Of Mice and Countrymen
 

There is a now-documented design issue on the Countryman that allows rodents into the car from the outside. Once inside, the critters can adopt the interior of your Countryman as their own personal Porta-Potty. This is a real issue now that the weather is turning colder.

If you open the hatch on the front cowl under the hood on the passengers side, you will find the battery box:

http://www.greasysgarage.com/main/wp...usehighway.jpg

In the above picture, the battery has already bee removed to expose the HVAC air intake (black oval on firewall). You'll note that there is no grille over the opening. Mice can march right through there and squeeze their way into the interior where they'll have unlimited access to all the nooks and crannies that make ideal rodent nesting and "rest stop" areas. Once they have moved into your CM, the odor can take big bucks to be eliminate; basically some or all of the interior will need to be replaced. AMHIK!

My independent MINI garage has seen this in the Countryman too many times over the last two years. Finally, they retrofitted the solution:

http://www.greasysgarage.com/main/wp...s/finished.jpg


They also had to completely disassemble, clean, disinfect, and deodorize all of the interior. The major problem area was the inside rear edge of the way-back and the interior crevices surrounding it. It took a boroscope and a stripped interior to find it:

http://www.greasysgarage.com/main/wp.../boroscope.jpg

Do yourself a favor: contact THESE folks for their kits or make your own...especially if you park your Countryman outside! BTW -- I believe some of the other new MINIs have a similar issue with the HVAC intake grille -- check yours to be sure!

gooD

GREAT INFO!!!!, thanks for telling us about it:thumbsup:

So the HVAC fresh air intake pulls ambient air from the battery box? :confused:

Something about that doesn't seem quite right...

If you are going to do this fix, use a heavy wire mesh or something. That looks like nylon screen. They will chew through that immediately and have fun doing it. You need the stuff that they sell in the gardening supply area to keep the mice from getting through it!

Excellent point Joanie, although that screen material is aluminum, as mentioned in the article at the link provided by Koopah. However, that screen restricts airflow, maybe 25% or so. I may very well do this mod myself, and I would use 1/4" galvanized wire mesh (Lowes or Home Depot). That material is rigid enough that it can be cut and formed into a shape which could be press-fit into the oval grommet surrounding the air-intake opening. Doing it that way would save drilling and screwing, and provide for easier removal should that be necessary.

We've had mice easily chew through aluminum screen too. And it would be more prone to slowing down the air flow, as you point out. 1/4" wire mesh would be the best solution, and as you say, could be press fit into the opening.

Wow.. I am a new '12 All4 owner and found this thread very intresting. I guess I need to get this done this or next weekend.

Strange...but true!

Well, as you have surmised, I live in the "Rodent Belt" and have had enough stuff chewed to know that mice can chew through metal screens. I ve also had mice chew through 16-gauge wire mesh! If there is a "honey pot" on the other side of a blocking surface, rodents WILL find a way. I've had them work their way through wallboard and 3/4" pine. Even using 1/4" wire mesh will not stop a rodent if there is something they want on the other side.

So, the key here is to not have anything on the other side of any mesh to make mice want to hack through it. Leaving food, empty coffee cups (with the remnants of creamer or sugar), food wrappers, errant french fries and other bits of odorous delectables in the car will only make rodents more determined...and I doubt that even 1/4" galvanized wire mesh will stop them!

However, if there is no reason (food) to cause them to buzz-through a blockade, then mice will rarely spend the effort breaking through it. Case in point: we had a "rustic" cottage in the New Hampshire woods where mice chewed-through the gasket around the refrigerator door to get at the contents. However, they left the flimsy plastic storage bags used to store our linen untouched. Go figure!

The airflow restriction issue is not really germane since there is a powerful blower that sucks the air into the car...unlike the issue of free-flow air into a radiator/intercooler.

In the end, I think ANY blocking of that intake is worth the effort providing you keep enticing morsels out of your Countryman.

My Mercedes slk55 also brings in fresh air through the battery box...must be a German thing:)

Yeah -- and I wonder why my R53 battery (in the spare tire wheel well) has a vent tube to the outside but the R60 sucks-in air over the top of the battery! :confused:

your countryman has a sealed battery, no vent tube

scott

Yes, but...

"Any sealed battery will vent if overcharged to the point of excessive gassing, because the valves are designed to purge excessive pressure building up inside the battery case."

"While many batteries today are "sealed" lead-acid, it's difficult to completely seal a battery."

"Battery fumes are explosive and toxic..."

Sources:

http://www.eham.net/articles/2228

http://books.google.com/books?id=kvA...0fumes&f=false

One other thing: while the MINI CM OEM battery might be considered sufficiently safe, what are the odds that 100% of CM owners specifically buy an OEM battery again if they need a replacement? What risks are incurred by using aftermarket batteries, of all shades of design and quality?

Sorry, but sucking in cabin air past the battery just doesn't seem like a bright idea...

The chemical output of the battery is part of the euphoric experience of driving or riding in a CM:)

I just can't let my wife see this she will freak out.

But it DOES explain my curious behavior recently.... :wink:

Odd that I just found this thread today... I just ran to the store in my Z4 Coupe and I looked at the floorboard and thought I saw some lint... Upon closer observation, I now think it's mice poo!!! I didn't do a taste test, but now I'm worried that they somehow found a way in! I always keep the car garaged! I have left the window cracked, but not anytime recently and never enough that I would ever envision a rat or mouse getting in...

I imagine they can find a way into any car, so I'll get to cleaning and check around... When I take delivery of my CMs I'm gonna try to seal off that hole with some metal mesh to avoid any more Feivel's getting in!

Is it fairly easy to get to and patch up?

Bueno,

It does require removal of the battery to give you the best room to work. I suppose it wouldn't be impossible to do with the battery in, but you'd need small hands and wouldn't be able to secure the screen in the way mine was done.

HTH,

Our backyard abuts acres and acres of orchards.. Giving us awesome views and smells year round. Families of deer enjoy the spoiled apples on the ground.
With all that beauty.... Comes the nuisance of field mice. We've had our share and as mentioned...... Give them a will and they WILL find a way. So on the occasional times them finding there way in to our basement.....they never travel alone..:no: We have also learned from the professionals that these cute little guys have No backbone and can find there way through cracks as small as a nickel.....:eek:

Some strategically placed cotton balls dosed with peppermint oil will keep mice out of anything.
Personally, taking ANYTHING to eat or drink into our MINI is strictly verboten.
For the garaged MINI a simple self arming mouse/rat trap works great, see directions to build one at:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/easterly110.html

it appears this is not unique to the countryman

here is a photo posted today in the R56 "how-to" section, it is 1 of a series of photos on DIY battery replacement

note the air inlet for the HVAC

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...0/PC041727.jpg

scott

In my 2011 R56, the battery is covered by a lid that snaps closed. It is isolated from the outside (maybe why it has to vent?) is the CM's battery similarly covered?

yes, there is a cover, but the hole behind the battery is open, just as in the photo in my post above

scott

My Countryman was invaded by the local rats within a week of our buying it. Our cars are parked outside, and I figured out something was wrong when I noticed the sidemarker blinkers weren't working. The rats had eaten the wires off on both sides and started to eat through the cabin air filter. The strange thing is they had never touched the two clubmans that we had before or the Hyundai that my wife drives now. I guess Austrian cars are just way more enticing than British or Korean ones.