I just purchased a used 98' GS4 a couple of weeks ago for 25,300...(28 out the door) w/ 67K on it... came with a 6 disc cd changer and a spoiler as well... do u think i got a good deal? There is one problem though... there is a nasty smell comming out of the vents whenever I turn on the heater or the AC... my friend said there could be a coolant leak somewhere... but could anyone tell me specifically what the problem is? Some help would be appreciated... thanks...

 

Hey Soak,
My mom had the same problem on her '98 LS400 when she bought it.. What does it smell like? Does It do it only in re-circulate? If So, Its due to the past owner leaving it in recirculate 'most' of the time and some kind of bacteria built up inside. If this is the scenario- you need to change the AC filters and Clean the Air Duct out and Spray Lysol in the system to get rid of it.. Personally, I didn't do this- I took the Car to Lexus and they were happy to do it, plus they got to sell you 2 new filters...
But, There was no charge except the Filters... Hope this helps...


Later,
QWK

 

I have that mildew smell after i turn the AC on, then if i turn it off, and leave it at like 65-70, it'll really smell bad, but if I put it to like 72 the smell goes away, so maybe try leaving it at 72 and on low....

ShOwGS

 

If the previous owner didn't run it much this could happen as well. I don't run my air much and when I do I get that smell afterwards but if I leave it on it's fine.

I better keep it on more.

 

Try doing a search on this; I think wwest has posted about using some Lysol to rid the mildew by spraying it into the air ducts or something.

Wait, is it a mildew smell, or something like buring oil or transmission fluid? Did you mean to post this here? Anyway, try a search here

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/search.php

with "mildew" as your query, and keep us posted.

HTH