# Car stink **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [October 11, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-stink/5824 "2007-10-11T19:04:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dreuph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@dreuph](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dreuph)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-stink/5824/1 "2007-10-11T19:04:54Z")
An overnight putrid/foul odor appeared in a 2002 Civic. Can’t find a single culprit. Any ideas on what it could be and what to do about it? ---
**Author:** ![Roadrunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Roadrunner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Roadrunner)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-stink/5824/2 "2007-10-11T19:48:47Z")
Saturated charcoal canister skunk rotting leaf or other debris in vents (below windshield) Dead mouse in heater duct (these miserable #%$^&@ can crawl through a hole 1/4 their size!) Perhaps just a mean fart that didn’t get vented. (eye roll) ---
**Author:** ![SteveF](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/stevef/32/2_2.png) [@SteveF](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SteveF)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-stink/5824/3 "2007-10-11T20:15:01Z")
I go with the dead mouse in vent theory. This is common enough. The remedy requires disassembling the vent system – a time-consuming task. ---
**Author:** ![Beadsandbeads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@Beadsandbeads](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Beadsandbeads)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-stink/5824/4 "2007-10-11T21:53:08Z")
Step 1 in the diagnosis. Determine if the smell is stronger with the HVAC on or the HVAC off.