I found out that at one time there has been mice living in the boot of my '97 VDP. I had previously cleaned under the spare but as it's warmed up I occasionally get a whiff of urine. Today I pulled all the lining out of the sides and found a bunch more mouse droppings. I'm amazed I didn't have any electrical issues. I've had mice eat wiring on an AC unit before.

My question is about the vents on the sides of the boot. Do they connect to the interior HVAC ductwork? It looks like there's a little flap that closes the vent. On the left side it looks like the mice chewed a hole in it. I'm just worried there may be other areas that need cleaning that I haven't discovered yet.

 

The vents in the boot are to let air escape when the lid is closed. This allows air pressure to escape so you don't have to slam the lid. Audi came up with this in the '90's and was used in most cars since.

 

Ah, that makes sense. Also a convenient way for mice to get in apparently.

 

I always believed these boot vents with one way flaps were indeed part of the air distribution system.
Attachment I believe clarifies this -

John Herbert
1996 XJR

 

The SI, SII and SIII XJs all had the one way exit vents which were under the rear parcel shelf and vented into the boot. They often clanged when you shut the car doors and were refered to as 'the cow bells'. The X300 vent doors don't make a sound.

Cheers,
Jeff.

 

Thanks for that info. Am I correct in thinking that there are no cabin air filters. It says in that document that "air enters thru four plenum apertures (and particulate filters where fitted)"
I think I"'ll concentrate on cleaning there next and finding the shelf vents as well. I might consider duct taping the one that the mice chewed to prevent fumes from entering there. It's under the cd changer on the left side and there was a lot of mouse activity in that area. They pulled up the insulation around between the liner and wheel well and made bedding out of it. Thanks for the info

 

I think German market X300s got a pollen filter.
XJ 1995 - 1997 (From 720125 to 812255) (X300) CLASSIC Air Conditioning/Heating/Ventilation Air Conditioning And Heater Assemblies Pollen Filter