A Philadelphia woman says she opened her hood after her check engine light came on and found something she definitely was not expecting: noodles. Literally.
Penelope (@penelopescheck) documented the discovery in a recent TikTok.
“POV your check engine light goes on,” she wrote in a text overlay. “So you pop the hood to investigate.”
Then came the surprise.
“Is that…”
“RIGATONI PASTA ??”
The photos appear to show pieces of prepared rigatoni inside the engine bay. Penelope did not explain how the pasta could’ve gotten there.
“This would happen to me,” she captioned the post.
As of this writing, her post has more than 4 million views.
How Did Pasta End Up Under The Hood?
Penelope never says where the rigatoni came from, so there’s no way to know for sure. But one potential explanation is that an animal carried it there.
Rodents are known to stash food and nesting material under car hoods, especially when a vehicle sits for a while. AAA says engine compartments give mice and other small animals warm, protected places to hide. They can also drag in food, leaves, paper and other debris.
The check engine light is a separate question, as that warning does not point to one specific problem, and the cause can range from something minor to a more serious mechanical problem, according to AAA.
A rodent could potentially connect the two. AAA warns that mice can chew through wiring, hoses, brake lines, and other components under the hood, sometimes causing electrical problems or dashboard warning lights. Consumer Reports has also documented cases of rodents damaging wiring harnesses and stuffing engine intakes with food or nesting material.
Penelope’s photos do not show any chewed wiring, nests, or other obvious signs of an animal, however. The pasta may have had nothing to do with why her check engine light came on. The only way to know would be to read the diagnostic trouble code stored by the car and inspect the engine bay for damage.
Anyone who finds food, droppings, or nesting material under their hood should take a closer look before driving. AAA recommends checking for chewed wires and other damage and having the car inspected if a warning light appears or the vehicle begins acting differently.
Viewers Have Plenty Of Theories
The comments quickly turned the under-the-hood rigatoni into fodder for jokes.
“Someone cooked here,” one viewer wrote.
Multiple brands got in on the fun.
“Usually we recommend a bowl, but this works too,” retailer Home Goods chimed in.
Red Lobster added, “I hate when this happens. Ours is always filled with Cheddar Bay Biscuits.”
Plenty of viewers were more interested in how the pasta got there in the first place.
“No, like. HOW does that even happen,” one person wrote.
Another commenter had a possible answer: “Lol it’s an animal for sure. Squirrels liked to hide pizza in my engine.”
Someone else shared a similar experience, writing, “Ok mine had peanut shells in it, but this is so much better.”
Another viewer said squirrels routinely leave pine cones in their car’s air filter.
“No pasta under my hood, but I have to clean pine cones out of the air filter all summer from the squirrels,” they wrote.
Others leaned into the pasta jokes.
“That’s just the light telling you the pasta is done,” one commenter wrote.
“Looks like it’s pasta point of no return tbh,” another added.
One person dubbed the car the “Rigatoyota,” while another suggested the problem was the “carbonararator.”
A few viewers also pointed out that the rigatoni may have had nothing to do with the check engine light.
“I don’t think that would cause engine problems,” one person wrote.
The mystery currently remains unresolved. Penelope has not said what triggered the warning light or how the pasta ended up in her engine.
Motor1 contacted Penelope via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
