There is still a place where rats can get to and destroy vital components – the air filter. I experienced this with my Ford Figo and was unwilling to take any chances.
BHPian mboricha recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Hello TeamBHP Members,
Whenever I go to my village, we have a rat problem, and our car, Ford Figo, has suffered a lot because rats always find a way inside the car, and I never properly researched the openings the car usually has.
So, for the new Jimny, I researched and found that there are two openings for the cabin:
1. Front AC Cowl
From where the fresh air enters the cabin for Air Conditioning.
This is a huge intake, and I don’t know whether there is a metal mesh inside or not, so I decided to cover it with a metal mesh.
I got the workshop manual for the 3-door Jimny and followed the process. I am attaching those pics here as well.
Here is the process in brief:
- Remove the wipers: Remove the rubber cover, remove the nut, and give the wipers a little shake to remove them.
- Remove the Cross Member Panel: 5 clips are visible when you open the hood. Pop them up using flathead screwdrivers. Remove the wiper washer pipe and unclip them as well. Pop the panel from both sides, it is held by 2 plastic clips.
- Remove the Plastic Cover Inside: There are 7 clips again, and pop them open. You can lift this one as well now.
- The air intake is on the right side. Take the metal mesh, measure it, almost double it, and cut accordingly.
- Now you have two options, you can either screw it in place or stick it in place. I don’t like the idea of putting Chinese screws in my new Jimny, so I went the 3M way. I pasted the mesh using double-sided tape and had extra damping sheets left over, so I used them as well. The mesh will not go anywhere soon.
- I also damped the panel before reassembly.
2. Rear Vents hidden by rear bumper
To let the air pressure out whenever we close the doors.
Note: To remove the bumper completely, you will need to disconnect the socket in the bumper. I tried to remove it, but I was not able to, so I did it without removing the socket. After removing it, I put the bumper on the stools.
- Remove the Clips: There is 1 clip each inside the rear wheel well and 2 clips in the rear door gap.
- Unscrew the bolts: There are 4 bolts visible in the rear door gap. There are 2 bolts under the bumper.
- The bumper will be loose, so pull it gently to remove it.
- You will see two big flaps for pressure release. Give it a gentle twist upward, and they will be removed.
- Size the rat mesh according to those removed parts and cut it properly as I did in this image so that they can clip in once you put it back.
I was still not satisfied with the installation, so I took those damping sheets and pasted them to make the mesh more secure. You can use a 3M tape as well.
Now, there is still 1 place where rats can get to and destroy vital components: the air filter. I experienced this with my Figo and was unwilling to take any chance.
- Open the Hood.
- On the driver’s side, to the front of the car, you will find the air intake hole for the engine. Unscrew those bolts.
- Size the metal mesh appropriately and secure it in place. I used 3M tape and a zip tie. I will suggest against using any screws or adhesives.
Since the rats cannot get inside the cabin (at least, I think so), it does not mean they cannot chew through cable in the engine bay. In my figo, they chewed the timing belt and spark plug wires 2 times.
Now I have heard about CarCat a lot while looking for rat protections and I tried to give it a try. It basically produces ultrasonic sounds and LED flashes in a random pattern that scares off the rats. It was costly, but even if it managed to reduce the rat infestation by 50%, it was worth it. I will learn how good it is in the next few years.
IMP: Do not use double-sided tape to mount CarCat.
If you have any questions, I will be glad to help. If you have any input, I will be grateful.
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