Black smoke, stinky AC!
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Joined: Feb 2006
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From: LV 426
Black smoke, stinky AC!
Just the other day I let my brother drive my car while I was following him in his car. I noticed that every time he would step on the gas like when he accelerates from a stop, black smoke would come out of the exhuast ( its not really black but you can see the smoke, a little grayish hue). I also noticed this smoke when it was colder a few months ago but I guess thats normal because its cold.(The car has already warmed up and it was hot that day).
The car runs fine,no problems so far and no warning lights. Anybody noticed this on their 350's. What could be wrong with the car? I only have 1600 miles on it.
The other thing I noticed is that when I start the ac it stinks for a few seconds and the smell goes away (smells like vinegar) I read it somewhere that GS owners are also having this issue any IS owners with this problem?
The car runs fine,no problems so far and no warning lights. Anybody noticed this on their 350's. What could be wrong with the car? I only have 1600 miles on it.
The other thing I noticed is that when I start the ac it stinks for a few seconds and the smell goes away (smells like vinegar) I read it somewhere that GS owners are also having this issue any IS owners with this problem?
Lexus Champion
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: San Diego, CA
Not sure about the smoke deal, i've never seen it form my IS, but then again, i've never seen my IS from behind while it was moving.
As far as the AC deal, every car i've ever had has this problem. I believe it comes from all the moisture that collects in the system when you turn the car off after the AC has been on. Then when you turn it back on all the sticky stuff comes through. You can help avoid that problem by turning your AC compressor off and just let the system vent for a minute or so before shutting it off.
As far as the AC deal, every car i've ever had has this problem. I believe it comes from all the moisture that collects in the system when you turn the car off after the AC has been on. Then when you turn it back on all the sticky stuff comes through. You can help avoid that problem by turning your AC compressor off and just let the system vent for a minute or so before shutting it off.
CL Community Team
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,722
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From: NJ
What you saw when the car was cold was steam, not smoke. Water is a normal byproduct of combusion. In cold weather, when the exhaust hits the cold outside air, the water vapor condenses into visible stream. In warm weather, or when the catalytic converter is hot, the water stays in a vapor form long enough that you don't see it.
As for the smoke you saw when following your brother; was he accelerating hard? In a modern car, the oxygen and mass air sensors form a closed loop system such that the computer can control the fuel/air ratio and keep it close to the perfect stoichiometric ratio. Under hard acceleration, however, the computer realizes that the closed loop system can't react fast enough to prevent a potential lean situation (a lean ratio can cause engine damage), and switches to open loop. In open loop, the amount of fuel injected is read from a multidimensional table, and is nearly always too rich. That rich mixture can result in a bit of visible smoke.
As for the smoke you saw when following your brother; was he accelerating hard? In a modern car, the oxygen and mass air sensors form a closed loop system such that the computer can control the fuel/air ratio and keep it close to the perfect stoichiometric ratio. Under hard acceleration, however, the computer realizes that the closed loop system can't react fast enough to prevent a potential lean situation (a lean ratio can cause engine damage), and switches to open loop. In open loop, the amount of fuel injected is read from a multidimensional table, and is nearly always too rich. That rich mixture can result in a bit of visible smoke.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Oregon
when using the AC, you should always try to run it with the AC off at least for a minute or so before shutting the engine off. Condensation builds up in the AC unit and that can lead to mold growth, which could be the smell. You might try turning the AC on recirc and spray something into the intake vent. Someone actually makes something specifically for this with a small tube that you can stick into the vent itself. I have it at home but I've never had to use it.
Instructor
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 830
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From: CA
Originally Posted by Galaxy 40
The other thing I noticed is that when I start the ac it stinks for a few seconds and the smell goes away (smells like vinegar)
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: LV 426
[QUOTE=Bichon]
As for the smoke you saw when following your brother; was he accelerating hard?
Yeah he was accelerating hard (power mode + paddle shifter).
For all of you with a stinky ac do you guys have air freshners in the car? The reason I asked is because I realized that most of the cars I rode/driven had that combo, airfreshners + vinegar scent upon starting. could it be the airfreshners?
As for the smoke you saw when following your brother; was he accelerating hard?
Yeah he was accelerating hard (power mode + paddle shifter).
For all of you with a stinky ac do you guys have air freshners in the car? The reason I asked is because I realized that most of the cars I rode/driven had that combo, airfreshners + vinegar scent upon starting. could it be the airfreshners?
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 17
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From: Australia
The IS250 in Australia come with a pollution sensor as standard. This will set the A/C airflow on recirc if it detects any exhaust fumes. It is very sensitive and seemed to spend a lot of time on recirc and not much time of fresh. When using this feature I found the AC started to get smelly when the car was started each time.
I manually set the AC to fresh, which disables the pollution sensor, and the smell went away. I later adjusted the sensitivity of the pollution sensor down and it now uses fresh more often, also getting rid of the AC smell.
The IS250 aircon is strong enough to operate on fresh most of the time anyway even on a really hot day. Even set on fresh it will briefly select recirc when you start the car on a hot day just to speed up the cool down.
I manually set the AC to fresh, which disables the pollution sensor, and the smell went away. I later adjusted the sensitivity of the pollution sensor down and it now uses fresh more often, also getting rid of the AC smell.
The IS250 aircon is strong enough to operate on fresh most of the time anyway even on a really hot day. Even set on fresh it will briefly select recirc when you start the car on a hot day just to speed up the cool down.
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