Hameed

My car was in the Lexus dealr yesterday to cure some minor vibration at 110 KM (about 65 mph), plus some clicking sound coming from the front right wheel when making 90 ° turns to the left and I asked them about the cost to get rid of the nasty moldew smell from the A/C.

They quoted me a whopping $195.00 (about US$140.00) for this seemingly simple task. They said they have to replace the A/C filter and then put in that chemical to get rid of the moldew plus their labour.....

Does that sound right to you guys? I think I need to get off my lazy butt and do this myself..................

Does the A/C filter really need to be replaced as part of this fix to get rid of the moldew smell?

///MDex

Yep - makes since. The filter is where all the mold is growing.

Hunt around here - there may be a DIY. Worst case you make a trip to your dealer and purchase the filter yourself, or find a cheaper place online by which to purchase the filter; should be fairly easy. (Toyota Dealer? Steve Ganz?)

The 'chemical' is likely Lysol or some other disinfectant.

You should be able to manage this DIY with nary a problem

lasermd

When you guy's say "AC filter", are you referring to the charcoal filter in the glove box?? If not, then where is the AC filter located?

Drew

bluelex

well hameed when going 2 a dealer ship u can always xpect 2 b shocked by how much they want 4 something simple or small. unless u have a hookup at the dealer they will always b higher than some local shop. when driving these car we can xpect 2 pay a good amount 2 servc them...

meanboy

My car has that smell as well. The dealer is charging me $50 for the filter and to get rid of the smell. I believe BananaGS has a DIY on the ac filter. It looks simple enough to do. Give it a shot.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Not sure about the disinfectant but the AC filter is a 5 minute job max DIY. Go for it.

///MDex

http://lexusmodz.netfirms.com/GS_DIY/hepa_filter

PHML

iTrader: (33)

i tried disinfecting the OEM filter then re-installing it.....the smell was still there.

I also change the filter per BananaGS....smell is still there.

I know there was a Technical Service Bulletin on this.....but the pics of the A/C unit in the TSB did NOT match my unit ('01).

Pete

///MDex

Did you use a dis-yeah and replace the filter? Probably need to do both. I think you actually have to pour the dis. down into the core / condenser (?) area. One of teh Tech guys should know.

Moving to Maintenance

S-Lex-95

The air filter/cabin filter must be fairly easy, as I have replaced 2 of them now. Usually the smell is from inside the ductwork. It helps to run a/c where air enters from outside instead of recirculating. That will not get rid of smell but will help from getting more mold or whatever.

There is a product made for this problem. the only one I have seen mentioned is Wurth's AC and Heating System Spray, and I found it at www.carcareonline.com Evidently you are supposed to spray it on air input areas and it gets circulated thru your ac ductwork. Have not figgured out exactly where those input areas are yet.

Has anyone used this?