ddsmith Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Hi, We recently purchased a new 2006 RX 330. Since we first took the car home, it has had a very strong burning smell, especially after driving for a few miles then stopping at a traffic light. The smell is outside the car and it comes into the cabin too. We have been told by the dealer that the smell is related to the excess cosmoline put on the engine prior to shipment. I am just wondering if anyone else has been experiencing the same thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RX330_Owner Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 I just got a 2006 RX 330 Dec 05 with 5 miles. I had the same smell. It's very strong. Now I have 700 miles, and the smell has gotten better although not 100% gone yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddsmith Posted February 1, 2006 Author Share Posted February 1, 2006 I just got a 2006 RX 330 Dec 05 with 5 miles. I had the same smell. It's very strong. Now I have 700 miles, and the smell has gotten better although not 100% gone yet. Thanks for the feedback. We also bought this one in Dec 05 and it had 33 miles. It just hit 1000 miles and the smell is still there, although not as strong as it was earlier. When we first took it home the smell was so strong it was very noticable even in the house with the door closed. The dealer has power washed the engine multiple times, changed a heat shield they said was saturated with cosmoline, and changed the cabin air filter twice. Supposedly the burning smell will eventually go away. The '06 RX 330 is actually my wife's car. I have a 2005 GX 470 that I bought new a year ago and it never had this problem, nor did a 2004 RX 330 that my sister in law has. I was just curious if this issue with my wife's new RX was an isolated problem or if others have experienced it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccw2006rx330 Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 We've had the same experience on our '06 RX330. Until roughly 2000 miles the smell was nauseating at times. Our dealer claimed it was undercoating that had to bake off. He also said that they bought a vehicle back from a woman once who couldn’t stand the smell. Cosmolene is used as a rust preventative so it could be that’s what it is, or that it’s a component of some coating that they apply. In the survey that Lexus sends out I noted it as one of the only negatives we had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RX330_Owner Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 Actually I was told two different things. The service guy said it was a sealant, like you mentioned, in the underbody that will be gone by 10,000 miles. My sales guy, who is actually technical, mentioned the engine coating, and stated it would be gone within 3 weeks. I typically drive with the internal air circulation on so the outside engine smell does not come in. This helps alot. Other than the smell, have you had any other issues concerns with your '06 330? For me, I love the new car but have a few concerns with the following. Probably no big deal. I'm scheduled to take the car in this weekend just to get checked out. 1) Key is kind of difficult to put in the ignition. Once it's in, the crank feels heavy to turn. ( I had an Acura before, and it felt alot easier to crank ). 2) Brake felt very soft at first, but now that I've got some mileage, it's firmed up some and feels better. Don't know if this is normal for it to go through this phase. 3) When I first crank the car in the morning in the garage, I hear something like a whoosh noise in the dash. The sound seems to coincide with the headlights. I read in another thread, someone mentioning a shade for the headlights. I don't know if it's related or not with that. I do have adaptive headlights so it may be related with that as well. Other than that, it's a great car so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rx330driver Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 can you elaborate the whoosh sound, i have the adapt. headlights too. Is the engine on at this point, because wouldnt it be hard to hear the headlights over the engine? lol. the brake will sometimes feel soft and sometimes hard. The brakes have that new device where it will brake harder for you if it senses a "dangerous" situation. It has helped me manny times, but has also made my braking much more powerful than needed. The car will adapt to your needs, give it some time. if not, bring it up at hte 5K service, which is free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickk Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 I have an answer for the bad odor problem. I purchased a 2006 Rx a couple of weeks ago. Odor was nauseating. Dealer actually replaced the vehicle which had the same odor. Service took the heat shields off and tried to wash them with solvent to remove excess udercoating spray. Smell was still noticeable. Lexus stated spray continued to remain in spaces between heat shields. Eventually, Lexus replaced all of the heat shields with heat shields from another Rx which did not have the smell. Odor is now completely gone. Although this was a complete hassel to experience with a new car, I've got to say, Lexus stepped to the plate. The dealership even offered me a complete cash refund if I was not completely satusfied. NOTE: A factory rep was on hand - Lexus corp is well aware of this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonecutter Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 When I bought my '05 about a year ago, it had the odor; not strong, and lasted only about 3 weeks, just as the sales guy said it would. I haven't seen any posts that complaint of this odor for the '05 model year, might be a quality control problem for the '06 only (?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mehullica Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 Known problem. Cosmoline undercoating is getting between the heat shields. Have them replaced or burned off with a torch once the shields are removed from the exhaust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RX330_Owner Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 The whoosh sound I hear occurs a second or two after the engine starts. Because I store the car in the garage, the auto light turns on the actual HID. The sound seems to be in synch with the headlight turning on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rx330driver Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 all i hear is a light buzzing sound, which is just the lights warming up lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil18646 Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Well-we just purchased an RX 330 2006 and it has all of 37 miles on it AND this terrible burning odor... went to our Lexus dealer today and they said it would burn off...pleased to see all your comments and to know we are not crazy....will try to follow your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tauren Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I just purchased a 2006 RX330 last Friday (3/31/06) with 35 miles on it. It has just under 200 miles now. I don't smell anything repuslive. Just that "new car" smell, which I actually enjoy. Do the smells you are discussing happen immediately or start appearing after some time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgejon Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 My wife purchased a new RX330 on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb 5, 06. No burning odor noticed at all. I wonder if the Lexus people corrected the problem in the assembly process on a particular date, and if people with the odor problem are getting cars made before that magic date. Clearly Lexus would be aware of the problem by now. good point made in that regard for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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