Eklectika

Is this a DIY project? The stench is overwhelming.

As photos indicate...the stench is coming from the vents located near windshield wipers on drivers side of vehicle.

3 estimates....$2,000.00 minimum (2 day job) to pull out my dashboard in order to access the blower motor and air vents. REALLY?

Or is there a better, easier, less costly way?

I've even thought of just letting the critter rot away since I do not drive my car on a daily basis....then running the A/C wide open to disperse carcass dust....while running an ozone machine inside the cabin (without me in it ) to eliminate any residual odors.

Any Suggestions? I'd really appreciate your help!!!

*smiles* (whilst holding nose)

P.S. The brown colored debree you see in photo 2 are dead leaves.

mandyfig

Have you replaced your cabin filter (very obvious 1st question but had to ask)?

jmezo

Wet dead leaves can smell as bad as rotting animal. I would vacuum out the leaves and see where you stand.

cjs18

If straightforward solutions don't bear fruit here's yet another thought: Your SC appeared to me to be '02 - '05. On the chance that it's an earlier SC, it could be subject to the passenger side air bag recall. If not you can probably stop reading. If so, you would want to be aware that there is considerable overlap between the labor needed to replace the passenger air bag and the $2,000 job that you were quoted. This should be an opportunity to have an informed discussion with the dealer about piggybacking the two jobs to save money if it doesn't need to be done immediately. The dealer's incentive to work with you is that they would be compensated for the recall work plus what they can get from you for removing the stink. I'd be prepared to negotiate and try another dealer if you don't like what you hear. The recall fix may not be available immediately so you could be in a wait mode for a service appointment. I know this is somewhat of a long shot but the planets do align occasionally so I hope it's worth mentioning. Good luck in any case. I also know that there's a whole other discussion about whether you'd really want the instrument panel and dash pad torn out of your car even by the most skilled mechanic, but desperate times can require desperate measures.

mrblister

I thought the recall did not cover the 2005 ?

cjs18

I think you're correct. I believe it's '02 and maybe some '03s. As an '02 owner I got a notification. Maybe I missed the model year of the OP's car but it didn't look like the '06 (and later) headlamp assembly so I took a shot.

mrblister

According to her profile car is a 2004

cjs18

I should have checked. Sorry for the misleading info.

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

If you really think that there's a dead animal in there then you need to have it removed

with that being said..

I don't know how bad the smell is but I have had some really good luck with this....

go to any local super market and buy a spray bottle of Lysol, but make sure its the one with bleach in it.

Once you have the lysol turn the heater on full blast and make sure the ac is on and pulling air in from outside, not on recirculate.

Take the Lysol and spray it into the cowl or the intake of the hearter/ac which is located right between where the hood ends and the windshield begins.


I typically spray a pretty good amount, but don't go over board, and make sure you quickly wipe off any excess that might spray onto your paint or windshield, ect...

Let the Heater run for 5 minutes then let the AC run on the coldest setting. you might need to cycle the heater and AC on one more time but that should just about do it...

I have done this for years and it has almost always worked, and in the few occasions that it hasn't it has still drastically reduced the odor.

and once you have the odor taken care of you can take it a step further and always run your heater for a minute or two right before you are going to turn off your car after using the AC. I have heard from a few mechanics that the cold, moist, damp air that the ac produces just stays in the tube and ducting when you turn off the car and in the right conditions it can cause mold and mildew in the system which results in the smell and odor that most people associate with their ac

tromly

$2000 sounds high ! good luck with this project!

MH6

First and foremost ..... did you look at your cabin filter ? I had a mouse get in my 2008 RX and get stuck on the filter and die there..... the smell was horrible. Check it our before doing anything else, the filter is directly above the blower. As bad as it sounds, hopefully that is where your problem is.

Eklectika

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions.

The stench is bearable now....although still unpleasant. I drive with the windows down because when using the A/C...the smell is more intense.

MH6: I have NOT checked the cabin filter......but will do so. Is that something I can do myself? I really have never attempted any type of car maintenance myself.......so I'm a total newbie. I suppose I could do a search online to find out how. Thanks for this suggestion.

TROMLY: Thanks for the well wishes!!!

LEXISS_SC430: I have NOT sprayed anything into the cowl or intake...yet. Lysol is a great suggestion....thanks. I did some research and found an all natural spray (I'm not a greener per se...but prefer natural whenever possible). It's received high marks on Amazon....and claims it "permanently gets rid of odors and cleans the air". I plan to test this product first. Here is a link for anyone interested:
CJS18: Thanks for trying to help! Great suggestion if I had opted for the dash removal (which I have not as yet)....if I'd had a 2002 or newer. Your info may prove helpful to others in the future!

JMEZO: You're so correct...about leaves that can have a nasty smell to them! But this is def a D.E.A.D. vermin odor. But thanks for the suggestion.

MANDYFIG: Cabin filter has NOT been checked.....will be doing so. Much thanks!

My ASRP (animal stink removal plan) is as follows:

* Replace Cabin Filter (as both Mandyfig & MH6 suggested)
* Spray PureAyre into intake (as Lexiss_sc430 instructed)
* PossiblY use friends professional XT-6000S ozone generator

I'LL UPDATE IN A MONTH OR SO....TO KEEP EVERYONE POSTED!

Thanks sooooo very much for your support and help.

*smiles*

P.S. In case anyone is interested...yet another crisis (well, at least to me!) has occurred.

My partial plan was to air out my car as much as possible....to eliminate the odor penetrating the material within my cars cabin. Windows down daily. Unfortunately we had a down pour late one evening (I live in Florida) and I thought they were up. Yep.....carpets totally soaked! So now I'm dealing with moister in my car. Seems I'm messing up big time. Anyway, I've removed all mats, of course.....used mass amounts of towels to absorb excess water...and bought two huge buckets of Damp Rid. So far....no soured or mildew smell. Oy Vey. Can you believe it?

mdpuff

Before you go any further check your cabin air filter! Open your glove box, empty it, push in on the tabs on both sides of the box (takes some effort) and the glove box will drop down out of the way. You will see a rectangular cover behind the glove box in the heater housing approx 2" by 8", remove that cover and the filter is in behind it. Pull out the filter carefully, there may be debris or a dead mouse on it. Make sure you note how the filter is oriented in the housing as it has to go back in a specific way. If there is a build up of debris inside the heater box try your best to vacuum it out or blow it out with compressed air (can be messy). Install a new filter and you should be odor free! Allot of things can build up on the filter such as molds & fungus, it can be a moist warm area that these kinds of smelly cruds love to grow on.
Good luck!

Eklectika

THANKS...so much for the instructions!

I'm so visually needy....just found this video on YouTube SHOWING how to replace! :


Have a great day!

Eklectika

5 D.E.A.D. rat baby carcasses extracted!

2 more vacuumed up.

How many more will I find?

I think I need to figure out HOW to blow air from outside vent (between hood and windshield on drivers side)....to insure they're all out.

Have already ordered replacement Cabin Air Filter from Ebay for $11.00.

Will keep you posted!



*smiles*