im glad i never use my ac lol

The evaporator fins are more tightly compacted and harder to get to in the GS and thats why the aeresol sprays are not as effective as they are on other cars. If you do this, make sure you remove the cabin air filter before spaying the dissinfectant into the cowl intake. If not, the filter catches most of the stuff you spray and prevents it from getting to the evaporator fins.

The foam treatments have to be sprayed directly on to the evaporator fins which means drilling a hole in the air box wall. Spraying foam down the air vents won't get it where it needs to go. The foaming sprays do a good job and most of the kits come with a long narrow wand to help you get it into the box, when the foam dissapates it simple drains out the normal air box drain.

another helpful site

here is a BMW forum DIY pictorial about cleaning the evaporator: click here

and one that looks alot easier: here

and when in doubt: YouTube here a clip using the foam on a Toyota: here

steviej

You hit it the nail right on the head.

Folks - I would check again.. I thought Lexus issued a TSB for this recently...

Lee

I have had this problem with every car I have ever owner. Usually starts several years after purchase for me. The issue is when you run the AC, the moisture that builds up in the ventilation system does not have the opportunity to dry up. Moisture equals breeding ground for bacteria, bacteria equals the smell.

Someone early stated that they turn off the AC before getting home and run normal air. This will definitely help. The way to get rid of it completely and depending on how you use the AC you may have to do this every so often is:

Run the heater on full, with outside air selected (not recirculation). That will kill off all of the bacteria and dry up the ventilation system. I usually do this one day going home from work. I roll the windows down on a decently cool day, and blast the heater till I get home (usually about a 45 minute drive). After that, the smell goes away until you run the AC enough for the bacteria to build up again.

The other method that will help ongoing is to never run the AC with recirculation on. By running with outside air, this allows the ventilation system to blow in fresh air that allows it to help dry up the moisture which equals less bacteria. I personally hate the smell of running the AC with outside air, so I always run my AC in recirculation mode. This is why I have to perform the trick above more often then some.

You can of course spend money to fix this issue, but why, when you can fix it yourself for free!

Hope this help

Lonwa

how long does the heater method keep the smell away?



with my old car, there is no mildew smell if it's kept in recirculation mode.

if i put it on fresh outside air mode, then all the mildew & urine smell comes rushing in.

So based on this picture, the evaporator is downstream of the recirculation intake.

So if the mildew is really on the evaporator, how come i can't smell it when i'm in recirc mode? The recirc'd air still passes the evaporator.

Usually depends on how often you run the AC, and whether you run it in recirculate mode.

For me, I only have this issue during the summer time. Winter I very rarely need to run the AC. So I would say I need to do it once (maybe twice if its really hot and I am forced to run the AC in the morning on the way to work)for the 3-4 months of summer.

Maybe different for you. Give it a shot and see what you get.

This issue only crops up on me when the temp outside is in the upper 80's or above and it is humid out. Bacteria and mold grows wonderfully at body temperature (~98°F) and prefers a moist envirmonment. It doesn't happend in the winter because of the much lower temps - - bacteria dies.

The heater method after AC use may be great to prevent it from happening but it will not remove the smell that has already developed. The fins need to be cleaned in one manner or the other.

Personally, I found the Mist® method to be the most effective and least invasive to REMOVE the smell that has already developed.

steviej

Interesting: I was just in the dealership to have it "Misted" for this and they said nothing of any TSB,
however, Alldata.com does list SB0011-09 FEB 09 A/C Intermittent Unpleasant Odors I would like to get a copy and see what the TSB says to do.

My dealership did say they usually foam the GX, RX and LX air boxes because they are easy to get to, but foaming the GS is hard because of where the box is.

steviej

I'm still very surprised that this odor developed within the first 9 months of me owning this car. I've had two cars before this and neither had this problem.

Does anyone know of a dealer / shop in the San Jose area that performs Mist or BG type of service, with experience on a 3GS? I saw a few shops listed on various websites, but I'm hesitant to bring my near-new car to anyone who has rarely / never worked on a 3GS before.

I'd be willing to do the work myself as well, but so far I haven't been able to find good docs / pics / videos on how to get to the evaporator w/o drilling ...

I would highly recommend the heater methode before you spend any money. If it does not work, no harm done. It has worked for me in the past on both honda and toyota vehicles. I have not had to do it on my GS yet, but i doubt the ventilation system works that much differently for the method not to work.


Just my 2 cents.

Lonwa

I'm having a similar problem and see my dealer is listed on their website. What did they charge you to do this?

Thanks,
kd

I set my system to recirculate since I am no longer a smoker and all I smell is fresh cool air with a hint of Gucci Envy cologne.

Herb Chambers Lexus in Sharon, MA charged me $150 (includes a new cabin filter).

Thanks, Lonwa. I tried it for the first time this morning from home to work (turning the temperature to max), and will continue to do it for this week (since the drive is only 3 miles each way), then do a huge continuous blast of heat this weekend to see how it goes.

I must say though, one should only attempt this with all the windows down -- otherwise it might kill =P