janterry15

Changed filter

Air run on fresh

Brought into dealer, took apart saw nothing dead inside. They don't know why it smells like ****.

Smells the worst when starting up car.

Sprayed duct cleaner into vents outside of car and let air pull in. Even took out cabin filter so the spray can travel further. Put it all back on.
Still hints of **** smell.

I febreezed carpets and seats if that helps..

What can be the problem that lexus doesn't even know?

Edit: AC helps the smell but I stopped using it weeks ago because I thought that Coulda been the issue with condensation etc. But it's not.

Machine13

I have this problem too occasionally. I've had it in all my cars. I think it's a mildew problem. I live in a warm (often hot) climate and take relatively short drives to/from work with the A/C on usually. I figure this makes lots of condensation inside the A/C plumbing that ends up not fully evaporating before I shut my car off. So, the condensation sits there and mildew flares up occasionally. There are products made to freshen your A/C out there, and dealerships can probably clean it for you with one of these solutions. I think I'm going to try my own DIY solution by spraying some Lysol into my into my A/C through the access hole in the Glovebox as the A/C is running, and to spray the cabin air filter a bit with more Lysol to keep it fresh.

LexSense

iTrader: (2)

When I used to work as a Toyota Tech, we used a BG product called Frigi-Fresh/Frigi-Clean. Could be pretty hard to get as a consumer, but most automotive shops who use BG products should sell it to you. Or there's also some on Ebay.

It's on the pricier side it seems, but boy did it do the job!

Noeh

iTrader: (3)

Ask your dealer to perform the AC evaporator cleaning service. ~$100

SRQwelder

I had a smell issue with mine. Took it back 3 times to try to get it resolved. On the 3rd time Lexus replaced the evaporator coil. Fixed!

rudyH

Good suggestion. That fixed the smell on my HS250 as well. It was awful and I was leery when the service writer said they saw this problem on a lot of cars. Got the car back and it's been fine for 4 years hence. A lot of cars these days have this problem apparently last time I checked.

Jbreezie

+1 I use Ozium and it works pretty well. Hopefully the dealership can do it for free!

janterry15

Went to dealer.
They said lexus HQ is aware of the issue. Service tech manager says they aren't gonna replace the Evap coil nor will they spray any cleaners inside. The only thing they did for me was spray a odor eliminator in intake vent.
Car now smells like a bathroom, a mixture of bathroom cleaners and urine smell.

Called lexus HQ. They do not know of such issue. They sending ppl out to investigate the service dept. Will get back to me in 2 days. Or else I'll call again

janterry15

local lexus They smell it and they even acknowledge it. But they don't document it. So when lexus HQ called them. They say it's acting normal and there's no smell.

I went to a different lexus. They acknowledged it and documented it, but will not do anything about it...

Went to a auto AC repair shop. Got my documentation a stating foul odor.

In the process of pursuing legal actions against lexus if they don't fix it soon

Machine13

I feel for you having this unfortunate issue as I have it too, to a certain extent, down here in Miami, FL. But not to the extent I find it a problem. However, I am fairly certain that Lexus would not be found liable for this issue in a court of law. All brands of cars with air conditioning systems are probably subject to this happening. Almost anything that water touches may be subject to mildew growth in the right conditions. Things like the climate, humidity inside the car, where you park your car, are completely out of Lexus’s control. I’d bet all auto manufacturers specifically exclude this type of humidity in the A/C issue from their warranty offerings.

Here’s Lexus’ warranty: http://www.lexus.com/warranty

The 8th bullet excludes issues arising from water contamination.

The 14th bullet excludes normal maintenance services such as cleaning.

The 6th bullet excludes problems due to lack of proper maintenance.

From their warranty’s wording, it is clear to me that this issue is not covered and, further, it is implied that proper maintenance is the owner’s responsibility. Therefore, prompt removal of mildew falls under the owner’s responsibility.

I also understand the dealerships not being willing to service this for free because it may become a health related issue. They could be concerned that if they did service it for free that that fact could be used against them as them acknowledging it is a warranty issue, when it actually isn’t, placing them in a slightly more precarious legal position (but still easily defendable, in my opinion), if the customer were to claim they got really sick from this mildew and decided to threaten a lawsuit.

I strongly suggest not wasting your time threating legal actions as it will cost you more time, money and frustration and you will not win, in my opinion. You may break relationships at the dealerships, too. It’d probably be cheaper to have the A/C cleaned several times over than to bring an unsound suit against Lexus.

Best of luck my friend.

Machine13

Further, in the Lexus warranty (linked in my post above), the 7th bullet specifically excludes issues due to "environmental conditions."

It is also important to note that the warranty only covers defects in materials or workmanship. This issue is neither a defect in materials or workmanship.

websurfer

I know this thread is pretty old. I had a car with this problem. Did it ever get fixed?

s3v3n

iTrader: (3)

I have this issue and it was bad when I first got the car. I'm the second owner so the first one probably didn't mind. This is a result of a combination of leaving the AC on all the time in recirculation mode, short trips and don't let it dry out before turning the car off.

I started on putting a shoe box of charcoal (bought from a hardware store) for a week - got rid of the smell but not completely. Then followed by spraying 70% isopropyl alcohol on the outside bents, everyday for a week. The smell went away completely.

Now it's starting to come back a bit since I think the molds are growing again. It's a bit hard to remember turning the AC off and let the Fan only mode dry out the evaporator and the AC lines.

The smell goes away completely when I turn the AC on, but it goes back when I turn it off and let the fan runs high so I'm sure it's coming from the evaporator core.

It's a task to do and not a one-shot deal to fix this, unless otherwise, tearing the lower dashboard and really clean the evaporator core with lots of soap and water. OR replace the evaporator core for that matter.

JNP1227

iTrader: (1)

I have had the same problem and paid to get the Deodorize service done many times and it comes back time after time.

Only way to mitigate the moldy smell is not use the recirculate and using fresh air with the AC mode on and turning off the AC a few minutes before I shut off the vehicle to let the moisture escape. From what I learned Lexus has a closed system so when the car shuts off the vents closed and the moisture or humidity stays trapped until the vents open.

Never had this issue with my previous Corolla and that car was close to 10+ years old never once had to add freon and still blew colder air than my Lexus.

websurfer

Interesting posts. I was the 2nd owner of the '16 GS 350 and that was one of the reasons I got rid of the vehicle. I tried many things including cleaning the evap system but that smells keeps on coming back. Ozone generator doesn't work?