So the other night I'm driving along and out of the corner of my eye I see a black thing moving against the black backdrop of the asphalt. All of a sudden I realized it was a skunk, but by that time hitting him was inevitable. I avoided running him over with my tires, thinking that it'd cause less potential damage to both the skunk and my car if I drove over him. No such luck. I felt him hit the floor at least three times (musta been rolling). Afterwards, I drive about 200 yards with no smell, and I'm thinking "Whew!, Thank God he didn't stinkbomb my car." Another 100 yards and I start smelling it, and within about a quarter mile, it's making my eyes water.

To make a long story short (too late?), the little bastard successfully extracted its revenge on me with its final act. I figured it'd just be the underside of the car, and if I got it steam cleaned the smell would go away. Not only did that not work, but apparently the smell penetrated the interior somehow, and it's almost like he sprayed there directly. So it reeks both outside and inside the car.

Anyone who's hit a skunk have any suggestions for getting rid of the stench? And just to cut off any smart-assery at the pass, no, I haven't tried giving it a bath in tomato juice.

 

LOL. I hit a family of skunks in my Classic Mini. Actually, I swerved around them and they sprayed me!! It took at least a week for the smell to go away. Maybe longer

 

Well, look on the bright side.

You woun't have to worry about door dings for a while, doubt anyone will want to park next to ya......

 

Google: remove skunk smell from car

I've hit quail, and a near miss with a possum, but no skunks. Came close to a mountain lion once...

 

FEBREZE the crap out of your car!!! that definetly works cuz i ran into the same situation like you before...sprayed my floors, trunk, and headliner like how many times before the smell went away!!!!

 

I had the same smell but there was no skunk around last Saturday........... oh yeah it was my clutch throw out bearing burning up, not a skunk!!!!!!! Good luck getting the smell out. I would buy about 2 bottles of Fabreeze and go to town.

 

Wow, all you city guys...lol

Tomato juice... Yes, tomato juice. Buy a big can and a sprayer...

Havent your dogs every chased a skunk?

 

The last time my cat got sprayed good, I had to do the tomato juice thing with him in the shower; not fun, as he has all his claws!

Hard to do that with a car, though; even a small one.

 

You might look at changing out your cabin air filter its located in front and above the drivers floor mat.

 

A few months ago, my better-half swerved to avoid hitting a skunk. She missed it, but the ungrateful weasel sprayed the side of her BRG Cooper.

Several applications of a mix of water, vinegar (about 1 cup to a bucket) and car wash soap took care of the exterior smell. You could actually see the oil sprayed down the side of the car, so it was easy to determine where to apply the mixture. Some smell got into the interior, but since it wasn't caused directly by the skunk's oil being inside the cabin, the smell went away by just leaving the windows open for a few hours in a good cross-breeze. Some Febreze on the carpet and your favorite upholstery cleaner will probably get rid of any lingering memories of your encounter.

I hit one of the stinky polecats with "the Batmobile, Sr.", and got the undercarriage sprayed. I just hosed the bottom off at the local do-it-yourself carwash. The smell went away on its own after a couple weeks.

 

You might try a bowl of White Vinegar left in the car overnight, fill the bowl to just below the rim and set it on a White Terry Cloth Towel, it works for Smoker's Cars!!

 

Vinegar is acetic acid. If the fumes are enough to deal with skunk smell, I'd worry about what kind of corrosion they might cause to things like electrical connections.

 

go to pet store and buy Nature's Miracle. This solution contains enzymes that degrade the skunk chemical. I've used it on my dogs many times over 10 years. It really works. Spray in on exterior and underside where you think skunk hit. Also spray underside and topside of carpets.

I also like the suggestion to change the cabin filters. I'd do that, too

 

1 qt hyrdogen peroxide, 1 cup baking soda and a squirt or two of blue dawn. That's the skunk solution we use here ... our dogs routinely get skunked and usually while they're chasing Pepe Le Peu away, the cars, the house and anything else around gets skunked. A few months ago, the side of my mini was skunked and the smell was horrible. Wish I had thought to change the cabin filters, but I washed the interior with the above mixture, washed the exterior normally (not too sure if the baking soda might not be abrasive on the paint), and THEN after everything was sparkling and dry, I put tupperware containers of used coffee grinds on the floor by each seat for about a day or two. But I found that Mocha was driveable (altho still smelled) after the initial bathing process.
In your case, since you got hit on the undercarriage, I'd take your MINI thru a car wash (stop shuddering folks, it's for the greater good) and do the power undercarriage spray. You need to get the oils off your car.

Good luck- I feel for you. There's nothing worse.

 

Ozium

 

Just keep a supply of these to hand out to your passengers....

 

No issues with my '01 Dodge Durango that I purchased 4 years ago, it had been smoked in when I bought it, put the Vinegar in it and no one could tell it had been smoked in.