Mouse Nest

[rrs26ja]

Let me start by saying I drive this Rogue everyday, and it is parked in a garage. A week or so ago I had an issue with the heater blower not coming on and making noise. I figured it might me a mouse nest because I had one in my Altima. I removed the air filter and found all kinds of lint, insulation, and little nuts. I vacuumed out the air box and then decided to remove the cabin filter. This too was filled with lint, I vacuumed out the cabin filter area, replaced the filter. I then turned on the fan and some more lint and nuts came flying out. The blower motor was making a lot of noise. I looked at removing the motor myself but it looked like a big job. I took the Rogue to the dealer and they said it would take them 3 hrs to remove all of the panels and motor. They would clean it out and that should be it. Now they call after its all apart and say the blower motor fins are damaged, there is bunch of link and insulation in the duct work and the case is cracked. They now want $1,180 to repair it all.

Anyone else have a mouse issue? I seen one other posting about this and the person said it was covered under warranty, my dealer says no way. They suggest I call 1-800-NISSAN-1 to try and make a claim but they were pretty confident it would not be accepted.

[bill875]

I had some noise a while back and took it to my dealer who basically told me it was MY problem and it would not be covered under warranty and that it would be 3+ Hrs. of labor. Luckily, the noise went away and hasn't come back, but I still fear it's going to happen again. I have see that some people have had success by putting a claim in with their Auto Insurance company and having it covered under Comprehensive.

[kastenholz]

I have a 2009 Nissan Rogue SL AWD that is parked outdoors. The Nissan mechanic showed me some dry grass that he said he had taken out of the squirrel cage and ventilation ducts. For a one-and-one-half hour cleaning job I paid nearly $300. When I asked the Nissan mechanic how the critters get into the air conditioning/heating ducts I got no satisfactory answers other than they can get into the car whereever there are holes in the car. Where are the holes? Has anyone found out how they get into the ducts? The air intake in the cowling just below the windshield seems to be one place. Are there any other places anyone knows of? And how do you keep them out? Will hardware screen mesh work? I don't want to use poison and have dead mice lying inside the ducts.. Does anyone have any solutions? To my way of thinking this a design defect that Nissan engineers ought to correct. I am writing a letter to the Nissan people in Franklin, KY, asking them what solutions they have to prevent rodents from entering the vehicle from air inlets that are part of the car's design. It seems to be a good idea if others with similar problems would do the same.

[phillip123]

Hmmmm, this sounds exactly like the problem that I am experiencing.

Is there any way that I can get to the squirrel cage blower fan by removing the glove box (I was informed that the fan is behind where the radio is positioned on the dash)?

If so, it is easy to remove the glove box?

[zakmartin]

Hmmmm, this sounds exactly like the problem that I am experiencing.

Is there any way that I can get to the squirrel cage blower fan by removing the glove box (I was informed that the fan is behind where the radio is positioned on the dash)?

If so, it is easy to remove the glove box?

Download the factory service manual, have a look at the disassembly procedures and have at it. If you're looking for a shortcut, sometimes a Dremel with a cutting wheel will do the trick. I used one of those to replace the blend air door on a Ford Explorer and it worked great. After epoxying everything back together, it wasn't pretty, but it saved about $800. Just remember, if you do this, it may affect your warranty on other parts of the system.

[phillip123]

Wow, I read the disassembly procedure, and all I can say is:

You are a better man than I am, Gunga-Din.

There is no way in bloody hell that I can follow the million steps to disassemble the dashboard assembly to get to that blower fan.

What to do, what to do?

[phillip123]

To Trixler:

I never did get the noise to disappear. After getting a $400 quote from a Nissan Dealership (two, actually) just for taking apart the dashboard to see what is the cause of the problem, I got cold feet, since if the problem was due to leaves or a dead mouse, then I would be responsible for paying the $400 dashboard open work, plus whatever it would cost to remove the leaves/dead mouse, etc. Even though my Rogue is under warranty, with the car under 2 years old and around 24K miles on it, I was afraid that if I took it to the dealership, they would say that the problem was due to leaves/dead mouse even if it was not due to that but rather was due to a bad blower motor which should have been covered under warranty.

So, I only use the blower motor setting at around 40% or less; otherwise, the noise is pretty bad.

I tried using a vacuum and the other things people said I should do (like blowing upwards using a vacuum through the cabin filter opening) to try to dislodge whatever is causing the noise, to no avail.

[Qashqai]

It may sound silly, but if I were you, I would go and buy a Digital Inspection Videoscope (http://www.auteltech.com/mv101.htm). I found one in my local auto part store for $ 150 (http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product ... Videoscope)
You can insert the probe through the cabin filter opening and "see" what is inside.

It is cheaper than paying $ 300 for the dealer to open the dash. Plus, while they are removing the dash pieces, I am sure they will damage a lot of pieces (I saw a mechanic using a bare screwdriver to remove a trim panel in my Nissan service).

[diesel250]

I have a similar problem. Not sure that we had a mouse but somehow I pulled in some polyfill from a ball our kids were playing with and i had ran over with the mower. i managed to get some of it out through the cabin filter but not completely. i have been putting off pulling out the blower assembly but that vibration drives me crazy. haven't tried the shop vac yet. wondered about an air hose to push it the other way or maybe even one of those brushes for removing dryer vent lint. I was kind of worried I might break something with that though.
if someone does remove one of these i'd love to see pics.

[Mr. Callaway]

"What to do, what to do?"

Got this from a Volvo forum I frequent regularly and I believe the poster to be serious.

Best solution for a mouse in your car?
Snake.
Caution: if you use a rattlesnake make sure to remove it before driving.

[Jengineer]

To clean the nest, first Pop off the side panel on the far passenger side of the dash next to the door, then remove the glove box (about 6 screws) unplug the glove box light so you can get the box out of your way then turn on the AC fan in recirculating mode. Turn off the AC fan. That will open the flap on the side of the blower located near the fire wall. On my 2011 Rogue it is white and the flap has foam on the outside. There will be a non- removable plastic screen, it is toward the top behind the center console. Once open it will allow you to use a small shop vac or even a coat hanger to remove the nest from inside the blower. Next pull off the side panel on the driver side center console that hides your cabin air filter. Remove and clean the filter and use a shop vac to get out all the mess. You can search YouTube for how to do this . To prevent the problem, remove the outside cowling at the bottom of the windshield to allow access to the fresh air opening. Use glue, silicone or other strong adhesive to attach a piece of wire screen over the fresh air opening. Some recommend drilling holes and using screws to secure the screen, but it is difficult to get a drill in the space so I used an adhesive.