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'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.
