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Lexus CPO that SMELLS
I am really hoping someone can offer some insight that can help lessen my frustration because I am at my wits end. I recently traded in my 2002 RX 300 (purchased in 2005) for a Lexus CPO 2015 RX 350 which is in great condition except it STINKS. The undercover smoke smell was initially covered by the detailing smells, but within a week of purchasing on 4/30/18 the smoke + deodorizer stink started to appear. My Lexus sales guy had it treated with a professional ozone treatment but it still stinks, especially when it is humid. I am so disappointed that I have to smell this EVERY TIME I get in the car, and am wondering if anyone has any insight on how I can remove the smell. In full disclosure, I have Fibromyalgia and asthma, and am more sensitive to smells than most people. Any help is appreciated. |
I have asthma too, so I can understand your problem.
I'm not sure what 'undercover smoke' means. Tobacco smoke? Can you park your car indoors overnight with the windows down? Find your own detailer. He'll work for you, not the dealership. Please keep us updated. Car odors are annoying. |
RIch, thanks for the response. It is this cloying smell that seems to be deodorizer on top of cigarette smoke. It gets worse in high humidity (I am in FL, sigh). You get used to it after sitting in there for a while, but it just makes me mad every time I open the car door to get inside. I guess that is my punishment for not buying new. So far I have had 1 ozone treatment done at the dealer (worthless), and run a small fan in the car every night to circulate the air over these bags of stuff designed to remove odor (also worthless, lol). I had an OdoBan solid in there, but that had too much fragrance and gave me an asthma attack. And when I leave the windows open overnight in the garage, the whole garage smells like the car. I am going to try thoroughly washing down the entire inside of the car myself, and then see if I can find a reputable detailer. That said, I love the car and wish I had upgraded sooner! |
I had to look up 'cloying'. The first thing that comes to mind is engine coolant. Could the smell be ethylene glycol?
I'll bet you'd love to talk to the previous owner. I'm glad you're enjoying your car, all things considered. |
Congrats on the purchase and upgrade, sucks that they masked the smoke smell pre-sale though, what they should've done to fix the problem is shampoo'ed and steamed every piece of interior fabric, thats the only way to really kill the smoke smell, and even then it wouldn't be 100% another reason why no one is allowed to smoke inside (a nightmare to remove the odor) otherwise you'd be running around chasing your tail using that de-odorizing which will only continue to temporarily mask the smell.
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A quick update....I tracked down a company that cleans cars w/odors for dealerships in a 3 state area. While they generally work with companies that they service pretty much every week, they are going to squeeze me in next week and do a super deep clean of all surfaces to remove any residual nicotine. Sounds like a deal to me for $100, and they said if they don’t get it all that they will do a 2nd cleaning for free. The ozone treatment was a failure, so I am going to give this a shot. |
Btw, a pic of the “new to me car.” It sucks that they had to ruin my buying experience, sigh. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...192ec9b81.jpeg |
Great lookin' vehicle you have there. I'm glad things worked out okay.
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Thanks Rich....I’ll let you know how next week’s treatment works out. |
Good luck with the treatment! I’m sure this will be helpful for future members who have similar issues! |
Originally Posted by CCL
(Post 10218210)
Thanks Rich....I’ll let you know how next week’s treatment works out. |
Hi Shadow, our schedules never aligned so I am going to end up cleaning it myself once the weather cools down a bit. After doing some research, I figured that I would probably be far more thorough than he would be, since he was only allotting 30 mins to clean it. I watched a gazillion articles on YouTube on smoke removal, and this guy had the best ones. He has several on smoke, but this one linked below lays out his process and the products he uses. I am going to start with a complete wipe down with SuperClean (diluted 5:1) and see how things smell after that. |
I'll throw in there that I would also chage out the cabin filter, which is very easy to do. I would also buy one of those kits that cleans out the ac system. Can get them off amazon for $15 or so.
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Try this, it worked on my bimmer years ago Auto Shocker ClO2 car interior odor eliminator
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Did the dealership disclose to you that the car was previously driven by a smoker? They clearly knew it was, given the treatment they provided to reduce/eliminate the smell. If not, you might have been misled.
I would suggest that this car should not have fallen under the CPO category as it is reasonable to assume a CPO car wouldn't have the smoke smell "covered up," given the CPO "certification" Lexus states all CPO cars have to "ensure the highest quality." I would find this as more than enough to question the legitimacy of other statements made about the vehicle and their other stated CPO cars - if they are willing to cover the smoke smell up and represent the car as a CPO car, what else wasn't accurately represented? I would put the total resolve of this issue, including the cost, back on the dealer - especially if you have a medical condition that the vehicle makes worse. It seems wholly unacceptable for a CPO car. For comparative purposes, my wife just traded in a 2015 IS. The car had been rear-ended. The Lexus dealership fixed the car, guaranteed it, etc - but when we traded it in, it went to auction because they could not certify it. So the question becomes, what falls under "the highest quality" for a CPO car, as per Lexus? |
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