Hi Everyone,
Looking for some help. I know this seems to be a common problem and there have been a few threads on this topic but I cannot seem to get a clear solution. 2 weeks ago I noticed my rear carpets and front passenger were all wet and when checking under neath the car, I did not see any water in the AC drain area. It is definitely just clear water and tend to puddle the most in the rear. I lifted the carpet and pulled out the paddings (they were soaked with water) and drive with no AC for a week until everything dried up. Luckily I discovered it early so there were no mold or foul smell. I brought the car into my mechanic (not Lexus delaer) but he had trouble locating where the drain line is. We let the car ran for 15 min to see if we can find the source of the leak instead. Long and behold, the water was pouring out where the AC drain area and no water in the car so I decided to keep driving and see what happen. A week went by with no wet carpet and water was coming out underneath the car until today (last night was OK). After arriving at work I do my normal check and did not see water underneath the car and the same thing when I got home today. Now my carpet is wet again. From worse to least: rear passenger --> rear driver --> front pasenger. Front driver is completely dried.

Is this the symptom of a clogged AC drain line? Why and how did the water get to the back and puddle the most on the rear passenger?
Is the only solution is to remove the dash to get at the AC unit?
Is it possible to get to the gromet where the water drains from underneath like a Youtube video that was done for IS? Is there any issue with removing the gromet completely?

Approceiate any help.

2007 GS350 AWD.

 

My 06 GS430 also went into to service for the dreaded AC drain clog issue...except my issue turned out to be catastrophic. I had plastic mats over the carpet thus masking the wet carpet symptoms. By the time I had noticed it, the water had completely flooded the rear seats. I jacked up my car trying to get to this gromet. I was able to get to the AC drain grommet, but it was too late. I guess when I jacked up my car, the water pooled to a different part of the vehicle thus shorting out a bunch of computers. Long story short, my insurance company, Lexus corporate, and my lexus dealership are now involved in getting my car fixed (They are charging $800 just to clean the carpets!). I'll keep you posted, but I hope that your issue doesn't become as extreme as my situation has been.

 

So sorry to hear that. I too have the plastic mats over the carpet, but I was lucky as I am constantly cleaning my car so I detected it early enough. I came across the post from XMAN who has great instructions on how to get the gromet off. I also downloaded the TSB L-SB-0016-10 instructions. I ended up bringing both instructions to my auto garage and let them do the work for $150. I figure by the time I buy all the tools I need, it would have cost me more. They ended up using Xman's instructions. My car is good now.

 

This happened to me. I have a 2006 GS300 AWD
When I first discovered the water pooling in the foot wells, I removed the rubber drain plugs under the carpet in the rear foot wells and just let the water drain out until I had time to look at it.
I almost went into shock when I heard that Lexus wanted $2,500.00 to remove the air conditioning drain rubber grommet above the transmission. (Their procedure drops the whole transmission).
Long story short. I bought a cheap camera so that I could locate where the rubber grommet was. I tried to get to it with a long set of pliers but it's in an awkward position above the transmission.
I ended up using a curved pick...similar to the one in this set.... https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...C-waAtGg8P8HAQ
The pick I have is kind of in the shape of a question mark. I was able to reach up past the transmission linkage and fit the curved pick up through the slot in the rubber grommet, turn it a 1/4 turn and pull down.
It hooked onto the rubber grommet and then I just yanked it off. It was very easy with the pick and only took about 10 minutes once I found out where the grommet was.
Did it on car ramps in my driveway.
Oh, and from what I've read, it does not matter if you completely remove the grommet.....apparently this is in the procedure given to the Lexus techs for this job....they are told to remove the grommet completely.

 

I have taken this to two mechanics and nothing can be found but carpet gets wet when AC runs.

• Ac Drain Plug/Grommet is clear and draining properly
• No leaks in sunroof
• Heater coil is in tact and no signs of failure
• Does not get wet when it rains

Any help would be a huge help!

 

Check to see if your sunroof drain hoses are clogged. I had the same issue and I took out the AC plug but it still happened, turned out to be the sunroof drains. There's four in each corner of the sunroof slot that trace to basically each wheel location.

 

How do you get access to the rear sunroof drains? The ones toward the front of the car are easy but I can not even see the rear drains on either corner. Thanks.

 

This is what I used, I bought it at Harbor Freight for about a dollar, gave me enough pressure to blow the debris through. I simply filled it with some water and aimed it in the general direction of the lines while the sunroof was open, you'll see the holes for the front but the rear ones aren't easily visible but it worked, basically you should see water drip behind the front wheels where the door meets the fender and behind the rear wheels as well almost where the rear bumper begins. Also if you peel back the trunk lining the hose is easy to locate, it's against the quarter panel.

My driver side front and back was clogged bad and this did the trick.

 

Thank you... I also have an air hose that I can try and slip back into the general area. I did shoot some air through the front drain holes...

 

My sunroof four drain holes all drain perfectly. I never could find the evaporator grommet on my 06 GS430, so I did order a inspection camera and will look for it again this coming week. I was able to get my hands up and down above the tranny and never could find the grommet. All I felt was a sprayed foam above the tranny on the body and never found anything that felt like a grommet. I have a feeling that Lexus installed the grommets in different locations because I felt all the way from front to back of the tranny. Was not easy but I did it. ... My hands and arms are all scratched up but I tried. LOL...