If your car smells like an animal crawled in there and died, chances are one actually did. A month ago, my mom noticed a funky odor in her gray Subaru. According to her, it smelled like “rotten pork.” At first, she tried airing out the car, but that didn’t work. She searched the car for trash, food, anything that could be the culprit. Under the seats, in the glove compartment, the trunk, car door compartments. Nothing. The smell grew stronger every day.

One day she turned the Subaru’s fan on full blast. The stench was unbelievably offensive. After we found her passed out in the driver’s seat, she decided to bring the vehicle to a mechanic.

Half a day, couple of hundred bucks, and a new ventilation filter later, the mechanic showed her the source of the smell. It took her a while to realize she was looking at the dead, mangled, roasted body of a mouse. It had been lodged underneath the hood, pressed against the vent.

If you ever smell something excessively foul in your car, check the hood. If it smells like what you think it is, chances are you’re right.