Moldy Smell When A/c On

[docmas]

I have a moldy smell in my 2002 LS430, bought it three years ago. Dealer told me that it was common for the Lexus, that water collected (someplace) and that the solution was to run it with the "fresh air" setting instead of the "recycled air" setting. I bought that, but now that I've discovered this forum, wondering if that was BS and that there might be something else going on. Still have Platinum until April 2009. Any suggestions or similar experiences?

Thanks,

Adam

[1990LS400]

I can tell you that a musty smell is not normal in Lexus LS cars having driven owned them continuously since 1990 and for a total of almost exactly 250,000 miles. If the smell has been there since you bought the car, you might want to check the car's history if you don't know it. There are plenty of flood damaged cars around.

If your car has not been water damaged, I suspect the cause of the smell is a blocked drain tube in the HVAC system. Have your verified that floor under the carpets are dry?

I haven't found Lexus dealer service writers to be any more knowledgeable than service writers for dealers that sell less expensive makes. I've had to explain the features of my Lexus cars countless times to Lexus service writers and sometimes even show them information in the repair and owners manuals so they would believe me. I've had infinitely better service from independent repair shops that specialize in Lexus cars.

[GDixon]

This forum is full of information about this problem. Do a search and you'll be astounded at the number of similar complaints. There are even some suggestions.

[1990LS400]

I just reread the original post and have to agree that it is not wise to continually run the A/C in the recirculation mode. Are you running the HVAC in recirculation mode manually?

Do you have the HVAC system in "Auto" mode so that recirculation is automatically selected only when the humidity is extremely high or when the pollution sensor senses that the outside air is foul?

If you have the HVAC in Auto mode, is your HVAC system staying in recirculation mode too much of the time? If so, I wonder if the air quality sensor is set too high. Look in your owners manual for instructions on how to dial down the sensitivity. If you are in stop and go traffic a lot (I love L.A. and its traffic!), I can see why you or the previous owner set the air quality sensor higher than normal.

I did a search for "smell" and did find a few threads about a musty smell. Here is one: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...90&hl=smell

I haven't been to L.A. in a few years but, based on watching the news, it seemed like a pretty dry summer. I've been there a number of times during the summer over the years and I've never found it to be the type of weather that mold would thrive in.

[G Alex]

sounds funny, I have never heard of what your dealer told you but I dont know much.

Everyone please remember to run your a/c for 10 minutes each month during the winter to keep the o rings and everything lubed up so you dont run into issues next spring/summer when you need it.

Alex

[jainla]

Is it continuous or just when the AC turns on? I had a problem like this when the AC would turn off or on there was a musty smell for a couple minutes; and this was during a hot and humid (for us) summer.

It's the HVAC condensate drain pipe most likely; it gets full of nast and then the water backs up and won't drain properly; I've heard of this problem happening on other toyotas. Usually I just run the CC system with the AC off for the last 5 minutes of my drive and the problem hasn't recurred; but if you want to dig around on this forum you'll find instructions for finding the pipe (it's on the firewall on the passenger side I think) and how to clean it.

There is also a cleaning kit available from Toyota; I think it has some kind of disinfectant to kill the bacteria that lives up in there.

[McSwine]

Cabin air filter, perhaps?

[docmas]

I've had the cabin air filter replaced (will do it myself next time, thanks to this forum), and the smell is only there when using the a/c. And no, for most part, I not longer use the recycle position, keep it on automatic or manual "open". My extended warranty runs out in April 09, just want to make sure I shouldn't ask them to check something before then. Read in another thread that maybe the drain tube could be blocked. As I said, the dealer stated this was a common problem. I live in Los Angeles, so use the a/c quite a bit.

[python]

go to napa auto and get the ac/heater vent cleaner.....end of problem ....its called "KOOL IT" part number 96030 made by lube guard, google it...heres the link http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/radiator_foam.html

[python]

was this resolved? dont understand why people dont reply to suggestions made to let others know if anything has been resolved and what worked for them

[docmas]

No resolution yet, still at dealer for some warranty work. They say (again) that it's normal, what they would do is run heat for half an hour full blast and "burn" out the mold smell. They weren't aware of the other remedies, which I may try at later date. Thanks for the input.