Good job! My old Jeeps had factory grates installed over the intake vents to keep the critters out. Maybe they don't have mice in Japan. 😉 It's not just Honda, my sister's Lexus had the same issue and all kinds of dead mice inside.

 

It's always interesting to observe a design choice by a manufacturer, and wonder why they did not do A, or B, or C.

Leaving the air port unscreened is probably like many things considered when designing a motor vehicle, you design for the most important and common issues/challenges or performance objectives, and you leave the small corner cases out of consideration in design unless the solution is free of extra cost.

We do have a fair number of discussions about rodent invasions into our CRVs, but more of them are about wire chewing rather than infiltration into the filter box to set up a nest. So the incidence level of nest appears to be fairly low, but not zero. So then the question is, for a small incidence issue like this, does it warrant adding additional cost to every vehicle produced? That is always the question that drives the trade-offs made in design.

We all look at the inconvenience vs the low cost to do a home solution like this and wonder why Honda does not put a screen on the opening, for an essentially urban vehicle by design. To Honda that would be millions of dollars per year in added production costs for no increase in vehicle numbers rolling off the production floor. We look at one-offs, but manufacturers look at cost impact on high volume run rates in a very competitive modern motor vehicle market place.

 

With all the work done I would say that you did a --- Mice Job !! 🤣

 

Great looking job and well illustrated. This is just my opinion but you would be amazed at the small openings that a field mouse can squeeze through. The screen openings shown are a pretty good size. Maybe a smaller mesh, say 1/4 inch openings or if not too restrictive a piece of household window screening behind the existing mesh. Just a thought. Again…….great job.

 

I agree. Certainly a thoughtful approach to the issue.

A adult mouse can literally squeeze through a hole the size of a dime. They can also squeeze under door doors, even doors with weather strip sealing if that is what they want to do.

The bigger issue though is rodents have the ability to chew through that screen if the want to get to the other side. I have seen many cases over my lifetime of rodents getting into a home by simply chewing and peeling away a few small segments of exactly that type of screen on ventilation covers for raised home foundations and attic ventilation slots.

I think it really comes down to the determination and curiosity of the individual mouse. Since not that many are reported setting up actual nests in the filters, my guess is that it takes a particular mouse personality (for lack of a better term) to have the drive to chew through the wire mesh unless it smells food from inside the cabin somewhere.

 

One tip to keep mice away. Do not have any bird feeders; they attract alot of rodents.

 

Around here, the local squirrel cartel is in complete domination and control of the bird feeders.

Same good tip applies for leaving any food scraps, no matter how small in your vehicle.

Any stored food packages or containers in the garage that are not sealed metal cans is also an open invitation.

Generally though, most mouse issues for CRV owners appear to be related to their attraction to the soy compounds used for wiring insulation now days. Seems the insulation manufacturers need to find a way to reduce soy aromatics to something below what the sensitive mouse nose can detect. That might actually be impossible, in which case they need to embed deterrents in the insulation that make the need for pepper tape obsolete. I'm sure this is a cost related challenge.

 

I'm not quite sure of the health and human safety aspects of having mouse excrement on top of the cabin air filter but, mine certainly had a fair amount. I have had several cars where the OEM was wise enough to install a metal screen. See my nest below- so any argument for Honda is not worth debating.

Your points about opening size with the hardware cloth I chose are valid and I should have done a bit more homework before I started working. I chose the 1/2" because it was pretty rigid compared to the finer material that I have. I agree though- fortification may be necessary and I will report back if so.

A few other points that I though to share for helping. Have a peek on ebay- bought a 100pk of "10mm car retainer clips" and "9 mm rivet car door trim retainer clips" each 100 pack was $6 or so. You may as well buy these if you ever take the car apart. Amazon had options too.. you can find them if you look.

 

I'm not quite sure of the health and human safety aspects of having mouse excrement on top of the cabin air filter but, mine certainly had a fair amount. I have had several cars where the OEM was wise enough to install a metal screen. See my nest below- so any argument for Honda is not worth debating.

Your points about opening size with the hardware cloth I chose are valid and I should have done a bit more homework before I started working. I chose the 1/2" because it was pretty rigid compared to the finer material that I have. I agree though- fortification may be necessary and I will report back if so.

A few other points that I though to share for helping. Have a peek on ebay- bought a 100pk of "10mm car retainer clips" and "9 mm rivet car door trim retainer clips" each 100 pack was $6 or so. You may as well buy these if you ever take the car apart. Amazon had options too.. you can find them if you look.
View attachment 154366

I got 40 push in plastic rivets sizes 5mm to 8mm for $2.50 on AliExpress.

 

Like many, I found a massive mouse nest above the cabin air filter. Removing this debris is difficult to say the least and I earned several cuts working through the small cabin air filter door. I learned quite a bit though and though I'd share with this community TO OVERCOME HONDA'S TERRIBLE DESIGN. Seriously Honda, spend the $1 and put a screen in this opening.

First if you have a nest, go ahead and remove the blower motor. It is held in with 3 screws and is easy to remove from below. You will have to contort yourself looking upside down from the passenger footwell. Why remove it? Because there is debris in the fan that will make it sound loud and throw it off balance. Trust me- just do it.

Next- I recommend NOT trying to remove the debris from the Cabin Air Filter access door. It has sharp edges and is poorly designed. Instead, consider removing the debris from the engine bay itself. To do so, you will have to remove both the windshield wiper arms as well as the plastic shroud across the lower windshield. Doing this- you will take the same path as the mouse and see just what the problem is. Once you expose the opening, you can remove the mouse nest from the gracious 5 x 12" opening that Honda provided you. Notice you can see the air filter through this opening.
View attachment 154354


I removed the plastic trim panel on each side of the engine bay near the hood hinge. Each panel has 3 clips that you need to pop out. Moving "up" towards the windshield, there is a rubber piece on each side that has small pop in place features. These pieces are easy to remove. As you notice in the photo above, I added a piece of tape to the windshield as a reference for wiper arm position - this came in handy. Similarly, I didn't fully remove the black plastic piece across the lower windshield, but instead just propped it up with a 2x4. This allows you not to remove the windshield fluid tube or disrupt the gasket area.
View attachment 154352
I cut a piece of 1/2" hardware cloth to 5" x 12" . I then used a piece of scotch brite to lightly scuff the area around the mouse entrance point prior to fastening the hardware clot to the body. I used self tapping sheet metal screws and and impact driver to easily attach the hardware cloth. Placement of screws is really about where you can fit your drill / driver.. Don't worry my CRV didn't explode because of these screws. I then sealed around the opening with auto body sealant to secure and bond the screen further. You could surely use a good silicone as well. Here is a detail pic at this stage:
View attachment 154353

Putting the car back together is simply a reverse of this process. I will say- take a good look at how the lower windshield black plastic piece attaches to the car. It is obvious when you look at it but make sure all of the tabs engage where they are intended to.

I also broke a few of the plastic doo-dads that hold everything together. The doo-dads that hold down the large lower windshield trim require that you Pop them apart before removing them.. I didn't get a pic, sorry- but simply use a small flathead to separate both halves -they are typical automotive fasteners. I was able to find replacements at the auto parts store; however, I plan to start looking and find an appropriate source for a bulk pack. The plastic fasteners are a joke and fail without being abused-


I hope this helps you. It took me a total of 2 hours to figure this all out and fix it. If you can change your own oil, you can do this!

Great post with instructions. Hope this solves your problem.

I did enjoy the video on how easy it is to change the blower.

 

sorry, mice can get through that 1/2" screen. if they can fit their skull through, they are in! keep the wire assembly as a base, and zip tie a piece of metal door screen onto it. check to see if it restricts air flow too much. or get a cat!

 

did the same to my V last month, when i changed the cabin air filter noticed some rodent nest and started to disassemble the trims, used some stainless steel mesh and bolts, sealed the whole channels on the sides, hopefully it doesnt clog with the debris while raining 😅

 

I have covered about a half dozen of the big holes above the cabin filter with 1/4" hardware cloth, cheap enough at any lumberyard, crimped and sheet metal screwed where I could to hold it in place while the caulk cured ( maybe overkill). Wouldn't trust half inch holes..

 

New here. My thread on mice was closed before I had a chance to say thanks... so thanks. But my question didn't get answered. I have a 2022 Honda CR-V and wanted to know if the 2022 model has been fitted with an input screen to the cabin air filter before I go taking the wipers and shroud off. Has it?

 

I don't know the answer to that but it might not be as much work as you think to check for yourself. We had a rat nest in our RDX last year and I've been worried about it happening again ever since. When I saw this post here I decided to see if our car was similar and it is. After having the shroud lifted up the first time, I could literally have it unfastened and propped up in 15 seconds now. Hopefully your 22 CR-V is the same or similar.

I posted on the RDX forum on how I went about installing the screen.
Oh and my thanks also to the OP for this post.

Rodents in the cabin air filter - AcuraZine - Acura Enthusiast Community

3G RDX (2019+) - Rodents in the cabin air filter - We had a rat make a nest and miserable mess on top of the filter last year that required a trip to the dealer. They had to remove part of the dash and blower motor to get everything cleaned out. When we picked the car up I asked if they could...

acurazine.com

 

The inspection probe is a good idea and should work, let us know what you find.

I didn't have good luck with the mothballs. I tried them and thought they might be working but after a couple of weeks I found evidence of more rat activity.

 

You’re right, mothballs are not an effective mice repellent and a generally hazardous to use in any enclosed space where people are present.

 

More information regarding mothballs: Health Effects of Mothballs

 

Could always lean into the problem....

.... get a big jar of peanut butter (cap off) and a little collection of tiny spoons and leave them out for the mice clans enjoyment.

There is some truth to my jest here though, as in my experience if there is peanut butter around, mice hit that and ignore everything else. It's pungent goodness seems to reach out to mice at great distance, and is one reason it makes such good bait for any traps set.

Of course you will run across the occasional "independently minded rodent" who will pack up that peanut butter as much as they can haul and then smear it all over your cabin air filter just because... well they are rebels.

 

2022 Honda CR-V EXL 5th Gen

The inspection probe was a bust so we gave up. I don't knowingly kill anything. That includes spiders, mice, other rodents/animals etc, and simply trap them in hav-a-heart trap and let them go in a field somewhere. So... with that said, deterrent was my goal and with screens and electronic devices I've managed to keep them out of my vehicles. The most significant was the electronic device. It works for me.

I did pretty much what was shown in the RDX forum. In the 2022 CR-V there are 3 rubber/plastic pieces on each fender that simply snap off with ease. Then removing the wipers and a few plastic clips the cowl comes off too. Easy. The third photo looks a little different because I had to use flash. Everything is buttoned up now and I'm still annoyed that Honda didn't add that screen like Toyota did to the Highlander.

 

That should stop casual intrusions, and good enough to prevent nesting in the air filter.

But make no mistake, if there is any food or other items that give off an attraction odor that draws a hungry mouse, they will chew through that hardwire easily. It is soft and easily chewed through by rodents. I had a good friend who ran a boarding kennel years ago and had ongoing issues with mice of course. The mice routinely chewed out a few links in that hardwire grid until they could squeeze through to get to the always present dog kibble in the kennel. They had to upgrade all small access screens to much more robust perforated steel cover plates.

That said, nobody should be keeping any food, snacks, or other tasty smelling items in their vehicles anyways, so as long as you avoid that, this screen should keep them from intruding.

 

Good job, that should keep those little buggers out of there.

 

I won't say it's impossibe but I doubt very much that mice can chew through that hardware cloth. It's stiff welded galvanized steel they use for Rabbit cage floors.

 

Well I've had a visitor to the air filter area, so my turn to tackle this job. I'm not exactly sure where all the fasteners are located that need to be disconnected. If the OP or someone who has done this job could put arrows or circle the locations on the pics it will be greatly appreciated.

 

Take a look at the link in post #20 in this thread. I don't know how similar the CRV is but it would at least give you a starting point. I didn't need to remove the wipers, I only removed 1 push pin rivet and released 3 clips.

 

I think a mouse will still fit through that screen. It needs to be a much finer mesh, like screen door metal mesh. And still unbelievable that in the 100 plus years of automobile manufacture that they still do not know how to mouse proof a car, huge manufacturing defect, and since having mice in cars is a health hazard that should be a recall. Yeah not only can they not design a car a mouse can't enter they can't design one that will not leak in rain water at some point in its life. I guess all the computerized cad and FEA design software is really pretty worthless as well as engineering. Too much sitting at the desk engineering and never testing or even looking at what the real world parts look like I guess.

 

That poor mouse. Where will he sleep after he's evicted from his home???

 

Like many, I found a massive mouse nest above the cabin air filter. Removing this debris is difficult to say the least and I earned several cuts working through the small cabin air filter door. I learned quite a bit though and though I'd share with this community TO OVERCOME HONDA'S TERRIBLE DESIGN. Seriously Honda, spend the $1 and put a screen in this opening. First if you have a nest, go ahead and remove the blower motor. It is held in with 3 screws and is easy to remove from below. You will have to contort yourself looking upside down from the passenger footwell. Why remove it? Because there is debris in the fan that will make it sound loud and throw it off balance. Trust me- just do it. Next- I recommend NOT trying to remove the debris from the Cabin Air Filter access door. It has sharp edges and is poorly designed. Instead, consider removing the debris from the engine bay itself. To do so, you will have to remove both the windshield wiper arms as well as the plastic shroud across the lower windshield. Doing this- you will take the same path as the mouse and see just what the problem is. Once you expose the opening, you can remove the mouse nest from the gracious 5 x 12" opening that Honda provided you. Notice you can see the air filter through this opening. View attachment 154354 I removed the plastic trim panel on each side of the engine bay near the hood hinge. Each panel has 3 clips that you need to pop out. Moving "up" towards the windshield, there is a rubber piece on each side that has small pop in place features. These pieces are easy to remove. As you notice in the photo above, I added a piece of tape to the windshield as a reference for wiper arm position - this came in handy. Similarly, I didn't fully remove the black plastic piece across the lower windshield, but instead just propped it up with a 2x4. This allows you not to remove the windshield fluid tube or disrupt the gasket area. View attachment 154352 I cut a piece of 1/2" hardware cloth to 5" x 12" . I then used a piece of scotch brite to lightly scuff the area around the mouse entrance point prior to fastening the hardware clot to the body. I used self tapping sheet metal screws and and impact driver to easily attach the hardware cloth. Placement of screws is really about where you can fit your drill / driver.. Don't worry my CRV didn't explode because of these screws. I then sealed around the opening with auto body sealant to secure and bond the screen further. You could surely use a good silicone as well. Here is a detail pic at this stage: View attachment 154353 Putting the car back together is simply a reverse of this process. I will say- take a good look at how the lower windshield black plastic piece attaches to the car. It is obvious when you look at it but make sure all of the tabs engage where they are intended to. I also broke a few of the plastic doo-dads that hold everything together. The doo-dads that hold down the large lower windshield trim require that you Pop them apart before removing them.. I didn't get a pic, sorry- but simply use a small flathead to separate both halves -they are typical automotive fasteners. I was able to find replacements at the auto parts store; however, I plan to start looking and find an appropriate source for a bulk pack. The plastic fasteners are a joke and fail without being abused- I hope this helps you. It took me a total of 2 hours to figure this all out and fix it. If you can change your own oil, you can do this!

Great permanent solution job. I have a CRV 2022 and A Nissan 2017 passanger van. Both have very poorly designed cabin air intakes. I would say all this is planned obsolescence to get money out of your pocket for repairs or encourage you to buy a new vehicle once it smells like mouse urine. All car companies seem to do this. I repaired the Nissan van the same way you have. But I used 1/4" stainless steel wire mesh and epoxy.

No problem since then. The miserable meese are gone. Now I am working on my new barely used CRV. I will do the same thing. Your pictures helped me a lot in locating the opening. I have used 1/4 inch screen on my Nissan being duped by the mythical body distortion qualities of mice.

However, from my experience of trapping squirrels in 1/2" x 1/2" wire cage I very often catch mice in it including baby mice and none of them seem to know how to get out. Before I release the mice I keep them overnight in the same cage and they are still there in the morning. I will still use 1/4" to keep out who knows what but 1/2" is also fine for mice.

 

Recently, I've seen some signs of critters in our parking area and I know of a few folks in the area who've had chewed up wires and or nests built in the cabin filter area. So, I checked my cabin filter the other day. Luckily, nothing to report.

 

If other owners keep snacks and/or leftover food containers in their cabin, the mice won't bother stopping by the possible food venue of your CRV. Nesting on the other hand is a more egalitarian approach to picking a vehicle to nest in.

Of course there is always the odd mouse who sees a vehicle as both a nesting place and a stay at home snacking venue. These mice are of course introverts and prefer to have everything within easy reach so they don't have to go out and then have to socialize with other mice.

All things being equal, they follow their noses to food. If no food to be found, then they sniff around and snack on the first thing that smells like food... such as wire insulation produced from soybeans.

 

Like many, I found a massive mouse nest above the cabin air filter. Removing this debris is difficult to say the least and I earned several cuts working through the small cabin air filter door. I learned quite a bit though and though I'd share with this community TO OVERCOME HONDA'S TERRIBLE DESIGN. Seriously Honda, spend the $1 and put a screen in this opening. First if you have a nest, go ahead and remove the blower motor. It is held in with 3 screws and is easy to remove from below. You will have to contort yourself looking upside down from the passenger footwell. Why remove it? Because there is debris in the fan that will make it sound loud and throw it off balance. Trust me- just do it. Next- I recommend NOT trying to remove the debris from the Cabin Air Filter access door. It has sharp edges and is poorly designed. Instead, consider removing the debris from the engine bay itself. To do so, you will have to remove both the windshield wiper arms as well as the plastic shroud across the lower windshield. Doing this- you will take the same path as the mouse and see just what the problem is. Once you expose the opening, you can remove the mouse nest from the gracious 5 x 12" opening that Honda provided you. Notice you can see the air filter through this opening. View attachment 154354 I removed the plastic trim panel on each side of the engine bay near the hood hinge. Each panel has 3 clips that you need to pop out. Moving "up" towards the windshield, there is a rubber piece on each side that has small pop in place features. These pieces are easy to remove. As you notice in the photo above, I added a piece of tape to the windshield as a reference for wiper arm position - this came in handy. Similarly, I didn't fully remove the black plastic piece across the lower windshield, but instead just propped it up with a 2x4. This allows you not to remove the windshield fluid tube or disrupt the gasket area. View attachment 154352 I cut a piece of 1/2" hardware cloth to 5" x 12" . I then used a piece of scotch brite to lightly scuff the area around the mouse entrance point prior to fastening the hardware clot to the body. I used self tapping sheet metal screws and and impact driver to easily attach the hardware cloth. Placement of screws is really about where you can fit your drill / driver.. Don't worry my CRV didn't explode because of these screws. I then sealed around the opening with auto body sealant to secure and bond the screen further. You could surely use a good silicone as well. Here is a detail pic at this stage: View attachment 154353 Putting the car back together is simply a reverse of this process. I will say- take a good look at how the lower windshield black plastic piece attaches to the car. It is obvious when you look at it but make sure all of the tabs engage where they are intended to. I also broke a few of the plastic doo-dads that hold everything together. The doo-dads that hold down the large lower windshield trim require that you Pop them apart before removing them.. I didn't get a pic, sorry- but simply use a small flathead to separate both halves -they are typical automotive fasteners. I was able to find replacements at the auto parts store; however, I plan to start looking and find an appropriate source for a bulk pack. The plastic fasteners are a joke and fail without being abused- I hope this helps you. It took me a total of 2 hours to figure this all out and fix it. If you can change your own oil, you can do this!

Same issue with my 2021...unbelievable nest above the filter. Read your post...an hour 15 min. later, done. Thank you for the detailed explanation and photos.

 

Looking for some advice. Removed the nest from the cabin air filter (came it from the engine), added a good thich mesh over to prevent more intruders, but it looks like they chewed a hole in the white part (someone @rms59 's picture says its the diverter for defrost....

1. Should i be going in and trying to replace that part and look for any other damage?

2. IF so, how to I remove the top of the dash?

 

The cabin air intake is one of the most poorly designed features of the CRV. Putting in a screen is a MUST with an intake that big! The mechanic that put on mine couldn't believe it. Not only it is an easy target for mice to get in but for Red Squirrels too and speaking from experience the damage they do is nothing compared to mice.

 

Also nice that besides providing the critters a home, they provided food by using soy based wire insulation. I guess they'll revisit this someday if enough people howl about it. Many car manufacturers are using it
I did the intake screen install, very easy, I also bought and installed some of the official Honda rodent tape which Honda sells. They obviously are aware of the wire insulation problem.

 

I also bought and installed some of the official Honda rodent tape which Honda sells. They obviously are aware of the wire insulation problem.

Interesting.

Our UK CR-Vs built in Japan do not have soy-based wiring insulation.