Unfortunately I had the same experience regarding mice. It was necessary to clean out the space beneath the cover for windshield wiper motor. That is where you will find most of the smelly contamination and the air intake for the cabin air filter. I added a metal grille after cleaning out. This requires removing the wiper arm and the plastic false cover. Make sure whoever works on this to wear personal protective equipment including respirator. The rodent contamination could be carrying the plague or the Hanta virus. I treated cleaning this area as if I am entering radioactive zone.

 

Thank you for this! I will try to gain access and clean that out. It's unfortunate that I'll have to remove the wiper arm. I had to do that on my 2017 Bolt before and I had to borrow a friends gear puller to actually get it off. Hopefully this one will come off easier.

 

Might be possible to go to coin car wash and use tire soap on areas. Be careful under hood.

I had mouse nest on top of motor. Washed it and put tobacco on area.

Had mouse die in F150. Traded it in. Never could get smell out. Especially when hot outside.

 

Might be possible to go to coin car wash and use tire soap on areas. Be careful under hood.

I had mouse nest on top of motor. Washed it and put tobacco on area.

Had mouse die in F150. Traded it in. Never could get smell out. Especially when hot outside.

Thanks, I was considering something like your coin car wash idea, I'm just concerned about doing that in the engine bay. I have no idea if there are sensitive areas I should avoid or where they may be. I saw one spot (looked like a breaker box) with a warning sticker on it indicating no water, but that was it.

I just got this Bolt and I don't want it to end up like your F-150. I don't "think" any mouse died so maybe if I clean well enough, I can clear it.

 

Use the gentle power and keep away from orange.
Obviously the car has to be sealed enough to drive through puddles.
In most car washes there's a pre-soak or pre-wash sort of setting and then a spot-free rinse that has almost no pressure.

 

Use the gentle power and keep away from orange.
Obviously the car has to be sealed enough to drive through puddles.
In most car washes there's a pre-soak or pre-wash sort of setting and then a spot-free wrench that has almost no pressure.

Thank you for the tip to stay away from the orange! I'll do that.

In about an hour or so, I'm going to head out and try to clean out around the windshield wiper motor. Afterwards, I'm going to try and use my garden sprayer to clean around the engine bay. I liked the coin wash thought but if I somehow screw up, I don't want to be stuck at a car wash. I think this will be similar though, I can spray a cleaner and then wash it out gently.

 

The good part about spot free rinse is that it is similar to distilled water.

 

While you were in there, with the black plastic cowl cover removed, you should stuff the drain holes on the left and right with stainless steel scrubber or hardware cloth (screening). That is normally where they are gaining entry. You should install hardware cloth to the HVAC opening as well (second photo).

 

YES! It's all closed up for now but it was super easy, barely an inconvenience to open up. I will absolutely get back in there and do something to limit mouse access to the drain holes. The hardware cloth on the intake looks to be really easy to install as well.

I did see some chew marks on part of the cover by the left hand windshield wiper where it looks like they were trying to make a new entrance. So that still bothers me.

 

some smell never seems to go away, for a long time, like skunk smell. Look up detail quantity but we had really good luck with hydrogen peroxide+baking_soda+dish_liquid_detergent

 

Good morning!

I'll try to be brief on the details but I need help getting this smell out.

Went away for a few days and came back to what smelled like a dead animal in the cabin. Checked the cabin air filter and it was covered in acorns and mouse poop. Replaced the filter, ran an ozone treatment several times, and sprayed and cleaned everything I could reach (found a mouse turd on my dashboard). The "dead" smell is gone but now I get more of a barnyard smell. Think horse poop and animals everywhere.

At this point I took it to a mechanic to see if there may still be an animal in it. They noted that if the filter was never damaged (it wasn't) then the mouse couldn't be in the vents. However, they noticed mouse poop all throughout the engine bay and said that that's probably where the smell is coming from. If true, how do I clean the whole engine bay? I have vacuumed it and wiped down the easier parts to get to. It actually seems to have helped a little but, it's still pretty bad.

I've tried testing the difference between having the cabin air recirculate vs allowing fresh air in but, I haven't been able to tell a difference. I'll say that it's definitely worse when the heater is on vs AC. Although, it seems more like a pathway issue because it's immediately worse when the heat is turned on.

I'm just at a loss here. I want to get the interior detailed to remove anything that may be lingering there however, it feels pointless until I fix the inbound air issue.

I think I caught the whole family of mice that moved in BTW so I don't think they're still around.

On a personal note, I love the Bolt family of cars. I had a 2017 Bolt that had the battery replaced and loved it. It was killed when a teenager ran a stop sign and caused a three car accident. About 6 months later I got this 2023 Bolt EUV just for some mice to make it miserable. What's worse is I am mild OCD and already keep the car spotless. There's barely anything ever in it besides registration and insurance.

I remember people posting similar situations. For what I remember, they find the nest under the back sit.

Befor I change the air filter (I do that my self) Y turn on the air to the max and I open the capo, I use Lysol or Semple green and I use the half +- a-laying in the center (Because I think the intake for the cabin is there) ant the another half under the right sit, (I noticed the air of that area comes to the air system) I left running the air for 10 to 15 minutes. I think I disinfect.

I change the direction of the air in the controls of the console to move the disinfectant for all the ducts.

I don't know if is something better or specific for kill the bacteria.

I remember they mentioned a product to keep the rodents away, something like wolf urine or coyote urine??

Get some snakes? a Barn Cat? wrap the car with plastic and inject CO2?

Good Luck.

 

Mice do not like peppermint oil. You might kill two birds (or mice) with one stone… keep them away and have a peppermint smell rather than a barnyard smell. Good luck fellow OCD’r!

 

Just get a 40 buck ozone generator from Amazon. I use on in my 40 ft motor home and it works great. Please read all directions as you don’t want dogs/cats or any pet in the car or room in the house ( say you just painted a room).
most used car dealers use one to get smoke out.
Jimbo

 

Good morning!

I'll try to be brief on the details but I need help getting this smell out.

Went away for a few days and came back to what smelled like a dead animal in the cabin. Checked the cabin air filter and it was covered in acorns and mouse poop. Replaced the filter, ran an ozone treatment several times, and sprayed and cleaned everything I could reach (found a mouse turd on my dashboard). The "dead" smell is gone but now I get more of a barnyard smell. Think horse poop and animals everywhere.

At this point I took it to a mechanic to see if there may still be an animal in it. They noted that if the filter was never damaged (it wasn't) then the mouse couldn't be in the vents. However, they noticed mouse poop all throughout the engine bay and said that that's probably where the smell is coming from. If true, how do I clean the whole engine bay? I have vacuumed it and wiped down the easier parts to get to. It actually seems to have helped a little but, it's still pretty bad.

I've tried testing the difference between having the cabin air recirculate vs allowing fresh air in but, I haven't been able to tell a difference. I'll say that it's definitely worse when the heater is on vs AC. Although, it seems more like a pathway issue because it's immediately worse when the heat is turned on.

I'm just at a loss here. I want to get the interior detailed to remove anything that may be lingering there however, it feels pointless until I fix the inbound air issue.

I think I caught the whole family of mice that moved in BTW so I don't think they're still around.

On a personal note, I love the Bolt family of cars. I had a 2017 Bolt that had the battery replaced and loved it. It was killed when a teenager ran a stop sign and caused a three car accident. About 6 months later I got this 2023 Bolt EUV just for some mice to make it miserable. What's worse is I am mild OCD and already keep the car spotless. There's barely anything ever in it besides registration and insurance.

for all you EV owners 'out there' i added one of those rodent repellers you can get for the engine compartment since rodents of all types can cause damage. highly recommend it.

 

Ozone generator can damage plastic. That's 90% of bolt's.

 

Oh my really? Man the misinformation on the internet is staggering. I haven’t done social media for years and now we have to contend with this mess on here. I’m done have fun guys.
Jimbo

 

Darn chemistry, it's doesn't know YouTube.