musty vents...ugh
Pole Position
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,243
Likes: 88
From: Texas
My solution is move 
Would rather live further north anyways. TX is kinda flat and not as much to do unless you go even further south where the humidity is higher. More of a mountains person myself or large open fields with an actual fluctuation in seasons. We see so much heat and too little cold for my taste. But to each their own.
Anyone live in Boulder or Washington State?
Would rather live further north anyways. TX is kinda flat and not as much to do unless you go even further south where the humidity is higher. More of a mountains person myself or large open fields with an actual fluctuation in seasons. We see so much heat and too little cold for my taste. But to each their own. Anyone live in Boulder or Washington State?
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Tx
Mold in Lexus A/C vents
We are dealing with this same issue, mold smell coming from the A/C vents in a new 2013 Lexus RX 350. Below is a copy that I posted on the other forum, the ES350 forum, I posted it there because it was the first one that came up when I searched 'Lexus mold in the A/C'.
It is Not normal and it is Not Healthy. You would no more sit a cup of water outside for a few days, let it get moldy, and stick your nose in it and take a big whiff every morning before you start your car would you? That is exactly what is happening here.
The bigger question is, what type of mold is it? Is it black mold? Toxic mold? or some benign variety. It would take breaking down the system and doing a culture to find out. The car has returned from the dealer for the third time now to fix this problem. So we will see.
Future buyers of this car should be informed and ask their salesperson upfront before the purchase about this issue and if it happens, how they will handle it. And/or understand your A/C comes with specific instructions (which is outrageous in a luxury car).
We just took the Rx 350 back in for this problem as the smell returned soon after it was supposedly fixed the first time, and I was incorrect, the car was purchased in 2012, but is a 2013 RX 350 with less than 5,000 miles. My brother in law, before this occurred, purchased a brand new 2013 ES 350 and has only about 2,000 miles, it is now having the same issue with the mold smell. He has a dealer visit scheduled.
After discussing this with an A/C technician, his explanation is that water off the evaporator is not draining properly, for whatever reason (plugged up, poor engineering, etc.) and that mold is forming in that sitting water. It is then blown through the vents, thus the smell. He confirms this "can't be healthy" and also very unusual for a brand new car, no matter what part of the country or climate it's in.
So we have to wonder. Is it ALL Lexus cars with a certain A/C system in humid states that have the problem? If not, then there must be a fix for the ones that are having trouble. And blasting Lysol or other chemicals through the system is not a fix. If a majority of cars are having the problem, fix the system. So yea, Ronk, Good Call, a Recall first post looks pretty good about now if that is the problem.
The dealer tells Ronk above that,
"It is normal to experience odor upon the initial start up due to the moist/humid air that is trapped in the HVAC system, after the vehicle has been parked."
That is completely false.
Bottom line is, if your product has a problem in humid environments, inform the customer before the purchase, or better yet--Don't sell it there.
It is Not normal and it is Not Healthy. You would no more sit a cup of water outside for a few days, let it get moldy, and stick your nose in it and take a big whiff every morning before you start your car would you? That is exactly what is happening here.
The bigger question is, what type of mold is it? Is it black mold? Toxic mold? or some benign variety. It would take breaking down the system and doing a culture to find out. The car has returned from the dealer for the third time now to fix this problem. So we will see.
Future buyers of this car should be informed and ask their salesperson upfront before the purchase about this issue and if it happens, how they will handle it. And/or understand your A/C comes with specific instructions (which is outrageous in a luxury car).
We just took the Rx 350 back in for this problem as the smell returned soon after it was supposedly fixed the first time, and I was incorrect, the car was purchased in 2012, but is a 2013 RX 350 with less than 5,000 miles. My brother in law, before this occurred, purchased a brand new 2013 ES 350 and has only about 2,000 miles, it is now having the same issue with the mold smell. He has a dealer visit scheduled.
After discussing this with an A/C technician, his explanation is that water off the evaporator is not draining properly, for whatever reason (plugged up, poor engineering, etc.) and that mold is forming in that sitting water. It is then blown through the vents, thus the smell. He confirms this "can't be healthy" and also very unusual for a brand new car, no matter what part of the country or climate it's in.
So we have to wonder. Is it ALL Lexus cars with a certain A/C system in humid states that have the problem? If not, then there must be a fix for the ones that are having trouble. And blasting Lysol or other chemicals through the system is not a fix. If a majority of cars are having the problem, fix the system. So yea, Ronk, Good Call, a Recall first post looks pretty good about now if that is the problem.
The dealer tells Ronk above that,
"It is normal to experience odor upon the initial start up due to the moist/humid air that is trapped in the HVAC system, after the vehicle has been parked."
That is completely false.
Bottom line is, if your product has a problem in humid environments, inform the customer before the purchase, or better yet--Don't sell it there.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post