Spiders behind the dashboard in my new Toyota Innova Crysta

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

BHPian swarnava.ch recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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

It's only been some 18 days from the time of 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?

• I can park the car in sun for a day or two so that the cabin heats up a lot but does it help?
• I can keep cleaning the interiors for a few days? Any sprays to use?
• Take it to 3M or some other interior cleaners to get it professionally cleaned but does it help?
• 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.

Here's what BHPian Dr.AD had to say on the matter:

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 the root cause of this problem is or if this method will solve it, but nevertheless, I think it is worth giving this a shot.

Here's what BHPian libranof1987 had to say on the matter:

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.

Here's what BHPian JoshMachine had to say on the matter:

A person living in our society faced this issue about a month ago.

He keeps his car under a semi-open car park, which gets humid and warm sometimes (perfect environment for the crawlers to multiply their tribe).

Here's what I got to know from him:

• Stop using the car immediately, for the next few days.
• Whenever possible, keep the bonnet open, car windows rolled down and doors open for max air flow, naturally.
• Keep a combination of natural oil car perfumes (peppermint, eucalyptus etc.) in the air vents (smell good to you but repelling for the creepies inside)
• Thorough vacuum pressure cleaning
• 3M fumigation treatment at the nearest centre. Some even do it at your premises (our society guy got it done)

Repeat the above process 2-3 times, or as needed. This should suffice.

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