Heater running put out awful dead animal smell this last winter.It’s gone now, but worse smell is coming from a/c.We live in a rural area, so thought something may have died under the hood, but can’t see anything!
Since you live in a rural area, you should consider the possibility that a field mouse or some other small creature may have nested and subsequently died inside the passages of the HVAC system. In this scenario, there would be nothing visible underneath the hood, but there would be a very noticeable odor coming from the A/C and/or heater vents.
Since Hanta Virus is a real danger from small rodents, I would suggest that you have the HVAC ducts cleaned out and sanitized.
The dead mouse is on the cabin air filter that is located behind the glove compartment…that’s where we found ours…also a RAV.