STRANGE interior issue (ceiling)

[beausgrrl]

Hi all!
I have a bizarre problem. I've owned my yaris, hb car since brand new, 2007... I live in NH.. and just the past 2 months the ceiling sounds like shattered glass (plastic) falling when I drive around a corner or punch it.... had it inspected and the guy said it sounded like the plastic ceiling broke into a million pieces. Isn't that weird? I didn't have any accident or trauma to it... wondering if anyone has even ever heard of such a thing???

Tx!
:)

[CTScott]

If the roof liner disintegrated I would think that the fabric that is bonded to it would sag significantly. My bet is that you have some critters living in your car that have a nice nest above the headliner and the noise is nutshells rolling around.

[beausgrrl]

hmmm, interesting, that's a thought ... thanks for the quick reply. :) We do have mice too and they had eaten a few things in my car but I didn't think they would eat any sort of nut. Ugh, don't want that to be it! :) I've been "taking care" of them (don't ask) but I'm sure we have more to go.

[CTScott]

With the hatch open you can pull down the back end of the headliner to take a peek above it.

[beausgrrl]

Thanks, I will ck that out today! UGH. :)

[ilikerice]

Originally Posted by beausgrrl

hmmm, interesting, that's a thought ... thanks for the quick reply. :) We do have mice too and they had eaten a few things in my car but I didn't think they would eat any sort of nut. Ugh, don't want that to be it! :) I've been "taking care" of them (don't ask) but I'm sure we have more to go.

HAHA.. I pictured someone sitting in the back hatch with the back seats down with a pistol waiting for a rat to get the cheese sitting on the dashboard..

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

find your enemy's weakness and use it

no rodent can resist peanut butter.

peanut butter + trap = critters check in but don't check out

now if it were humans, you know to use bacon, doncha ?

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by beausgrrl

hmmm, interesting, that's a thought ... thanks for the quick reply. :) We do have mice too and they had eaten a few things in my car but I didn't think they would eat any sort of nut. Ugh, don't want that to be it! :) I've been "taking care" of them (don't ask) but I'm sure we have more to go.

If it isn't nuts then it's probably feces...

[beausgrrl]

Well, here is an update.... If it wasn't my car it would be friggin hysterical... We've had mouse issues since my dad died years ago... so I kept putting off dealing with them (ok they are da*n cute).. finally found a trap that .... ummm.. electrocutes them and you just dump them in the trash after (bait = peanutbutter! - right on DINGO)... anyway.. got a few the first few nights I set it up... then nothing..

I had bought a few bags of corn cobs for our squirrels and birds outside and kept them in my car (DUH!) to try to add weight to it for the icy driveway... so for some reason I was in the trunk and noticed the remnants of a mouse party and found the plastic bag shredded and feces.. I was like Sh*t! so I moved it and secured it.. then a few days later I caught a mouse in the trap...

Finally, after posting here and getting CTScott's reply I cked the ceiling from the driver's visor area.. and I came out with CORN. UGH.. So are these guys cruising around with me or just hoarding??? :-0 Now I have to figure out how to vac it out... w/o destroying the ceiling (we're talking no experience with this sorta stuff)..

[CTScott]

It is definitely more amusing when it is someone else's car. You may very well have a stowaway cruising around with you. You should be able to vacuum it out from the hatch end of the headliner.

Corn can be interesting - A friend of mine had mice fill the air box with corn and then chew through the air filter of his turbo RX8, so when he started it up the corn got sucked into the impeller of the turbo, making an incredible racket.

[beausgrrl]

That sucks about his car!

When I tried to peek under the ceiling from the hatch section I found it was "glued" and tacked so not sure how to do that area... I think the critters also stashed some missing dog food that I had in small baggies in the car for my lab when we hiked.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by beausgrrl

That sucks about his car!

When I tried to peek under the ceiling from the hatch section I found it was "glued" and tacked so not sure how to do that area... I think the critters also stashed some missing dog food that I had in small baggies in the car for my lab when we hiked.

Actually there are just clips back there. Work your fingers between the headliner and the weather seal, and the clips will pop out:

Headliner.jpg

It sounds like you are going to need to pull it all the way down to fully clean, so you will want to look at the "interior" section of the service manual for the details on doing so. You have to remove the pillar covers to get it down:

http://www.etimago.com/yaris/repairmanual/