here's one for ya.... RAT!!!
 

Ok, so i'm installing my new field harness and wiring in my new apexi turbo timer. Love it by the way. anyway, i've got the glovebox out doing the wiring, and i look up and notice there is crap in my A/C filter. the air intake valve thingy is open, and there is stuff jammed under it. OK, what did i suck up into my A/C. so i start poking around and pulling out. first i find what is left of a taco bell bag. wierd. the rest of the stuff seems to be some sort of insulation? where did that come from? and THEN, i notice a bunch of nuts.. no, Acorns. WTF?? it is packed full of insulation and acorns. where did this come from? then i go around to look in the engine bay to look for where the A/C intake is, and how this stuff could have got sucked up. wait a minute. all my insulation on the firewall is torn up. HEY, its the same matierial!! insulation torn out of the engine bay, moved to the A/C intake along with acorns!?!? OMG SOMETHING IS LIVING IN MY CAR! oh, did i mention this is a 2005 Evo MR that i bought 10 days ago???

anyway, i pulled the A/C fan out from the bottom, pulled the filter, and let all the crap fall out and cleaned it up. there are scratch and bite marks all over inside the A/C housing, but i cant find anymore damage besides the insulation on the firewall. and i broke the cabin recirc valve door cleaning the crap out. oops.

GRRRR. anyway, i do have one question in regards to the engine bay/firewall insulation stuff. is it ok to leave it how it is? is that stuff flammable at all? should i get new insulation like ASAP?

http://www.specwar119.com/evo/rat/rat3.jpg
http://www.specwar119.com/evo/rat/rat1.jpg
http://www.specwar119.com/evo/rat/rat2.jpg

Wow that is quite a surprise in a brand new car.

Hence the name "Fire Wall" dont worrie about your insulation unless you want to do it for yourself. But it wont affect you in any way unless its significantly large. You should be fine.

dude, lemon law.

I wouldn't buy that car after rat's been living in it for god knows how long.

Tell them to take it back.

you don't know what the rat chewed off. Also, if they try to back out, call this number and open up a case.

1-888-MITSU2005

that is just crazy! and its only 10 days old.

I'm going to call the service manager tomorrow and at least get what i can covered under warranty. this had to have happened before i owned it.

I would make them take it back, but crap, this was the last gray MR in northern california. i called 10 dealerships to find one. i wanna keep it! ahhhhh

My vote is the Squirrel died getting sucked up into your A/C as you drove it off the lot :)

You better hope its not a Japanese rat, I hear there pretty smart...especially in math

yeah, have them take it back, they'll locate a gray one for you and you can have that one instead, i wouldn't get the stuff replaced, i'd get a new car.

The 3rd day I had my car a rat decided to move into the engine bay. It didn't last long. I went to start up, expecting the nice, quite purr of a new car and what do I hear?
Crank... whir-whump... whir... shut down

Oh crap what is that?!

So I pop the hood and find bits of rat all over, with the torso in my AC compressor belt. I never found the head

but yeah, talk to the dealer about it- esp if they have oak trees nearby :D

I found a similar nest this weekend under the intake manifold of my wife's 3000GT. Guess I had better go check the Evo in case some of his cousins have moved in.

This post is A+ comedy.

and i thought they were bad in ny...

hope you get it all worked out, but that has got to be the craziest damn thing i've ever seen.

well some good news, the general manager of the dealership has promised to replace everything that was damaged. taking the car over for them to look at and order all parts necessary. i'll go over it again to see if i can find something important that may have been damaged.

i also found pieces of a taco bell bag in there, complete with reciept! from Oct 7 2004. Anyone know where taco bell store #18582 is?? (or could be 48582 or 8582, its blurry) we'll track this sucker down!

this some crazy stuff weirdest story I ever heard involving a new car