Good Morning to all - I purchased a certified 2008 IS250 a couple of weeks ago. With the AC or ventilation system on, there was a funny smell, so I took the car to a dealer. The dealer checked the cabin air filter and said it was new and not in need of replacement. He did put something in the system that he said would kill any mold or other things that might be present if the previous owner did not chane the cabin filter as recommended. It seemed to work for a week or so but now the smell is back. Anyone have any ideas on what to do? Thanks

Is the smell there all the time? Or is it when you accelerate hard or have it in park? I'm no expert, so maybe someone else can chime in, but i get a sulfur like smell when i accelerate hard when the car isn't warmed up all the way. I had the same issue in my old 4runner, there's a reason behind it but not sure what it is.

RonRRR - this is pretty common with our cars. Not exactly sure on the details, but has to do with the moisture not evaporating completely after you turn the car off with the A/C on.

Heres a bunch of search results and some solutions:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sea...archid=4776937

Heyarms - that actually sounds like an issue with your cats, did you remove your catalytic converters? If not how many miles on the car? Sulphur smells generally mean an issue with the exhaust system.

When driving my car hard, I get a really bad foul smelling sulfur smell....

i believe it's cause your cats aren't heated up before you start driving hard. not 100% sure.


op, before you turn off your car, like a minute or so before, turn off the AC and just let fresh air circulate.

there's moisture in your AC vents that doesn't get dried out. so it becomes mildew.

Even when my car is all warmed up, it still has that smell...

+1 on that

I only get that sulfur smell when I drive my car HARD. It goes away after a couple minutes though.

This problem tends to happen more during the summer when it's really hot, when the vents really have that condensation build up.

Or maybe it's a real life Seinfeld episode where the car was driven by a stinky valet and the previous owner had to trade it in!!

^lol!! :-)

Bring it in to the dealer and tell them. I'm sure they'll do something about it.