Cheiracanthium inclusum is fast becoming the bête noir of the automotive world, first causing a recall of Mazda6s, and now raising concerns about Honda Accords. The LA Times reports:
Honda Motor Co. hasn’t announced a recall but has notified its dealers to be on the lookout for the spider. The company has issued what is known as a technical service bulletin telling Honda mechanics how to fix the problem.
“It was the same scenario and the same breed of spider. It would get in there and create a blockage that would create problems,” said Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman.
Honda doesn’t have a record of how many times it has spotted the problem but said it was big enough to put out the alert. Otherwise, mechanics could be spending many hours searching for the source of the problem, and that would run up the bill for Honda if the cars were still under warranty, or for the owners after the warranty expired.
The weirdest part: Honda spokesfolks say occurrences of spider web fuel line blockages are “pretty random” and not limited to any particular region. The spiders are climbing through non-airtight fuel tank doors and into the gas cap vent hole, where their webs can then clog up the fuel system. Also, the spiders are only attacking late model vehicles, namely 2008-09 Accords and 2009-10 Mazda6s. What nobody knows: why the spiders are suddenly moving into fuel lines, and which cars will be affected next. Are the Hondas and Mazdas the canaries in a horror-movie-scenario coal mine, heralding the crippling of America’s entire auto fleet at the mandibles of an implacable arachnid foe? Probably not, but a blogger can dream…
Jeez, gasoline swilling spiders. What’s next? Mud-daubers?
Oh no. My Accord is sending me gas cap messages. Rats in both Mercedes, (expensive), and now spiders in the Accord.
First stuxnet. Now Japanese cars get spidered. It’s a giant conspiracy.
It’s like a bad 1970’s eco-horror movie plotline http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068615/ I really don’t want to mess with a spider that builds webs in gas tanks. Or even whatever it may be catching in there.
Hmmmmm….. I read recently that GM CEO Dan Akerson received a degree in bioengeneering after he left MCI.
If the UAW/CAW and Democrats vs Toyota conspiracy wasn’t hard enough,for us blue collar types. Try training spiders to recognize the difference between a Honda and a Chevy. The Mazda’s are a little easier, ya just train them to look for rust.
When a root cause is determined, it will be found that the spiders are attracted to the 10% ethanol that’s in most of our gas. Other cars will also be involved, and even some domestics. Particular vent design and location will be one of the determining factors of how severely it affects a given car.
Remember, you read it here first!
That spider pictured is a dead-ringer for my brother’s ex-female (girlfriend implies it was human).
I used to know a guy who worked at a big brewery. His job was Pest Control, but the other workers called him the Rat Skimmer. Don’t car factories assign a worker to wander around with a big can of bug killer, zapping trouble spots? I’m not sure whether Mikey will know about this — Canada is probably too chilly for spiders.
I live not too far from Mikey, and I can tell you that a) we do get vermin of all sorts, and the winter will drive field mice and rats indoors—I worked for a company that sold pest-control products b) southern Ontario is well within the northmost range of the Black Widow, and c) I once lost first, third and fifth gears on my Honda Fit because a squirrel left denuded pine cones in the shift linkage.
No…insects arn’t a real problem in our climate,though they do tend to come inside where its warm.. Mice,Rats and Racoons were always in the plants. More than once Ive seen issues,where one shift is feeding,nurturing the Racoons , mice, ferral cats, and pigions. Meanwhile the other shift is squawking to health and safety about vermin in the plant.
The TSB even has a neat little warning about poisonous spider bites..
Now that I think about it. The first year I had my present house,I turned the pilot flame off in my gas fireplace in the spring. Frugal dude that I am,I thought I was saving money. I had to get the repair dude out at $40 a call. Whats he tell me ? ..”Sir you have a spiders nest in your whats it” [seems the spiders like the smell] “give me $25 in cash and I can fix it”
So much for being frugal…..thats the last time the pilot light got put out.
When the GM Oklahoma City Plant was in the final phases of construction, a buddy of mine and I were headed up the ramp into the east entrance of the plant in a golf cart when a huge tarantula crawled in front of us and stopped. I jammed on the brakes and it just stood there daring us to run it over. Finally, it headed off in the direction of the building where the seats and tires were stored. Hopefully it was dealt with before it reproduced. I wouldn’t want to find something like that living under the drivers seat.
GM has noted in its repair manuals that some MIL illumination for slow evap leaks may be caused by spiders entering the vents on the fuel system. When the computer commands the system to test the integrity of the fuel system, it can fail because the spiders prevent the vents from closing tightly, resulting in a trouble code. So Mikey, it seems spiders have warmed up to GM products.
two things re: 8 leggers:
Check the instructions that came with your gas grill and you’ll likely find some caution that, every spring, you should clean out the spider nests. Mine sez it’s the first thing to check if the grill won’t light.
My missus, who drives a Lex ES 350, reported that a platoon of tiny yellow spiders came marching out of her dashboard vents. She wiped them out with a tissue. I didn’t give this report much credit, mostly because it was reported with no trace of drama. But mebbe I’d best check this matter . . .
Spiders in the fuel lines are a bit far-fetched. They should have started with dung beetles designing Acura grilles, and worked up from there.