Petrol-Loving Spiders Just Can't Stop Invading The Mazda 6

Petrolheads often enjoy the scent of a fuel station forecourt, but it turns out we’re not the only species with a love for fossil-fuel-fragrances. Yellow Sac spiders – found on almost every continent across the globe – are also petrol lovers, and they’re using the Mazda 6 as a way to satisfy their addiction.

Source: Flickr

Invading vents in the engine, these eight-legged addicts have been found crafting webs in evaporative canister vent lines; places that are important in ensuring that pressures in the fuel tank remain safe. By taking up refuge in cars fitted with the 2.5-litre SkyActiv engine, the spiders have caused nine Mazda 6s in the US to receive damaged tanks, prompting the carmaker to recall all cars that could be affected.

This comes just three years after Mazda engineers were outsmarted by the very same creepy-crawlies, when the addition of a spring to the system failed to stop spiders reaching the vents. Despite no serious consequences arising from the problem, Mazda won’t be taking any chances and is changing the software of all potentially affected cars in order to prevent blockages leading to dangerous fuel tank pressures. Pressure regulation will be adjusted to work even with blocked vents.

The problem is limited to 2.5-litre 6s that were made in the marque’s US Flat Rock production plant between 2010 and 2012.