Smell in car - dead rodent?

[brickbox]

Over the past couple of days, its really started to smell in my R50.
I don't eat or drink inside the car....ever. So the possibility of rotting food is non existent.

I pulled the all weather mats off yesterday and found nothing. Almost feel like something has died inside my car - but I can't find it.
Next step is to fish around under the front seats. Any other spots you guys think where I could look for this source of smell??

Need to get rid of it so I can drive the car again

[nickelghandi]

Check the HVAC system. My F150 had a mouse living in the ductwork and every time the heat came on it smelled like urine. Nasty business.

A glue trap and lots of bleach cured the problem for good. I had to spray the bleach into the vents and let it sit for a while (2+ hours at a time), and then blast the heat until dry. Then repeat. I did that until the smell was gone. If you find it in there and need to do the same, open the windows and stay out of the car while you are drying it with the heat. Those fumes are bad.

Apparently Ozone can work too. That is what they use to "de-smoke" houses where smokers live/lived when trying to sell them.

Oh, and a bar of Irish Spring is supposed to keep mice away.

[brickbox]

ughhh...what I was hoping to avoid. Would this be the blower motor cavity or are there places further up I can access?
I have taken that blower motor apart a couple of times, so I know how to get there relatively quickly.

[Rockwood]

Could be in the evaporator box - thats where your cabin air filters are. Maybe pull those and see if the critter chewed on them.

I had to pull the airbox out last year to replace the recirc / fresh air door actuator. The airbox splits into two pieces - the lower piece is held to the upper piece by six phillips head screws. A couple are right up against the firewall where you can't see them. They are remove by feel.

I don't think there is anywhere up in there for a critter to hide. But if you pull the blower motor you can look up in there when you hit recirc / fresh air control to visually make sure the door works ok and you don't see anything causing the odor.

[brickbox]

It looks like something dumb rodent fell through the cowl vent to under the passenger side carpet and died there. Oddly enough it was torn into small pieces. Just gross.
I had to tear some of the undercarpet insulation and pitch it out. The carpet still has a smell to it. I plan on keeping the windows cracked open and the sunroof tilted up to let the interior of the car breathe.
Does room air freshener help with getting rid of the smell or is bleach + heat my only recourse at this point as nickelghandi suggested?

[nickelghandi]

Even though bleach would almost certainly work, I would not bleach the carpet if you can help it. Air fresheners really do not do much to actually eliminate odors, contrary to what their ads say. The only way to eliminate an odor is to find something with which it will react and turn it into something else that is less volatile.

Laundry detergent helped me in my 1999.5 Pathfinder. The PO (a relative) had a dog that had chronic yeast infections and the car literally smelled like rotting dog. I mixed the laundry detergent with some water in a bucket and applied it liberally all over the upholstery and scrubbed it until I started seeing leather being removed. I did the carpets this way too. I then rinsed it using a bucket of clean water and a rag. Then I sucked all of the water out that I could with a wet/dry vacuum and let it bake in the summer sun with the windows down for a few days. No more smell.

I have a habit of buying/inheriting particularly smelly cars so I have plenty of stories of removing odors creatively. I once pulled all of the interior out of a Maxima because a water leak had allowed algae and mold to develop nearly to the point of space travel. I did use bleach there. It changed the color of the carpet, but it was the whole carpet so I didn't mind and neither did the person who bought it from me.

[attofarad]

You might try an enzyme based deodorizer, preferably with little to no smell of its own. Whatever you do, don't use the Megquire's odor eliminator -- I choked on that for a year after using it, and still can smell it after 23 months. I just reduced it by using a steamer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G0 ... UTF8&psc=1, and am about to try this product: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0094 ... UTF8&psc=1. A detailer on Youtube highly recommended Intercon Activate Plus, which he gets from a janitorial supply house, but I couldn't find it to buy. He also likes to use Tide ColdWater Clean, cut 4:1 with water, before the Activate Plus for pet and smoke odors. I'm hoping for similar results from the Nature's Eradicator.

From my experience with dead rodents in my house walls and garage, the odor eventually fades.

[brickbox]

@Rockwood - I pulled the cabin air filter out. Didn't see anything in there except for the few twigs/leaves all the way in the back which have been there since I bought the car. Would you recommend I open up the airbox and see if there's anything on the other side? I almost feel as though there's some remnant in there. Reason being, everytime I turn the blower on, it just adds to the smell.

@nickelghandi - Good idea. I think I'll mix laundry detergent with some baking soda probably and apply it to the carpet. Smell seems to have reduced though compared to 2 days ago. Cleaning the floor/carpeting and venting the car during the day has helped. But nonethless, I need to get rid of the darn smell.

@attofarad - Not sure if I wanna spring for the steam cleaner yet. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to spring for the Nature's Eradicator and give it a shot.

Have I mentioned how much I hate rodents?!

[Rockwood]

I think if you just pull the blower motor you can figure out if there is something up there. There is a little ledge around the blower motor fan something could be lying on I suppose. And with a flashlight you should be able to see all the way up into the top of the airbox.

And there is a short little duct going over to the evaporator box.

But I would think if something got under the cowling in front of the windshield and died you would be able to smell it out by the wipers when the car is just sitting. Otherwise, I suppose it is inside.

[nickelghandi]

I just remembered one other thing I have used to deodorize a car. It might be worth a shot. I did a YouTube Video on it a couple years back. It worked really well in that Cadillac and it wreaked of dog.




I still miss that car, but that Northstar V8 was expensive and miserable to maintain.

[brickbox]

Thank you both.

@Rockwood - when I had the blower motor apart, I couldn't see anything in there. Given how badly this thing had decomposed, I was trying to see any "trails" of drip marks. Nothing. When I turn the AC mode to either the dash vents or defrost, there's no smell. At this point, I do not believe there's anything in there. That being said, I need to replace the blower motor before it gets cold. The bearing's shot.

@nickelghandi - I have been venting the car for the past week. I couldn't find the exact product you listed in your video. But I believe I might have found something equivalent. Its called "Waste Management Odor Disposer" - found it at the local grocery store. After generous application yesterday, the smell's still there. But it doesn't reek any more! I am hoping to be able to put everything back together by the end of the week with no smell!

[attofarad]

That being said, I need to replace the blower motor before it gets cold. The bearing's shot.

This one worked well for my wife's QX4. It might be slightly louder than the original, but maybe not.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I ... UTF8&psc=1