Your questions answered: does bird poo wreck my car's paint?

Bird poop ponderings, earphone inquiries and Toyota Prado platforms this week in Your Questions Answered.

Got an automotive question but you don’t know where to find the information you need? Never fear, email us here at editor@carsales.com.au.

Answer: Hi Lindsay, congrats on the incoming Prado! Like you, not everyone needs a seven-seat SUV for daily duties, and the extra room out back always comes in handy. Not only that, carrying around an extra 40-50kg in redundant gear over your ownership has a negative effect on fuel economy.

Of course, it’s possible to order a lower-spec Prado in two-row guise, but then you miss out on a lot of the gear that makes it a genuinely family-ready rig.

A quick search reveals a local mob called D.O.T.I Automotive has come up with what it’s calling the first-ever conversion kit for the boot space of the 250 Series Prado, which replaces the third row with a marine timber-and-ply platform that adds a claimed 190 litres of cargo volume and deletes 20-odd kilograms of weight.

Not only that, but the company claims that the box-style platform provides additional ventilation to the 48-volt mild-hybrid system that lives under the third row. The set-up is completely reversible, which means you can refit the seats when the time comes to sell the car.

Downsides? It looks pretty fiddly to fit, and I’d suggest it’s a job best left to experts. Toyota says adding it to your car won’t affect warranty, but if a wire is nicked or a seat mount bolt hole is cross-threaded during installation, that’s on you for sure. It’s also not cheap, with costs of about $1000.

It certainly is worth investigating, though, and I would bet dollars to donuts that similar products will soon hit the market, which will help to drive the price down.

Hi, we were ‘admiring’ the artwork left on a neighbour’s car by obviously the world’s biggest seagull, and my son said that bird poo is really bad for car paint. Is this true? I would have thought the clear coat on a modern car could deal with a bit of bird crap. – Neil

Answer: Hey Neil, your boy is right. Bird poop, especially when left to bake on a car’s surface, can do real damage to that clear coat, which then means the paint itself is exposed.

It’s the uric acid in bird droppings that does the damage, which will etch itself through the clear coat and into the top layer of paint, sometimes within minutes of landing.

Also, birds will often swallow small rocks to help grind up and digest their food, which pass out with the poop. If you’re not careful, wiping the poo off also means you’re scrubbing small stones across the paintwork.

The recommended method of removal is to soak the poo as thoroughly as possible – our mates at Bowdens Own have a terrific video describing how to do it – and carefully lift the crap off as gently as possible.

If it’s gotten through the clear coat, removal and restoration of the stain should be left to the professionals, who can buff it back properly and with minimal damage.

Hi, I notice a lot more people (particularly younger ones) these days driving around with AirPods in their ears or even with those big noise-cancelling headphones on. Surely that is illegal? – Pete

Answer: Hey Pete, according to the letter of the law, it’s not a hard ‘no’. There is no specific rule in any state or territory that outlaws the use of headphones or AirPods – in a way, they are regarded in the same way as a hat or glasses in that they aren’t illegal to have on your person. However, when you turn them on and stick them in your ears, their status could change, depending on your driving.

If by wearing them you become distracted from the act of driving, then you are deemed to be ‘Driving while distracted’. It’s quite a broad rule, but if it can be proved that you weren’t able to safely drive – you missed a blowing horn, for example, which led to a crash – then you could be in trouble.

It could even be deemed as negligent driving if, for example, a driver failed to move over for an approaching emergency vehicle because they couldn’t hear it. In police parlance, that’s something a reasonable and prudent person wouldn’t do.

So, yes, the kids can wear them, but they need to be aware of their surroundings when they use them.

The views stated in this advice column are advisory only. Questions may be edited for clarity and length.

Got an automotive question but you don’t know where to find the information you need? Never fear, email us here at editor@carsales.com.au.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au