I've had this in old cars before but not a car less than a year old! I have 5,000 miles on mine and everytime I start the car this summer it smells like sour ammonia or mildew. I'm gonna take it in soon but was hoping there was an easy fix. Everything I've read seems temporary..

 

Glad someone else has mentioned this; thought it was just me and that I was overreacting by thinking it was a problem. I wouldn't describe what I'm smelling as 'mildew', necessarily, but there is definitely a strange, off scent that comes from my vents when first turned on (perhaps especially after sitting in heat, but also when starting in my garage, which is underground). Like hot plastic or vinyl maybe. Perhaps something that's breaking in and burning off, or....? Would love to know if others are experiencing this and if they've found a solution. Car's about 6 months old, been experiencing this for maybe the past 2 ('14 IS250 F-Sport). Have not addressed the issue with a dealer yet.

 

I have a brand new LS460 with 2,100 miles on it and it is producing a stinky mildewy smell that fills the cabin when I start the car if it has been sitting for a little while.
It's going in next week for service. Smells just like the odor that came out of my 2009 Infiniti M35 when it turned two. This one didn't take very long.

In the Infiniti, I would treat it about three times a year with BG Products Frigi-Clean http://www.bgprod.com/catalog/climat.../#bg-product-1 I found it at a local Nissan Dealer and it cost about $50/can.

You attach the clear tube with a foaming tip (included) and spray it into the evaporator core where the mold builds up. In the Infiniti, I would pull back the carpet in the passenger front foot well where the AC drain tube was, disconnect the tube at the bottom of the evaporator core, spray in the foam (entire can) plug it immediately, start the blower motor to push some of the foam up through the vents and let it marinate as long as possible. After about 20 minutes, I would unplug the drain and quickly reconnect the drain hose so that it wouldn't run all over the floor of the car. Depending on the weather and humidity, that would last approximately 3-6 months before re-treatment was needed.

I hope this helps.

 

There's nothing wrong with your car. The logic in all 13's up have been changed for better emissions. While you use your ac the system will constinly change back an fourth from fresh to recirculate for less emissions. To help before you shut the car off turn it back to "fresh" mode button with the arrow going to the side and up. This will allow fresh air to pass by the evap and help reduce odors from accumulating overnight.

 

Well known problem with stupid toyota AC. Have the dealer clean your evaporator core, and switch to fresh air with ac off for few mins before parking to prevent recurrence.

 

Wht95scort is right about switching to fresh mode before you shut down. There isn't anything wrong with the A/C, and this is common in most cars when the A/C is run predominately in recirculate mode.

 

That's right. You guys are not switching to fresh air mode before turning engine off. First turn off A/C then switch to fresh air mode.

 

Lexus should program the car to automatically switch to Fresh Air when you put the car in Park.

 

Mine sometimes automatically switches to fresh air mode.
Didn't know why...

 

When you're in Auto mode it's supposed to be switching.

 

I have dealt with this on a lot of customers vehicles and was pretty upset when my 14 IS350 started doing the same thing.

The 14 IS comes with a charcoal lined A/C filter, and they are only good for 12 months or less. I believe they are including the A/C filter replacement with the 10,000 mile included service, btw. The idea is that the charcoal filter will limit the particles that make it into the HVAC system and cause the odor.

What we have been told to do is replace the A/C filter with another charcoal filter and perform a "Mist" service to the vehicle. In the past we have been told to tell the customers to run the system in fresh air mode as much as possible, especially right before the vehicle is shut off. The "Mist" service is a new thing Lexus has recommended to us, and I believe most dealers should have the the machine to do it. My dealer bought ours as soon as we could because we have these complaints across most of the models. I won't lie, after the service is complete the interior smells weird, and mine still smelt like a new car. What I did was replace the charcoal filter and drove the vehicle for 3 weeks using fresh air mode only. I was hoping that this would eventually clear it up and it would go away. As the days were hotter, the smell got worse and worse until I broke down and ran the Mist service on the vehicle.

At first my reaction after doing the service was that I was mad the vehicle smelt like it did. The original smell was terrible and my fiance' started to not want to ride in the vehicle anymore. To me, as a customer, and an employee, I was not happy about this at all. It just wasn't acceptable. I gave it a few days and after about day two, the smell from the service was 100% gone. I did the service about 3 weeks ago and I don't even have the slightest hint of the original smell, or from the service.

Cliff notes: Ask your dealer about the charcoal filter and doing the mist service. My particular dealership has been taking care of the cost for most customers, but that may not be the result for all dealers. Ask the Service Manager nicely if they can help you out, but Lexus' stance is that it is not covered under warranty.


Edit: this is the machine we are using if anyone is interested. http://www.terraclean.net/product.php?id=35

You add a liquid to the machine and it turns that into a vapor, almost like a humidifier. The A/C filter is removed and the machine is placed on the floor in front of the blower motor. The A/C system is turned to 70 degrees on recirculate with the fan speed on high. All the doors and windows are shut and the machine runs for about 15 - 20 minutes like this to circulate through the system. Afterwards you just open all of the windows and let it air out.

 

My ac automatically switches to fresh air from recycled air after I turn the ac off. I had this problem on my Benz and it was so embarrassing and annoying every time I started the car. Had to warn my passengers that it's going to smell like feet or stinky cheese for like 20 seconds lol

 

This has been happening since the 2IS and long discussions on the causes and all the things people tried to get rid of this embarrassing smell. This is not new and it's not exclusive to Lexus, but I thought Lexus would have figure something out by now -- very disappointing.

Fresh air mode won't help with the smell. You need to turn off the AC with the fan running for a minute or 2 before turning off the car to prevent the smell from developing (you'll be slightly uncomfortable when it's hot but still better than the smelly odor). If the smell is persistent and doesn't go away, you need to spray the intake vents with one of those AC cleaners; and then you need to start turning your AC off all day everyday to keep it from coming back.

 

Wtf..This is really concerning. I hope I don't have this issue..car is brand new so only time will tell

 

I have the same problem with my Q50. (Never had this issue with my G35 coupe).

It was pretty BAD. Right when I turn off the A/C BUT keep the fan running, it would smell pretty bad. I mean horrid. For at least 3 minutes.

I took it to the dealership and they sprayed ozein into the system. This stuff is STRONG. It's so strong that I smell it in my sleep. lol This stuff is toxic. You're suppose to stay out of the room when you use it to deodorize a room.

Anyways, it was bad. I had to flush it out by idling my car for an hour with the fan on full blast.

Even after that, the air still STANK.

The problem? I was using recirculating mode too much. I now air out the system by turning off the A/C and letting it run in fresh air mode.

It still has a tiny bit of mildew smell but not as bad as before. So, there must be a reason why the climate control automatically switches to fresh air mode when I turn the a/c off.

Oh, the reason why I switch to recirc mode manually is because I hate smelling exhaust fumes from the old American cars in front of me.