itskwilson

Currently sitting in the lobby at my local Lexus Dealer waiting for my car to be looked at. I finally got around to bringing my 3IS in to get someone to check out this terrible odor coming out of my air vents when I have my heat/ac on. I've read on it before and by the looks of things, im not the only one.

I guess I'm posting this to see if anyone has found a REAL solution. I had to hold back from laughing at the service tech that just helped me. He sat here and told me, that the reason my car blows air that smells like musty old laundry is because of the AIR FRESHENER (Air Spencer Squash Casette Style thingy) I use. Yes, you read correctly. He said, quote "the smell from the air freshener mixes in with the system, with all the GLUES and PLASTICS causing the smell and I should remove my airfreshener."

Seriously?! I recently came into this dealer to have my breaks checked for the typical dreaded squeak most of us experience. I got the same answer then, just as I got now. "Oh, it's normal for these cars." Typical. After purchasing a vehicle like Lexus, at this price range, I'd expect a little more from the "professionals" instead of being told "it's normal" with every new issue I'm having.

Thanks for listening, lol any advice or tips to get this smell fixed would be greatly appreciated.

Kwong516

iTrader: (1)

Try changing the cabin air filter. If its a musty smell, change the filter and put the heater on full blast to get rid of the musty smell. Its most likely moisture from the AC system.

Shorrow77

Yup I have a IS250 14 model 12000 miles car had a horrible smell dealer verified cleaned AC system and replaced cabin air filter and these models you have to drive the car for a little while after turning off the AC to dry out the system.. how ridiculous very frustrating 4/2 in a new car also having a noise now when starting up after driving and let it sit for an hour sounds like a diesel for a few seconds. One thing after another with this car with 12000 miles is this a lemon or does Lexus really suck??�� good luck

itskwilson

That was the first thing I did, helped for about 3 days then back to the smell.

itskwilson

pretty frustrating right? they brought my car back out and told me the only thing they can recommend is removing my air fresher lol or pay $200 (which you'd think should be covered) to have them spray some disenfectant? What a joke.

Machine13

When this smell occasionally happens to me I just remove the cabin air filter, clean it, spray some Lysol on it (not too much), and also spray some Lysol into the hole in the glovebox where the air filter goes while the A/C is running on low (not high, so as not to burn out the A/C motor). Don't spray too much, just a little, once or twice a week until the smell goes away. The smell is probably mildew due to environmental humidity. This is not the dealer's responsibility to fix. This is our of their control. There have been around a dozen or so posts on this issue already, too.

janterry15

lol first let me just say, Yes I resolved this issue and if you look back at all my previous threads, This problem was the biggest issue for me about Lexus!
(And yes it is a common issue on the Lexus of those years cause the Ac unit closes shut when the car is off trapping bacteria and allowing it to mold and grow)

but I got it fixed!!! Finally. And for FREE!

after 3 cabin filters and constant *****ing and I really do mean *****ing to Lexus HQ expressing how annoyed and disappointed I was in them that time after time they could not fix the issue. This is because the Stealership is LAZY and does not feel like it is worth their while to fix it properly! Each time I went in there, They just sprayed a air deorderizer spray in there or changed the cabin filter and called it a day. Needless to say, the smell comes back in a matter of days, not even a week. It got to the point where Lexus dealerships would lie about it every time Lexus HQ contacted them about my vehicle. Lexus HQ is diligent and actually caring but they cannot go off my word, cause to them I'm just a civilizian who doesn't know squat about cars.. anyways Lexus Stealerships would lie and tell them that there was no smell and cannot replicate it. i went to the stealerships and stormed into the mangers office demanding that he personally take a look at my car and tell it to my face that there is no issue. I made him sign a acknowledgment that there is a problem and sent it in to HQ. HQ called the stealer ship and told them to do a full clean of the system, cleaning the evaporator coils and all for free. That fixed the problem! Sadly, In order to stop the nightmare, I had to become the nightmare.
(Probably not worth $250 but it's the principle!)

Tldr: get a full evaporator coil cleaning. (The foam that sits inside the ac unit and drains).

EXE46

[QUOTE=janterry15;9707069]So does this means the issue may occur in the future right? What is there to avoid this from happening again if it's based on design..

Machine13

This is not a design issue. In humid climates water can condensate inside a car's a/c plumbing, especially after the car is turned off and the a/c was running. After a while mildew can grow. Mildew is what we're smelling inside our a/c's. This can happen to any car, not just a Lexus. It has nothing to do with design and everything to do with the environment in which you choose to park your car.

Machine13

Here's another explaination I've copied from a google search.

"This is a common problem for all air conditioners (in a car or not), and is caused by mildew growth. In cars it often happens when people run their A/C on the recirculation all of the time, or the drain gets clogged. The system doesn't dry out completely and mildew starts to grow."

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

Agreed. I've been driving IS cars for a long time, never left the car off with A/C ON or in air circulation mode. No smell at all on any of my cars.

metrik

Ding ding ding! This happens in every car and has happened in all of mine (Honda, BMW, Toyota). Not a specific flaw from Lexus. The a/c system needs to be dried out and the mildew removed

computerwi

I notice most people with these A/C odor issues are from California or Florida where is humidity is high. So, it doesn't surprise me that you have mold/mildew problems then. Not saying the system couldn't be designed better, but for most people, this is not an issue.

Boomin

Yea my wife had the same problem, it never went away dude, added air fresheners to bury the smell....

janterry15

I don't think you guys understand the issue I really had. The smell I had was extremely pungent. It literally smelled like a gas station public bathroom in there!

my house hold have 5 cars. 03 Camry, 08 crv, 13 Mazda 3, 06 Tacoma, and my 14 is250.

None of of my cars had that smell besides the IS. And we run the AC all the same in each car. There's something about the new Lexus AC refrigerant that mixes with the outside air that causes this issue!
my friends 14 CT200 have the same problem as my IS but her older Prius doesn't have that problem.

I've only had something similar once in my Miata but never as bad as this!