Car vents smells like cat poop in 97 4Runner

[atalarico]

So, interesting new problem since it's gotten cold here in Denver. I'm pretty sure some of the neighborhood cats are hiding and pooping somewhere in my 4Runner. I know it's cat poop because of my experience with owning cats and having to deal with it.

Where are good places to start looking when I take this to the power wash later? I'm going to pull the skid plate off and start there, but I'm not sure if anyone else has this experience and some crevices and I'm not thinking of.

 

[philsey]

More likely mice than cats, imo.

Set some spring traps inside the car and engine compartment baited with peanut butter.

 

[atalarico]

Interesting. Will try that then. I saw a cat behind my car this morning as I was backing out so I wouldn't be surprised if it were the cats. The trouble is I know that cats like room to scratch and dig to poop, and I can't imagine how they'd have room to do that wedged in my engine compartment.

 

[Nervo19]

I know it must be cold in CO and all but did you actually lift the hood to have a look? I'm betting it's mice too. You can try throwing some mothballs under your 4Runner to repulse mice and cats. They sell them at the Dollar Tree for $1 a bag. Make your 4Runner smell like a grandma instead of poop.

 

[ThorInc]

I know it must be cold in CO and all but did you actually lift the hood to have a look? I'm betting it's mice too. You can try throwing some mothballs under your 4Runner to repulse mice and cats. They sell them at the Dollar Tree for $1 a bag. Make your 4Runner smell like a grandma instead of poop.

Just an FYI, both my grandmas did not smell like moth balls

And the cat behind your T4R might have been after the mice?

 

[atalarico]

Ok, so I did a few things...

1.) I had some mothballs already from trying to get the cats to not use our lawn as a litter-box. I'm not sure how effective they are because I remember finding a cat turd about two feet from a mothball the last time I set them out, but I put four around my car. Really, at this point the mothball smell will be a dramatic improvement.

2.) I checked the intake by the windshield wipers with a flashlight for anything suspicious, but came up with nothing. I'm going to unscrew it tomorrow and see if I can't find anything else. I didn't have a chance to really look around the engine compartment today, so that's tomorrow. I popped the hood and no animal carcasses were sticking out, so nothing obvious.

3.) I read a few other internet sources out there on the subject and one temporary thing to make it less nauseating was to turn the fan on high, and just go to town with lysol on that intake area by the wipers, then turn the car off and let it sit overnight. Just did that for the night and I could already tell that this the area the smell is coming from because the lysol smell had already taken over the smell coming out of the vents.

4.) Every time I pull today, that friggin orange cat comes walking over within a few minutes. I'm tempted to pull up, stop the car, and just watch to see if I can spot where he goes. At least then I'd have a better idea of where to start looking.

5.) My partner just confirmed that she also thinks it smells more like cat crap than any other kind of crap. She's been a cat person her whole life too, but also deals with mice in a bakery downtown, so she's familiar with both.

6.) I bought mouse traps, so I might set a few of those out, but I don't really want to injure the stupid orange cat and then have to take the damn thing to a shelter because I feel bad. After all, it's just trying to stay warm, which is fine, but it's less fine when it makes me retch every time I turn on my heat.

This is by far the dumbest car problem I've ever had. I'm having a hard time not drawing a correlation between the snow and the smell. It's been cold already, but didn't smell like this. The snow sitting on my car has some effect though, as it sat on my car all Monday and I noticed this smell on Tuesday, and then it sat on my car all last night, and I noticed the smell today.

 

[simonsay]

Let me get this straight...you have a cat problem and you're trying to solve it with MOTHballs and a MOUSEtrap? LOL

 

[atalarico]

Let me get this straight...you have a cat problem and you're trying to solve it with MOTHballs and a MOUSEtrap? LOL

Sorry, my CATapult is in the shop.

Mothballs repel most mammals. Mousetraps are for the possibility of mice in the mix, not for the cat.

 

[atalarico]

I took the cowling off and looked around in the area underneath. Didn't see anything except a few stray leaves. I took a can of compressed air and blew it all out.

A bit frustrated by the lack of any evidence, I began to try to follow my nose. When I noticed the cat the other morning, it was on the passenger side. I started with the passenger front wheel well. I noticed the rubber flap that covers the opening to the engine compartment was hanging off. I definitely keep those clipped on, and a few of the clips are now missing. It's a cat sized area for sure, but I didn't see any signs of the poop in the area.

I stuck my head in there to see if I could smell anything, but I couldn't smell anything except new tire smell from my Duratracs (I love that smell). I tore out my glove box looking for any signs of anything. Nothing still.

I put the heat on high to see if it came back, but just lysol smell still. I finally stuck my nose down in the drivers side foot well area. I picked up a trace of it on my weathertech floormat. I pulled that out and sure enough there was some smell coming from it. I cleaned that.

That got the wheels turning in my head. I checked my shoes...again. My snow boots are the culprit. The reason I smell it only when it snows is because I wear my damn snow boots when it snow.

So, I humbly share this moment of idiocy with you all in case you come across this problem. I'm sure the cat is hanging out to stay warm, but he's definitely not pooping where he hangs out, which makes sense now that I think about it. Oye vey.

:ybrick::laugh:

 

[Samxini]

I took the cowling off and looked around in the area underneath. Didn't see anything except a few stray leaves. I took a can of compressed air and blew it all out.

A bit frustrated by the lack of any evidence, I began to try to follow my nose. When I noticed the cat the other morning, it was on the passenger side. I started with the passenger front wheel well. I noticed the rubber flap that covers the opening to the engine compartment was hanging off. I definitely keep those clipped on, and a few of the clips are now missing. It's a cat sized area for sure, but I didn't see any signs of the poop in the area.

I stuck my head in there to see if I could smell anything, but I couldn't smell anything except new tire smell from my Duratracs (I love that smell). I tore out my glove box looking for any signs of anything. Nothing still.

I put the heat on high to see if it came back, but just lysol smell still. I finally stuck my nose down in the drivers side foot well area. I picked up a trace of it on my weathertech floormat. I pulled that out and sure enough there was some smell coming from it. I cleaned that.

That got the wheels turning in my head. I checked my shoes...again. My snow boots are the culprit. The reason I smell it only when it snows is because I wear my damn snow boots when it snow.

So, I humbly share this moment of idiocy with you all in case you come across this problem. I'm sure the cat is hanging out to stay warm, but he's definitely not pooping where he hangs out, which makes sense now that I think about it. Oye vey.

:ybrick::laugh:

Hahaha sorry but this is a great facepalm. Glad you figured it out.

 

[atalarico]

Hahaha sorry but this is a great facepalm. Glad you figured it out.

It is a facepalm of epic proportions.

 

[ThorInc]

Seriously, your boots......too funny!!! ROTFLMAO........

 

[Brique]

Ahahahaha! I love it!

 

[el_kab0ng]

You MIGHT want to also consider changing the cabin filter once you've corrected the problem. I had a similar issue where something got wet in the back of my Matrix, started to mildew and stunk up the car something awful. At least on my car, the recirculated air would draw from the rear of the car (not sure if this is how all vehicles work or not), bringing up with it anything smelly in the back (mildew, gasoline from gas cans, etc). Changing out the aging filter helped with reducing and eventually eliminating the smell.

Just a thought.

 

[Nervo19]

You MIGHT want to also consider changing the cabin filter once you've corrected the problem. QUOTE]

The only time a 1997 4Runner has a cabin filter is when you take it to a $19.95 oil change place...so they can "change" it for you. Cabin filters started with 4th gens.

If you ever do the crank the heat and spray Lysol trick use Febreeze or Glade. Lysol is nauseating. Worse than mothballs.

 

[atalarico]

You MIGHT want to also consider changing the cabin filter once you've corrected the problem. I had a similar issue where something got wet in the back of my Matrix, started to mildew and stunk up the car something awful. At least on my car, the recirculated air would draw from the rear of the car (not sure if this is how all vehicles work or not), bringing up with it anything smelly in the back (mildew, gasoline from gas cans, etc). Changing out the aging filter helped with reducing and eventually eliminating the smell.

Just a thought.

Yeah, I spent a solid day a while back trying to figure out where the cabin filter was in the 3rd Gen 4runner. Turns out...there isn't one (or at least one that's consumer replaceable). That might be for the best with this situation!

I'm glad I could share the laughs with you all!

 

[atalarico]

You MIGHT want to also consider changing the cabin filter once you've corrected the problem. QUOTE]

If you ever do the crank the heat and spray Lysol trick use Febreeze or Glade. Lysol is nauseating. Worse than mothballs.

Yeah, I think the partial benefit to using Lysol though is that it's a disinfectant. I already used it, but it's not that bad. Certainly better than poop! =p

 

[simonsay]

Funny. Your boots smell like cat poop... [emoji90]

 

[philsey]

[MENTION=55192]atalarico[/MENTION]

Good story. Kudos for admitting your, um, oversight.

I sure hope you're buying new boots. Ugh!

 

[flyrv9]

Well at least you don't have a problem with mice. They poop and chew up wiring and anything else they like. They also make nests that can catch fire if on a manifold. That would have you wishing you had your cat poop smell back.