@Tangible recently described how his parked Clarity ran of juice for the heater while his wife waited stoically in a parking lot. A reader asked if she was OK without the heater and @Tangible replied, "She is a mammal, and able to maintain her internal temperature under a variety of circumstances. For this reason, I do not recommend marrying reptiles." That sparked a thought for me. Well, two thoughts. Over the winter I have had this gradually encroaching odor in my Clarity which today I wrongly attributed to my wife's recent use of Tea Tree Oil Shampoo. Thinking I should quickly change that conversation, I told her about @Tangible's mammalian observation--then it struck me. Could I have been harboring a creature seeking internal temperature maintenance? I checked the cabin filter and the picture shows what I found. The smell is gone now, so I think the cause was a mouse nest--unless one of you Clarity mavens are going to tell me this is space-age insulation material specially designed by Honda to make us more comfortable in winter climes.
There's a thread for that: What's in Your Cabin (Filter)? It appears your mammalian habitat takes the prize so far in that forum.
The source of materials remains a mystery. Setting the air to “recirculate” prior to exiting the vehicle has reportedly been an effective measure in reducing such intrusions.
Thanks for the tip. Can't hurt to try. Now that nice weather has returned I noticed that there is some residual odor after turning on the fan and opening the dashboard vents...perhaps my move to a BEV is closer than I first planned.
