I have a Toyota sienna minivan. I have been hearing a clicking sound whenever I drove the car. I just brought it I to the dealer and it turns out that a mouse or some other small rodent has made a nest inside the hood. The mechanic says that they probably got in through the outside vents. I have a phobia about rodents. What are the chances that one of these rodents will be able to make their way inside the car?
What year is your Sienna, and how long have you owned it?
“A nest inside the hood.” Please explain a bit more. Where, exactly, was the nest, and how did it make a clicking sound?
Mice, or other rodents, often climb into a vehicle’s engine compartment and chew on the wires. This has the potential to cause all sorts of expensive problems. Under the hood, however, is not the same as inside the vehicle.
They don’t need any “vents” to get into the the engine compartment. They can just climb in from the ground, regardless of the vehicle make or type.
Mice under the hood is different from mice inside the vehicle. If they’re not inside, don’t do anything to attract them to the inside. Don’t leave anything edible inside your Sienna. Ever.
Mice can squeeze through an opening of 1/2 inch or less. There’s no way to keep them out of your car, your house, or your place of business if they choose to enter. They can get in.
If you tell us where, exactly, the mouse was, it might help. And please explain, if you can, the connection between the mouse and the “clicking” sound.
A mouse will not hurt you.
Scare you? Sure. But hurt you? Unlikely.
The mouse is more afraid of you than you are of it.
That probably doesn’t help, does it?
A buddy lived in a rural area & had a truck that was used primarily as a back-up vehicle. One day his car was down, so he drove the truck into work, and a mouse almost caused him to wreck when it ran across the floor over his foot.