Vehicle Contamination After Injury or Death

Vehicles are contaminated in many ways: an injury in a crash, a medical emergency, a death discovered inside a parked car, an assault, or a pet or animal incident. Families, fleet managers and agencies then face the same question: can this vehicle be saved? This guide explains how that decision is usually made.

Before anything else

• If police or a medical examiner were involved, the vehicle may be held as evidence. Cleanup can begin only after it is released.
• Ask for the case number and where the vehicle is stored. Tow yards and impound lots may charge daily storage fees, so ask about them.
• Do not try to clean the vehicle yourself. Vehicles are enclosed, full of porous materials, and have many hidden spaces where fluids collect.
• Call your auto insurer to report the loss.

Why vehicles are harder to clean than they look

A car interior is small but complicated. Seats are made of foam under fabric or leather, with seams that let fluid through. Carpet sits on top of padding and sound insulation, which sits on the floor pan. Fluids run down into seat tracks, under consoles, into seat belt retractors and between panels. Heat inside a closed vehicle speeds decomposition and odor. And the ventilation system can pull odor and particles into its ducts and filter.

What can usually be saved

• Hard plastic and metal surfaces: dashboards, door panels, consoles and trim can often be cleaned and disinfected if fluids did not get behind them.
• Glass: usually cleanable.
• Leather or vinyl surfaces with light, surface-only contamination may be cleanable, though seams are a weak point.
• The floor pan and frame can usually be cleaned and disinfected once carpet and padding are removed.
• Personal items that are hard and non-porous, such as keys, sunglasses and phones on the surface, can often be cleaned.

What often has to be removed

• Seat foam and covers that fluid soaked into
• Carpet, padding and sound insulation under affected areas
• Headliners if they were contaminated
• Seat belts that were soaked; seat belts are safety equipment, and manufacturers and repair professionals generally replace rather than clean contaminated belts
• Cabin air filters
• Porous personal items such as fabric bags, clothing and paper that absorbed fluids

Replacement parts are generally available for most vehicles from manufacturers, dealers or salvage suppliers.

When restoration may not make sense

Some vehicles are not worth restoring, or not practical to restore. Situations that point that way include:

• Fluids reached wiring harnesses, electronic modules or airbag components under seats
• Extended decomposition in a closed vehicle in warm weather, with odor throughout
• Older vehicles where parts and labor exceed the vehicle's value
• Crash damage that already makes the vehicle a total loss

Your insurer will make its own decision about whether to repair or total the vehicle. Even if it is totaled, you may want personal items recovered.

Insurance

Comprehensive coverage on an auto policy often applies to damage from events other than collisions, and may be where an insurer considers interior contamination. If the contamination resulted from a crash, collision coverage may also be involved. Ask your insurer which coverage applies and what documentation they need. A written scope, photos and an itemized invoice from the cleanup company help. See our guides on insurance documentation and who pays for cleanup.

Personal items

Glove boxes, consoles, door pockets and trunks often hold important items: registration, insurance cards, wallets, phones, photos and keepsakes. Ask the cleanup company to set these aside and to tell you about anything that was contaminated. See our guide on belongings after a traumatic death.

Fleet and agency vehicles

Patrol cars, ambulances, transit buses, school buses, rental cars, rideshare vehicles and company trucks all see contamination incidents. Fleet managers should:

• Take the vehicle out of service until it is cleaned
• Have a written procedure that tells drivers what to do and who to call
• Make sure staff who handle small incidents are trained and equipped under the organization's bloodborne pathogens program
• Arrange a vendor in advance for larger incidents
• Keep records of cleanup for each vehicle

See our guides for schools and public buildings and agency procurement.

Rodent contamination in vehicles

Vehicles that sit unused can be contaminated by rodents nesting in engine compartments, air intakes and cabin filters. CDC recommends airing out the vehicle for 20 minutes with the hood, doors and trunk open and consulting a qualified mechanic for help. Do not run the ventilation system until it has been checked. See our guide on rodent droppings and hantavirus.

Odor in vehicles

Odor is often the hardest part of a vehicle job. Because the cabin is small and sealed, odor saturates headliners, seat fabric and ventilation ducts. As with homes, odor treatment only works once the contaminated materials are removed. Air fresheners, sprays and leaving windows down for a few days rarely solve it. A professional should treat the cabin and ventilation system after source removal and check the result with the vehicle closed up. See our guide on how odor is removed.

Selling or returning a vehicle

If you plan to sell or trade in a vehicle that was contaminated, keep the cleanup company's written summary. State rules on what a seller must disclose about a vehicle's history vary. For leased vehicles, contact the leasing company before any work begins, since they own the vehicle.

When to call a professional

Call a professional when blood or bodily fluids have reached seats, carpet or hidden areas, after any death in a vehicle, or when odor is present. To discuss a situation, contact New Dawn Bio Restoration or call 615-914-0790, and please confirm availability for your location.

Related services

• Blood cleanup

  Removal and disinfection of blood and the materials it has soaked into, whether the spill is small or large, recent or days old.

• Unattended death cleanup

  Cleanup and restoration of a home or room after someone has passed away and was not discovered for some time.

• Vehicle biohazard cleanup

  Cleanup of blood, bodily fluids and odor inside cars, trucks and SUVs after an injury, illness or death.

Related guides

• What to Do With a Loved One's Belongings After a Traumatic Death

  After a traumatic death, only belongings that were contaminated need a prompt decision, for health reasons. Everything else can wait until the family is ready.

• Rodent Droppings and Hantavirus: Why You Shouldn't Sweep or Vacuum

  CDC advises against sweeping or vacuuming rodent urine, droppings or nesting materials, because doing so can put virus particles into the air where they can be

• Insurance Claim Documentation for Biohazard Cleanup: Photos, Scope and Receipts

  For a biohazard cleanup claim, insurers generally want proof of what happened, what was damaged, what work was done and what it cost. That means a claim number,