Rodent contamination - Hyundai Tuscan

This Hyundai came in because something had been living in it. The car was a non-starter when it arrived.

Tom and Matt began with an antimicrobial fog throughout the vehicle before the investigation started -- fogging engine bay, cabin, and boot to decontaminate whatever was already there before hands and cameras went anywhere near it. The droppings were immediately visible in the seat tracks, in the corners of the load area, tucked behind the trim. Foam sound-deadening had been nibbled away in several places.

The investigation used a camera on a flexible probe to work section by section through the engine bay. They found broken cables near a connector block -- gnawed through or pulled apart, which explained why the car would not start. No formal nest was found, but nesting materials were present throughout: leaves, debris, and animal hair in multiple locations. The smell of urine was strong throughout the vehicle.

The wheel arch liners were removed to check behind them -- warm, enclosed spaces that rodents favour. Droppings on the under tray, nesting materials in the arch cavities, but no active nest. Boot area was clean. No evidence that anything had accessed the cabin itself, though seats and carpet were lifted as a precaution and re-fogged.

The broken cable was repaired by the team -- the car started again. Diagnostic checks run, no remaining warning lights. The engine bay was then fully decontaminated: all droppings, hair, and contaminated material removed, engine block and all accessible surfaces cleaned. Courtesy clean inside and out. The nibble marks on the foam engine cover could not be removed without replacing the cover entirely; everything else was back to how it should be.

The car left running, decontaminated, and cleared for collection.