thronson

I have a 2007 LX 470 with 15k miles that I drive year around in northern Utah. For the past few months, I have noticed a dry, almost dusty, but "musty" smell (the best I can describe it) when I operate the air conditioner or the front windshield defroster (which of course also operates the air conditioner).

My 2001 LX had a smell (but a different one) when I turned off the air conditioner, but just let the fan run. It lasted only a minute or so. The smell from the vents on the '07 does not go away. I don't smell it when the air conditioner is not on, even with the fan on high.

I changed the cabin air filters, without effect. I suspect that there is a mold or mildew issue here, and I suspect that others have a similar problem. I am considering flushing the air intake (which I believe is across the front windwhield) using a product called Odoban, which is sold at Sam's Club and which we use in our front-loading washer to control mold or mildew. However, I don't want the cabin to smell like Odoban forever either. Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks

thbrewst

I had this issue on a different car once and the issue was due to the fact that the Automatic a/c was pretty much always on, so the system was never properly drying out. There was mildew in there. I think that they were able to clean most of it and make the issue much better (although not completly gone).

Their recommendation was to occasionally turn the system off when driving the car so that the air circulation can thoroughly dry all of the parts. I have since done this on all of my cars and have never had this issue come up again.

AKoch

Take it to the dealership, tell them. They will use some stuff to kill bacteria etc. And it is actually free service for this, at least around here.

Hoser

There are specific odor/bacteria/mold removal products for AC systems. I believe they are alcohol based and so the smell of the product doesn't linger too long. Yes, you'd spray it into the fresh air intake cowl while climate control is set to fresh air, then switch to recirculate after a 1-2 minutes.

A quick search and products like this will come up:
http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com...10.html?ref=42

As for your front loading washing machine, I just usually leave the door open when not in use to let it dry out and haven't had any mildew problems.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Here's a thread with some good alternatives, you can find several others searching the detailing forum for keywords like 'musty' :
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/automotive-care-and-detailing/81943-mildew-smell-from-ac.html

yellowgise

sounds like u need to change ur cabine filter located in ur glovebox

BigWill-1

Your car is still under Warranty If they do not fix your car after 3 attemps by law your state Lemon Law department will rep you for free. Do not Touch the car. Let Lexus do it all. Lemon Law Lawyers no the smell of mold is very bad for your health. You bought a new car and it should smell like one.

make your appointment ASAP and demand they fix it before its to late!

V8_Fan

I heard that after running the AC, one should turn it off and run the fan on fresh air for a minute or two to dry out the system. Here in So. AZ, I never bother, as it's bone dry...99F and 3% RH yesterday...but if it's over 50% RH, I would.