Eppieguy

Thanks, I havent looked at it yet, i've been driving my Corvette for the last month. I'll take a look at it this weekend.

SaniDel

Our GX was serviced on Monday and Tuesday and replaced the cabin air filter. I promptly sprayed it thoroughly with Frigi-Fresh, which makes the filter 'tacky'. I keep a spare filter in case it gets severely contaminated before our next major service.

The service record uses the phrase "Remove Glove Box Assembly, Replace Cabin Filter & Sanitize Vents". As I hadn't complained about air quality, it seems that enough owners have so that it is done routinely. The labor cost exceeded the price of the filter!

Perhaps your dealer should perform the same service on your GX?
Regards,

SaniDel

FrigginFGO

Looks like this problem is on all Prado platforms. Some FJ's have this smell too.

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forum...ml#post2246142

Tang98

All cars will smell like this if you don't turn your AC off a few minutes before turning off your engine.... I'm pretty sure it's not the car. I knew people who didn't turn their ac off before parking it and also got this smell whether it's Mercedes, Honda, ect. I told them to do this and the smell went away forever...

SaniDel

Your advice is sound for those who have this problem, but I can't agree with your claim that all cars have the problem. We've never had this problem with our GX 460 and we never turn off the AC before turning off the engine. In fact, we neither turn on nor turn off the AC ... it's left in the Auto mode so it starts and stops with the engine without our attention.

I contend it is 'hygiene' factors ... whether the vehicle is garaged, parked under trees, washed frequently, etc. ... the more organic material that washes into the air intake, the more likely the problem. As our GX is garaged, driven infrequently and typically parked in open lots and seldom under trees, it stays cleaner. When it is washed it is thoroughly washed in an automatic car wash and dried immediately by their crew. It seldom sees rain and never snow. As "icing on the cake" ... our garage is conditioned space ... heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer. Yes, our GX leads a pampered life!

Our recent experience with Lexus service seems to indicate this is a recognized problem, which is routinely addressed at the major service interval.
Regards,

SaniDel

Koz

I have 20K miles and my vehicle and it is always parked on the street (rain,shine or snow). I have not changed the filter yet and never touch the the controls. I do not have any type of smell at all.

Koz

Koz

The one thing that may be the cause is where is your air intake set by default. Mine is set to only inside air. The only time I manually set it to outside air is when the A/C is off and the outside air is cooling with the windows open.

Koz

patgilm

I don't have the smell. We have 25k miles on our '12, drive it all year round and leave the a/c on when we turn off the car. It is garaged but not sure if that makes a difference. We only wash ours by hand except when it goes in for service. When it goes in for service and they wash the car early in the morning the smell out of the a/c sometimes is terrible (I think from the recycled water sitting overnight) so the service advisor used some spray in the vents to get rid of it. He said it doesn't have the same effect after the car wash runs a few cycles. As a result, I don't have them wash it anymore.

Craig B

I never let the dealer wash my vehicles. I don't have the smell in mine either...

Quadro

I always explicitly ask the dealer not to wash the car when it goes in for a service. Mine sits on the sreet all the time too. I don't have a smell problem but I always turn off AC couple minutes before I park.

Koz

I bring a red pen and write on the top of the work order (in big letters) "DO NOT WASH".

Koz

Tang98

Wow, you take really good care of your car. It is true that not all cars do this but most cars I have experienced have had this problem.

SaniDel

It seems that enough GX have the problem to become part of the 40,000 mile service. Here's what is recorded on the Lexus Drivers site about what was done to our GX:

REPLACED AC FILTER, REMOVE GLOVE BOX ASSEMBLY, REPLACE CABIN FILTER & SANITIZE

So, even though we didn't complain about the problem, enough GX owners must have for Lexus to recognize the problem and to address it proactively.
Regards,

SaniDel

P.S. One more reason why our GX didn't have this problem is how we park. We always back into our garage, which is oriented to the southwest. So, the front of the vehicle remains in direct sun while the garage door is open, which is frequently the case after it is parked and we are working outside the house. As a result, the front of the vehicle gets well-ventilated after shut-down, which hastens the process of drying any condensate still in the air box.

rockydog

So I bought a can of this German made deodorant/cleaner. You turn the fan on high with recirculation on, place the can on the passenger side floor and push in the top. It releases a fog for about 7 minutes. Releases a fresh lemon smell. I use Einzett vinyl cleaner and vinyl protector and they're great. Recommended by BMW. Now the ac has a nice smell instead of the slight musty smell when I first turn it on.