‘Normalize Not Letting Our Cars Crystallize:’ Driver Brings In Chevy. The Mechanic Can’t Believe Its State

Every viral video tells us something about ourselves. A recent one shows that people will tolerate an unholy amount of filth before shame kicks in. A TikTok showing a mechanic hesitating to sit in a grime-caked Chevy has viewers confronting a hard truth: maybe our cars aren’t so bad after all.

The clip has automotive technician Skylar (@skylarberto) at maximum disgust level from the very beginning, covering her face to shield it from what one assumes is a toxic brew of smells. Quick cuts show closeups of the dash, doors, floor mats, and pretty much every other interior surface that’s been despoiled by spilled beverages, pet hair, food remnants, and general grime.

“Let’s normalize not letting our cars crystallize,” Skylar writes in the caption of the video that’s been viewed more than 16.7 million times.

The comments section exploded. One commenter summarized the audience’s collective relief: “I guess my car isn’t that dirty.” Others volunteered to be the cleanup crew: “I’ll be the one detailing it!” Some leaned into the absurd: “Burn it!”

A recurring theme emerged: this car set an unexpected benchmark for everyone's shame threshold.

Time for a Cleanup

But beyond the gross-out factor lies something more interesting. The clip triggered a kind of social mirror: people began comparing their dirty crumbs, coffee stains, and pet hair to this Chevy’s interior. By contrast, many felt vindicated. The viral moment reframed dirt thresholds for all of us.

Yet for technicians who see dozens of interiors per week, this level of filth is sometimes a health and safety hazard. In comment threads, repair workers and detailers recounted extreme examples: bags of diapers, rotted food, mold, and literal bodily fluids. One wrote, “You can refuse unsafe work… like biohazards.” Another said they once lost a job after declining a car with human waste in the back seat.

In many shops, however, no formal policy exists for rejecting “unsafe” interior conditions. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rules for autobody and repair facilities address chemical, noise, ergonomic, and physical hazards, but they don’t explicitly cover biological contamination in customer vehicles. Employers are required to assess hazards, provide personal protective equipment, and maintain chemical safety data, but whether that extends to the interior filth of a customer’s car is nebulous. In effect, many technicians must make on-the-spot judgments about what they’ll clean, what they’ll decline, and whether they’ll demand extra “biohazard” fees.

What’s Hiding on Your Steering Wheel?

Still, it’s not just cosmetic. A deeper look at car interiors suggests the risks are real. In a study conducted at Aston University (commissioned by Scrap Car Comparison), researchers swabbed multiple surfaces in passenger vehicles of varying ages. They found more bacteria in some interior spots than in average toilet samples, especially in trunks, driver’s seats, dashboards, and cup holders. Every car tested contained some amount of fecal bacteria.

Another microbiological survey of car interiors identified Staphylococcus (including strains of S. aureus), Propionibacterium, and other skin-origin microbes on steering wheels, center consoles, and gear shifters. These findings suggest that our rides serve as environmental reservoirs for microbes we deposit and rediscover.

And it gets more complicated. In one air-sampling study, the cabin air in a closed car contained airborne microbial particles, including bacteria, that could circulate through HVAC systems. In principle, a densely contaminated interior with mold spores, dampness, or decaying food waste could worsen air quality, particularly for sensitive passengers. While the vaccine for “too much dust + stale soda” doesn’t yet exist, the science nudges us toward caution.

Still, humans drive with clutter. Cars become our snack buckets, mobile offices, pet zones, and disaster zones all in one. This clip’s resonance comes from that collision: the car as personal space and the car as a shame container. The internet’s disgust becomes a kind of gentle accountability. If we shame the extreme, maybe we reset our tolerance and proceed to vacuum that floor, or wipe that vent.

The clip also illustrates how online cleaning culture has matured. The rise of detailing videos, deep interior restorations, and “clean ride transformations” subtly reframed car care as a kind of identity work. No longer is it just maintenance, but a visual statement.

By the time Skylar’s camera closes on the disgusting driver side door or the caked console, we see more than filth. We see empathy, mockery, and a strange communal nudge. If this clip does anything, it reminds every driver to reconsider their interior and realize that the daily mess hasn’t yet crystallized into a chore.

Via email, Skylar told Motor1, "That Chevy was something else lol. It was a car that came in for an oil change… There was mold on the vents, it smelled awful. The steering wheel was sticky. It was actually sticky everywhere lol. Just super gross."

"We’ve had some nasty cars come in the shop, but this was definitely top of the list.".