[swarnava.ch]

Dear TBhp Members and Experts, Please help urgently.

I had my new car - Innova Crysta ZX AT delivered on 20th July and until yesterday was only driving occasionally in the evenings for short city rides, mostly in the evenings and around 9 o'clock.

However when I pulled the car out yesterday morning in the daylight, I observed a hell lot of small spiders coming from the front windshield and dashboard areas inside the car and then I observed a lot of cobwebs inside as well. I cleaned it all, killed or dusted out at least 20 small spiders and then went on the day trip. Today morning again when I open my car in the basement, again I see cobwebs and small spiders.

My basement is covered like most others and I had parked at least 4 other cars in the same spot earlier - Maruti, Tata Hexa, Hyundai Nios, Mahindra E2O etc but never ever faced such an issue.

Its only been some 18 days from the delivery. I am guessing that the car was standing at the dealer stockyard before delivery for around 10 days due to the time it took for the paperwork. Is it possible that due to standing in the stockyard in the open with heavy rains in Bangalore, some spiders made their home inside?

The spiders came out of the AC vents and from the crevices where the Front dash meets the windscreen. What do I do ? What are my options ?

1. I can park the car in sun for a day or two so that the cabin heats up a lot but does it help?

2. I can keep cleaning the interiors for a few days? Any sprays to use?

3. Take it to 3M or some other interior cleaners to get it professionally cleaned but does it help ?

4. Send it to Toyota for First service and complain and get them to open the dash and clean - This, I am worried, will result in rattles later.

@mods, I am not sure where to post it so please help merge this to the right forum.

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line!

Another thread on spiders is here (Spiders - Any Arachnophobes in here?).

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

The spiders came out of the AC vents and from the crevices where the Front dash meets the windscreen. What do I do ? What are my options ?

Since you mentioned they come out of the AC vents, this could be a problem similar to fungus/foul smell in the AC etc (some unwanted elements in the AC pipes). You can try the typical solution suggested for such situations: Run the AC system with high heat (highest temperature setting) for a few minutes, with windows open.

Park your car in an open area. Start the engine. Open all windows. And run the high heat for about 10 minutes. It might kill the spiders if they have made homes in the AC system.

Again, this is just a suggestion to try since this is easy to try without any cost. I am not sure what is the root cause of this problem or if this method will solve it, but nevertheless, I think it is worth giving this a shot.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

. 2. I can keep cleaning the interiors for a few days? Any sprays to use?

Get the red Hit from the market, the one that comes with an extended pipe. Spray it in all AC vents, particularly in the area behind the windshield. Don't spray in open sections or on leather, use the extended pipe to spray only inside the vents, do it generously, keep spraying till the satisfaction of your heart, lock the car and leave it for the night. Running only the heater won't solve the issue. And there is a decent possibility of a few hundred eggs still lying in the car, whose care you will need to take 10 days down the line again.

Next morning first run the heater at full blast for 10 minutes, and then use a vacuum cleaner to clean the lower section just behind the vents.

Then head out with windows rolled down in night and drive back 15-20 kms at decent speeds. The smell of the hit will slightly remain, but will go within a day or two.

This is the instant desi method that we villagers use, and this works - always. Thank me later

Tip: First spray under the seats and in footwell area, spray behind the dash or in front footwell in the end as a lot of spiders may suddenly start coming out of cavities and vents once you spray there.

The entire process lasts 2 days, so choose the time in such manner when you can leave the car unused for at least 36 hours.

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Get the red Hit from the market, the one that comes with an extended pipe. Spray it in all AC vents, particularly in the area behind the windshield.

Red Hit is highly toxic. Not sure if it can be used inside a car. Even if the odour subsides and goes away, till then it can cause trouble to the occupants of the car. I'll not hazard using such toxic sprays especially on AC vents. Inhaling even the residual bit later can create bigger issues than the spider in car.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

Red Hit is highly toxic. Not sure if it can be used inside a car. Even if the odour subsides and goes away, till then it can cause trouble to the occupants of the car. I'll not hazard using such toxic sprays especially on AC vents. Inhaling even the residual bit later can create bigger issues than the spider in car.

Agree 100% with this. I will also not suggest using Red Hit in the car (especially in the AC pipes which will circulate the same air in the car) because of the toxic hazard. I would rather take the car to service center or 3M first and ask them to professionally clean the AC system before trying something like Red Hit myself.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

Red Hit is highly toxic. Not sure if it can be used inside a car. Even if the odour subsides and goes away, till then it can cause trouble to the occupants of the car. I'll not hazard using such toxic sprays especially on AC vents. Inhaling even the residual bit later can create bigger issues than the spider in car.

OP is not asking spiders to go out peacefully, plan is to kill them.

Their active ingredients won't harm humans if used the way Vkumar says, it's alright.

@OP - You have to take this to the dealership, open up the dashboard for a thorough clean by the way, it is a new car.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

The spiders came out of the AC vents and from the crevices where the Front dash meets the windscreen.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Park your car in an open area. Start the engine. Open all windows. And run the high heat for about 10 minutes. It might kill the spiders if they have made homes in the AC system

Originally Posted by VKumar

First spray under the seats and in footwell area, spray behind the dash or in front footwell in the end as a lot of spiders may suddenly start coming out of cavities and vents once you spray there.

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

Red Hit is highly toxic. Not sure if it can be used inside a car

The fact that you're seeing spiders in the AC vents is maybe because they'd have come in via the fresh air intake and made their way past the AC filter. Another possibility is via the carpet and floor directed vents.

Here is a formula which is (Dr.AD + VKumar + Bibendum90949)/3 :

1. Take the car into the open
2. First Remove the cabin air filter and see if the filter or the blower vanes show spiders
3. Remove all mats and leave all doors open
4. Also inspect/clean the underside of the carpet by removing the scuffplates
4. Spray IPA generously around the footwell area and inside the AC vents
5. Allow a few minutes for the IPA to vaporize
6. Start the engine, the blower and run on heating mode for as long as you want
7. Inspect and clean the carpet especially the portion in the footwells
8. Disinfect and reinstall the mats
9. Clean/disinfect and reinstall the cabin air filter

I won't recommend Hit inside the car unless you're equipped with a suitable breathing canister. I use red Hit in the engine bay though to ward off rats

Adding pics of Hit for reference. Although Imiprothrin and Cypermethrin are declared only low to moderately toxic to humans, I'm still skeptical of recommending its use.

[benbsb29]

Please DO NOT spray dangerous chemicals like HIT into your car and expect to come out of it wiser. Please seek alternate options, IMHO.

[libranof1987]

A good detailing shop should be able to deep clean the a/c vents. If you faced this problem since delivery, try to get the dealer to thoroughly sanitise the car.

Spraying harmful chemicals such as HIT is a horrible idea; not only will you damage components, you will mostly likely suffer from the after effects of spraying that in such a closed environment. Those chemicals won't just vanish if you keep the door/windows open or run the a/c for a while.

[Raghu M]

I don't think you need to be very worried. Most of us have been through these problems. Simple solutions like keeping the car in the open (sun), dusting the mats and cleaning the air filter should mostly solve the problem. I think there is a mother spider sitting somewhere which could be leading to this problem. At least start your car every alternate day. If the car is in dust/moist environment, insects tend to get attracted. Using a good solution (NOT HIT) near the AC vents at a detailing shop should mostly resolve the problem.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Get the red Hit from the market, the one that comes with an extended pipe. Spray it in all AC vents, particularly in the area behind the windshield.

This Red Hit will leave behind an ugly & oily residue inside the AC vents, which will be hard to clean later.

I feel, parking the car is the hot sun, and using a high power blower should do the job here.

[akshay4587]

Park it in the sun, and after a bit, use a Blower/Vacuum, to pull or blow the morons out.
This ideally, should fix your problem, you may have to repeat the process though.

Edit: You can also try to park, and turn on heater at full blast, and see if the spiders crawl out.

[Sanidhya mukund]

I would strongly recommend you to NOT use any chemicals to kill the spiders. Being a new car, the 'new car smell' would be diluted. Also, such toxic chemical being directly sprayed into the AC vents are bound to have long term health effects if any residue manages to remain in the HVAC unit. More importantly, killing the spiders will only solve part of the problem. The bigger cause of concern will be the cobwebs that remain inside the channels and pipes of your HVAC. In 2013, Toyota had to recall a large number of cars because spider webs in the HVAC pipes could cause airbag or power steering failure:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...e-control.html

Toyota has recalled 885,000 cars for the unlikely reason that spider webs could cause airbags to accidentally inflate and cause drivers to lose control at the wheel.

The auto manufacturer has recalled Camrys - the best-selling car in the U.S. - as well as Venzas and Avalons that were built from 2012 onwards.

The reason the company gave was that the arachnid's sticky webs could cause a blockage, which could in turn activate the driver-side airbags as well as cut the cars' power steering - potentially resulting in a nasty accident.

The problem lies with the air conditioning condenser unit housing - an area of the car that can get warm and is dark and damp - ideal spider habitat.

Toyota explained the spider webs can cause a blockage in a drainage tube that comes from the cars' air conditioning condenser.

Some owners faced issues even after the recall:

https://www.dontwasteyourmoney.com/s...toyota-owners/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkcgxpQ46Y

In my opinion, the best idea would be to go to the Toyota service centre and ask them to open up the dashboard and clean up the entire air conditioning hardware, including pipes, compressors, vents etc. This is the only solution that will give you a solid, long-term solution. The only thing that needs to be seen is that they fit everything back as well as they can.

[Cyborg]

Take the car to a 3M or any other professional cleaning outfit, tell them your issue and listen to the solution they offer. If it makes sense, ask them for a guarantee that the problem won’t reoccur, no spiders left over and get it done. Brand new car makes sense to spend some money with the professionals rather than any other option.

Don’t have the Toyota people open up anything (to clean), they will not be able to replicate the factory fit and even if this problem is solved it may lead to rattles unnecessarily in a new car. This should be the last option if at all.

Hope this pain gets resolved soonest so you can get back to enjoying the joy of your new vehicle.

Cheers