting free schwag or cash from Toyota.

\"This has brought about the question whether in the future I should buy another Toyota Camry.\"

It's fun to photochop sweaters on mices, but this story smells worse than that rather fresh looking mouse.

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oneliketadow
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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99% likely that the mouse got into it more recently. After 6 years, there wouldn't be much left of a dead mouse.

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TouchMyMonkey
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Reminds me of an old story about a guy who took his spanking new Type I VW Beetle back to the dealer complaining about an odd rattle. Technician opened the trunk lid and found two beer bottles behind the spare tire.

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econobiker
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@HurtsSoGood: Urban legend?


The guy who found the bottle rattling in the car door, etc?

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Pixel
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@econobiker: That particular story may be fake, but they do have a grain of truth to them.
I saw an article a few years ago about someone restoring their mustang and finding two paper cups under the carpet. They cups had the logo of the UAW local for the plant the mustangs were built at, and safety slogans on them. It looked like two guys had taken their break and had some coffee, then when they went back to work just tossed the cups on the floorboard and laid the carpet right over them.

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mmmsoap
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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It's very common for rodents to climb into cars, especially up here in the cold Northeast. They commonly find their way into various filters (air filter I think? I know nothing about car parts) and chew things up. They also rather frequently end up chewing wires, etc. It really depends on where the cars are parked.

Odds are this did not occur in the plant. It's just a part of nature.

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GreatWhiteNorth
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Looks like the mouse is recent and the insulation material you found it is looks to be what the mouse harvested from other parts of the car to make a nest...

But... those look like cool shades in the mouse picture just above its head.

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AHemp
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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When I lived in the country and drove a '93 Camry, the car became home (and tomb) to many a mouse. It didn't come from the factory.

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JohnDeere
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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definatley an after market mouse. he would have noticed the charge for it, if it came new with the car.

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vladthepaler
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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That mouse looks too fresh to have been dead for 6 years, there's no way it's been there since the car was made.

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failurate
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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\"...the only explanation is from the Toyota factory in 2003 on the Toyota manufacturing line...\"

That line deserves a huge eye roll. We're going to need a series of sympathetic OP's to make up for the meatballs that are being posted so far today.
It's questionable victim Monday.

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econobiker
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@failurate: Most people have no clue about manufacturing environments anymore so they think the worst...

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gollerpr
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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without a doubt, the mouse recently gained access to the panel and died. It happens all the time. Had the mouse been in there since '03 that mouse would have
a.) Stunk the car to high heaven long ago
b.) Decomposed to nothing but bone by this point...

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RogerX
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Agreed with the majority, this is a recent addition, and the \"padding\" is shredded from other areas in a nest-building effort. No idea on cause of death, but that ain't a 6-year-old dead mouse, to be sure!

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Brazell
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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It probably crawled into the space and died. It would not be in that condition if it were from the factory, 6 years ago.

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Covertghost
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Sorry guy.


That mouse is not 6 years old.


Your garage is dirtier than you think, stop blaming Toyota.

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theblackdog
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Awesome tag on this one Consumerist.

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Mknzybsofh
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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The OP is overreacting. Throw the damn thing away.
\"The mouse was perfectly preserved, dried out, and hollow like one of those museum animals, yet it stunk.\"
I doubt that this item would still have an smell if it was stuck in there since 2003.

\"The area the mouse was in was more or less perfectly enclosed as no air circulation enters the area.\"
It might look that way but I am sure that there is air circulation going on. Nothing is air tight everything is made to allow for some 'breathing'. If your going to not buy another Toyota because of this then I would suggest not buying anything with an enclosed space.

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The Porkchop Express
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Mknzybsofh: He should stay away from buying anything really. If he really wants to blame toyota for Mr. Jingles there, he is going to blame the next company for something else.

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shadowkahn
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Are those. . Goggles. . .by the mouse's head in the top picture? And is that a red shirt it's wearing?

I think the OP killed Ralph S. Mouse.

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Pixel
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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To add to the above comments, if there was only the \"stuffing\" on one side and not the other, what makes you think that it was put in at the factory? Having worked on all sorts of cars from the 60s through to new cars, I have never seen one where handfuls of stuffing were crammed somewhere at the factory.

That is a mouse nest, built by the mouse from insulation from elsewhere in the car, and it was done more recently than 2003.

You would be *amazed* at where mice get to and what they do. I have known several classic car guys who had parts of their cars' interior ruined by mice. Hell, my girlfriend had three air filters chewed up by mice and the airbox filled with dog food(no dogs within 2 houses of where she lived) until we installed a screen over the end of the air intake.

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econobiker
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Pixel: Ditto on the stuffing as no factory would install loose stuffing. The mouse harvested it from elsewhere.

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APlusAuto
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Critters get in the weirdest places, I've seen some shocking crap over the years in my customer's cars. In the last year alone I've found a dead mouse in between a customer's hubcap and I went to go pick up another customer's car from their house and found half a gecko in the space between where the door closes and the front fender. That last one scared the crap out of me. I wouldn't have noticed it except for the fact that it started moving towards me as I was getting in the car. Yes, it was still alive even after being sliced in half.

You're not the first to find a dead critter in your car and you won't be the last. It's definitely not a reason not to buy another car from Toyota.

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LastError
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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That is no 6-year-old mouse.

Someone in my family once had a similar incident. They had a sofa which was getting old and smelly and eventually came time to throw it out, so my brother and I went to do the work, which involved dismantling the sofa.

Long story short, there was a very dead rat inside the sofa between the frame the dust cover thing they put on the bottom of furniture. It was very dry, must have been dead for a while. The homeowner had plenty of cats so rodents should not have been an issue. Nobody had idea how it got there.

The unpleasant part is that relative had been sleeping ON that sofa for a while, literally sleeping inches away from the dead rat. Yuck.

It turned out the smelly aroma of the sofa was all due to the rat, not anything else. I will never forget that smell. God.

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unpolloloco
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I definitely read \"moose\" at first. Camry trunks are big, but not *that* big.

Anyway, sounds like it's a mouse that found a warm spot in the car.

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boomerang86
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Our pest control guy told us that if you have any openings the thickness of a pencil or greater, a mouse can squeeze through.


One time I found a mouse nest, complete with live infant mice, under the rear seat of a 1973 Dodge Colt I was running speaker wire through!

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econobiker
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Automotive industry refugee here plus have experience with mice in my parents home, in a summer cabin, in factories:


The mouse transported the \"stuffing\" from elsewhere. The stuffing is probably carpet backing or sound deadener backing from the auto interior carpet which the mouse transported to the site. Automakers do not put \"loose stuffing\" in a car.


Agreed with others that the mouse is \"too fresh\" the fact that it still smelled means it was fresh. It would have smelled worse and worse had you not gotten it out. If it had been there since 2003 it would have been mummified and desicated. It would have been a grey shrunken corpse.


Another thing is that it is the time of the year for mice to nest inside. I'd imagine that the sun warmed, rear window area would have been attractive to the mouse.


My experience with auto wild life: a frog in an exgirlfriends car, ant colonies in two cars, roaches in a friends Jeep Wagoneer (see above posting), mice in motorcycle air filter boxes, mice in a coworker's car's air box.


Experiences with manufacturing factory wild life: roaches, snakes, lizards, mice: adult/juvenile, rats raccoons: adults/juvenile, a snapping turtle, a box turtle, possum- juvenile, cats, a dog, a bat.


In home wildlife: mice, rat, snake, lizard, roaches, squirrels, cats (not pets).

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tape
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I get the feeling that the OP doesn't know much about either mice or decomposition.

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elizass
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Wow. Seriously Consumerist? Hitting new lows. Toyota has nothing at fault here.

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docrice
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Mouse is fresh, and Camry's aren't that hard to install stereo equipment in. Sorry OP, but it's gonna be tough getting someone to side with you...

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dveight
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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@docrice: Have to disagree with you on this........rear speakers for 2003 Camrys are a bitch to install, you have to remove the rear seat back, side panels, and the back panel. Those are not fun to work on.


As for the mouse is fresh, agree with you on that one, no way that mouse is 6 years old.


OP needs to get a clue.

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tn_avenger
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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Thanks for the pics. I think I will skip lunch today.

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qwerty001984
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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No way this came from a plant. If you ever visited a toyota plant you can see how clean they are. A toyota plant has no food for a mouse.

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zerok00l420
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA


\"TOYOTA QUALITY\"
AHAHAHA
you deserve that lil' bugger!

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TIMCHUCK
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I parked my car at long term parking at a rural airport for a couple of days.

When I returned there was a live mouse nested in it,

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zentex
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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interesting...the part where the OP was wanting an apology letter from toyota disappeared...

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awer25
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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He doessn't look 6 years old to me ;)

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arnoldziffel
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I had a mouse make a home out of my car's fan/heater enclosure. They get everywhere. To make it worse, the car is a limited production (1 of 500) so anything that got wrecked was hard to replace. I couldnt believe, but it ate thru the seals in the firewall to find it's way in. Could have been worse, at least it wasn't a beehive!

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thenamcam
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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old car new mouse

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blueVan
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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If i remember right if a mouse can fit his head in a hole the rest is gravy for them. Also, I would be more suprised if a car made it through its entire life with a mouse or two getting into it... so just never get out i suppose

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PBallRaven
November 23, 2009 5:32 PM
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I had a brand new Mitsubishi with a spider inside a sealed headlight assembly. Already dead when I got it.

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Farodelava
November 24, 2009 6:31 AM
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A few years ago I was dropping my son off at daycare, as I slid the sliding door open out on my feet fell about a half dozen baby mice...I saw the mom run back in the door well into my car. Coincidentally my rear window washer had stopped working. We later found out the mouse (mice?) had chewed through the tube leading to the washer reserve. It was a real ewww moment!!

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fyi1rob
November 24, 2009 8:13 AM
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A Toyota plant in 2003 would have been hopping 24*7 with lights and people mulling about .. this mouse came after that

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MrEvil
November 24, 2009 9:16 AM
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Yeah, the OP has owned the car for 6 years. I really think the mouse got in there after he purchased the vehicle. Not from the factory.

First of all, Mice generally only hang out where there's a plentiful food supply. Car factories generally aren't those places. They mainly hang out in grocery stores, grain elevators, and human dwellings, or in the wild.

Second, Mice have very pliable skeletons that allow them to squeeze through gaps some would think would be impossible for them to get through. While the OP can't fathom the mouse getting in there once the car was assembled. I'm pretty certain he found a way into that area. However, the mouse could have found an entrance that was one-way only and gotten trapped. Or he was poisoned and got in there to die.

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Firethorn
November 24, 2009 9:38 AM
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I've had the 'dog food in the air filter' before - got the car at a discount because the seller thought the car didn't have enough power. It had enough power for me, it wasn't until we got to doing the maintenance that we found the air filter compartment completely stuffed with dog food. I had a lot more power after clearing that out...

MIce can get into surprising areas. Remember, even if it's 'well sealed', they can chew through the seal, and the opening will likely be smaller than you think. And given the pictures, it's not sealed well enough to prevent a determined mouse getting into that area.

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APSnCO
November 24, 2009 4:16 PM
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It doesn't take long for rodent types to make a cozy home somewhere in your vehicle. I've had beautiful nests built in my car's engine complete with flowers, pieces of cactus and chewed up fabric.

One fall day, we parked my husband's truck in the garage. The next morning we got in the car and headed to work. About 2 miles into our trip, smoke started billowing out of the engine. We opened the hood to find a nest ablaze and hoses chewed up.

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techphets
November 24, 2009 10:52 PM
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\"the only explanation is from the Toyota factory in 2003 on the Toyota manufacturing line, \"

Weird. People here seem to think there is more than one explanation.

\"This has brought about the question whether in the future I should buy another Toyota Camry.\"

Are you nuts? Seriously? So you think other automakers have policies in place to prevent things like this from happening and that Toyota, one of the world's leading automakers either doesn't know about them or doesn't care to implement them?

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