Air Conditioner

mulholland dr. · August 11, 2003

i have noticed that i get a pretty bad odor from my air condioner intermittently, it smells like mildew...does anyone have any suggestions for this?

i asked my dealer to look into it and all they did was spray some kind of deodorizer in the vents and it smelled like a masking agent.

the "mildew smell" came back after a few weeks..

tia

bartkat · August 11, 2003

Suff grows on the condenser. They sell stuff to clean it with at most parts stores.

mulholland dr. · August 13, 2003

thanks, will check at autozone

steviej · August 14, 2003

I had this, too at about 24,000 miles in. (27,500 on car now).

I simply replaced the cabin AC filter. All better.

I did catch a clip in the paper of another fix. It involves a disinfectant (I chose Lysol original)

Spray the disinfectant into the air intake at the base of the windshield/hood for 45 seconds while the AC in on high and on cold. Then spray again for 45 seconds while the AC is on high and on hot. Do this for 5-7 days in a row. It helps to get the disinfectant into the air ducts and cooling fins. This will kill whatever was/is growing.

I found it was growing in my filter. Replacement was the solution.

Search on AC odor....many threads about it. This is not specific to Lexus either. It is becoming a common complaint among electronic climate controled vehicles.

steviej