“The last thing I would have thought of.”
Your check engine light can come on for a number of reasons. When the warning light came on in one woman’s vehicle, she popped the hood and made a discovery that would startle anyone.
The woman (@evilwizardcat) made a video documenting her bizarre engine bay find. Nestled between the hoses, you can clearly see a crab.
“Get out! Causing my check engine light,” she captions the post. As she zooms in, it appears the crab is deceased. Yet one of its claws still grips one of the hoses, which appears lacerated. The crustacean is covered in soot.
People were baffled by her find. One wrote, “A crab would have been the last thing I would have thought of.”
Others debated where @evilwizardcat must live in order to get a crab in her engine. Guesses include Florida, Jamaica, and Maryland.
A few joked that the temperature inside the engine might have cooked the crab just right for eating.
While it may seem pretty surprising to find a crab in your engine, it’s not unheard of. Although the person in Iowa who wrote on Reddit that they found the remains of one there was understandably surprised, given the state is landlocked.
In comments, they noted their parents drove the vehicle on the beach in Florida, which is a likely explanation.
A resident of the St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands asked for help on the best way to “get a big land crab out from under the hood.”
Firestone Auto Care also published a video in March about a client who brought a clawed hitchhiker back from Florida. They brought it in for air conditioning work; when the tech popped the hood, they found a crab on the battery.
“There was a customer that was coming from Florida, coming from a hurricane. And they happened to stop by to get their A/C checked … when I happened to pop their hood of the car, there was actually a crab sitting on top of the battery off to the side. Crab was pretty good size. I was actually amazed that it was there. They had no idea, we went and got them … showed them and they were actually rather surprised,” the mechanic says in the clip.
Crabs are easy pickings for predators. Consequently, they prefer sheltered, shady environments where they’re more likely to be safe.
So it makes a certain kind of sense that one might crawl into an engine bay for protection. But it’s definitely a surprise to pop the hood and find one hanging out on a hose.
Motor1 has reached out to @evilwizardcat via TikTok direct message for further comment. We’ll update this if she responds.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motor1.com?
– The Motor1.com Team