blightle

When I first start my vehicle, the smell that comes out of the a/c vents always smells musty for the first 4 or 5 seconds and then goes away. Lexus replaced that expensive cabin filter (at my expense) but that did not really seem to help. I plan to complain again to Lexus at the next scheduled oil change. My car is almost always in the garage so it is not exposed to the elements where it might be subject to increased moisture.

Anyone else have this issue and more importantly a resolution?

loflin

Do you or your neighbors have any cats? (I'm serious).

koolaidman

go to the parts store and ask for ac disinfectant
or take it to the dealer they should do it for free unless they use the fome type

crubrexus

I make sure the A/C is switched to "fresh air" mode, not recirculate, when parking the GX. If the recirc happens to be on when parked, I switch it to fresh, then wait a few seconds for the vents to switch over before shutting down the ignition. My GX is also garaged. The theory here is that the condensed moisture on the evaporator has a better chance to evaporate out when parked if there is an air pathway to the outside.

Another trick is to switch the A/C off, but leave fan on medium or high, when you are a couple of minutes away from your destination (in fresh air mode). This gives the condensed water on the evaporator fins a chance to evaporate before you park. Mildew and mold can be a real problem here in Hawaii, and these two tricks have worked great for me here.

Pat

ps: Even if there is already a smell, meaning stuff is already growing on the fins, I find that either of these techniques will stop it -- you don't necessarily have to open up the ventilation system and spray it down to kill the mildew. My guess is that maybe the constant stream of condensed water helps to wash it out when the A/C is on.

blightle

Thanks for the suggestions. Now to get my wife to remember to switch the system over to the fresh air mode.

Loflin - no cats that I am aware of anywhere close (at least not outdoor cats). Curious to know how they can make the A/C smell?

koolaidman

anytime any of my customers have a complaint about a funny smell in the morning i do this

spray ac disinfectant.

car running ac on max cold
fresh air mode
open hood
passenger side vent...near glass but before the bulk head
spray till bottle is emty.

lonewolf69

Kool,

Where on the GX, do you spray the A/C disinfectant...?


-Alex

loflin

Course, well known cats like to lay on a car hood (either in the sun or after running) as it's warm. Not as prevalent, but happens, is the cat is a tomcat, that likes to make his "mark", it runs down the windshield into or near the air intake vent area.

On the switching off of recirc mode, in general you shouldn't have to worry about it too much, the system runs in fresh air mode most of the time. In fact in some cars, it won't stay in recirc mode for more than a set amount of time (but this doesn't appear to be the case for GX, that I can find).

koolaidman

look for vents or something like a grid pattern on the passenger side between the bulkhead and the front windshield

kurtman

Funny, I thought the Lexus dealer told me specifically that the recirc mode automatically stopped when you killed the engine to minimize the possibility of the mold growing in the vents.

You can also try this: while you are driving, open the windows, turn off the a/c, turn the heat on to the highest setting, and blast the fan for a few minutes. The heat is supposed to kill the mold and mildew growing in the ducts. I think I heard this on Cartalk.