Strange Odor In My Rx400h

[CAH]

There is a strange odor in the used RX400h I purchased. The odor seems to be coming from one of the battery vents under the rear seat. The smell has been described as that of hot (i.e., spicy) peppers by some, "skunky" by others. I am wondering if I have a defective battery that is outgassing. The smell disappears a few minutes after driving (diluted by the ventilation system). However, it is very strong when first opening the door to enter the vehicle. Has anyone had or heard of this kind of problem.

[katzjamr]

can you get it on a lift and inspect the area to see if a critter has crawled up there. in three years of reading forums on the 400h i have never seen a post about the battery emitting an odor.

[CAH]

can you get it on a lift and inspect the area to see if a critter has crawled up there. in three years of reading forums on the 400h i have never seen a post about the battery emitting an odor.

I had the car in to my local Lexus dealer for a "pre-buy inspection" (I bought it used). I assume they had in on the lift at that time and found no "critters". Also, the odor is not the rotten smell that would emanate from a decomposing animal. It is more a chemical smell, and seems to be coming from the battery vents. I am thinking that the battery is outgassing, perhaps due to a breach in the casing. I would have thought I would not be the only one to experience this problem, hence the post to this site. It seems your experience reading the forums would indicate I am on my own here. Any thoughts on the cause of a chemical odor?

[jakejake]

I have a similar chemical odor from my altima hybrid battery vent... It's strongest after driving and once the car has stopped.

I'm curious if you found out anything?

[CAH]

I have a similar chemical odor from my altima hybrid battery vent... It's strongest after driving and once the car has stopped.

I'm curious if you found out anything?

My experience is consistent with yours: the smell seems to outgas from the battery vent after the car is driven and turned off. My RX400h is currently at the Lexus dealer where they have tried to locate the source of the odor. I had it in to have the carpet replaced: there had been a water leak into the cabin and, as a result of the carpets being saturated, there was mildew under them. The seats, center console, and carpets are now out of the vehicle and the odor is still there. They cannot locate the source of it and claim that the batteries do not emit an odor. I had gotten onto a Toyota Prius forum and asked the question as to whether a breach in the battery casing might allow outgassing. One of the folks active in working on Prius batteries (who apparently has taken them apart) indicated that the batteries don't emit an odor as well. The technicians at the Lexus dealer are stumped. One speculation they have, and it is speculation, is that some pepper spray (i.e., mace-like spray that people keep for self protection) was accidently released in the vehicle and has permeated the fabrics and plastics. I notice that the odor seems to absorb preferentially on plastics. For instance, if I leave my checkbook in the car overnight, the plastic cover takes on the odor. Also, my nylon gym back and the plastics used in parts of it seem to take on the odor, as do the gym clothes that are made of synthetics (e.g., rayons, etc.). Cotton and natural fibers don't seem to take up the odor as much. If my assumption is correct that plastics absorb this odor, then all the plastics in the interior of the cabin have absorbed it. Regarding the apparent outgassing from the battery vent, I am wondering if the batteries are encased in plastic and the odor outgasses from the battery casing more when the battery is warm, i.e., after the car has been driven. That could be why I seem to preferentially smell it coming from the battery vent. I probably don't smell it while I am driving becuase of the cabin ventilation which I have set to bring in fresh air rather than recirculate the cabin air.

Have you had your altima since new? Would there be a source for the odor in your car other than from the car materials itself (e.g., a spill or accidental release of some chemical)?

Thanks,

Chris

[jakejake]

I bought my altima new in October, although it was an 08 model. It only had 70 miles. It doesn't really have the normal new car smell. No mace or chemicals have been spilled. I've ventilated it a *lot*, but it doesn't help with the odor that emanates after stopping.

I've also speculated that the odor comes from a material that encases the battery that heats up.

How many miles does your car have?

So your dealership is agreeing that there is an odor?

I've yet to contact my dealer. That's next. I'm also going to call Nissan.

feel free to email me directly at hybridodor@yahoo.com

I just created it. Didn't want me real address to get on some junk list

[CAH]

I bought my altima new in October, although it was an 08 model. It only had 70 miles. It doesn't really have the normal new car smell. No mace or chemicals have been spilled. I've ventilated it a *lot*, but it doesn't help with the odor that emanates after stopping.

I've also speculated that the odor comes from a material that encases the battery that heats up.

How many miles does your car have?

So your dealership is agreeing that there is an odor?

I've yet to contact my dealer. That's next. I'm also going to call Nissan.

feel free to email me directly at hybridodor@yahoo.com

I just created it. Didn't want me real address to get on some junk list

Jake,

I'll answer your questions first:

Mileage: 22K

Dealership agree there is an odor: YES

Unfortunately, mine is a confusing problem or series of problems. The complication is that the carpets got saturated with water due to the drain line that drains condensation from the AC evaporator in the dash being plugged. I tried a wet dry vac and letting them dry out over a few months, but the "jute" under the carpet seems to hold water better than a sealed container. I had the carpet and jute replaced. When that was being done, the Lexus dealer threw every type of deodorizing agent they could think of at the interior of the car. The car does smell better, but I cannot say whether or not the original "chemical" smell is gone due to the fact that the deodorizing products seemed to have introduced new odors of their own. I am a little sensitive to the deodorizing agents and am not too crazy about the smell they leave. Hopefully they will dissipate with time. My colleagues who had ridden in the car before the dealer treated it say that the original bad smell seems to be gone or not so noticeable. They think the new odor is akin to "new car smell" (probably the products are designed to emulate that to enhance resale). I think the jury is still out on whether the original problem was solved. I can send you a list of the products they used if you would like to see it.

One thing: the original floor mats seem to have absorbed the chemical, peppery odor that originally troubled me. That odor seemed to absorb into plastics, nylon, and similar tynthetics (e.g. my nylon gym bag). The floor mats have a soft rubber underside that really absorbed the odor. I have them outside my house on the rail of my back porch hoping that they will air out.

As for the root of the odor, the dealer speculated that it might have been from one of those mini cans of mace or pepper spray, e.g., the kind that people used to carry for personal protection. I got the car used and can't say what happened before I bought it. Unfortunately, I bought it over the internet from a dealer several hundred miles away, and by the time I realized it had an odor, it was too late or too cumbersome to do anything about it with them.

CAH

[BillyShaft]

That is the oddest problem. Please keep us updated on what you find.

I bought my 2002 F150 online and the guy I bought it from apparently thought that "New Car Smell" was extra-awesome. He opened several cans of gelled New Car stink and placed them under the seats and I found several of those hanging christmas tree thingys stuffed under the dash. The truck absolutely stank and took a year to air out.

[C.L.Taylor]

I've complained about the odor since the first month I had the car. The odor made my motherinlaw, who already has mayesthinia gravis caused by mold, sick when we went for a 1-1/2 trip.

It is mold.

It is mold and after giving up with the dealership where I purchased it I went to another dealership. Not only did three different advisers indicate it is mold but the each suggested running the car for 30 minutes on HIGH to dry it out. As part of my 30,000 service they changed the filter and deodorized the compartment.

I looked through my records and I've brought it in at least 5 times in the last three years for the problem. If the solution is to run the heater, it pretty much defeats the purpose of buying a car with A/C. I drove a Corolla for 16 years with no A/C, and no one I know who has a car has EVER had this problem with their vehicles.

Lexus needs to either issue a Service Bulletin to either upgrade or overhaul every A/C they have causing this problem or recall and replace the vehicles.

Mold can make people seriously deathly ill. My mother-in-law's life was destroyed by mold (caught in the wall of her house shared with a neighbor who let the roof go to disrepair. You do NOT want to end up in intensive care when your thymus gland goes nuts trying to protect you from the mold.

When I took my car in to finally give up on running the heat as an option I was driving with the windows cracked every time I got in my car including in 35 degree weather. The car was causing me histamine problems and I would need a Benadryl or Claritin just to ride in my own car.

They know it's mold and they know how to deodorize it. But recurring mold to me qualifies as a Lemon Law candidate. In your Lexus paperwork/manual there should be a "Lemon Law" booklet and it outlines the rules for each state. My STRONG suggestion is 1. get the a/c system deodorized by the dealiership, 2. pull out the Lemon Law booklet and fill out the form, 3. mail the form. If enough people do this perhaps we can convince Lexus that this is a serious issue which should be part of a recall effort to be repaired or replaced.

I paid cash for my 400h. I was so excited to own it. I hate it now and I already got rid of my 16 year old Corolla (which had no air bags, no power steering, and no A/C). I miss that car. Even the shock/strut/sway features in my $8,999 16 year old 100,000 mile Corolla were better than my 2006 Lexus 400h. The car throws me around like a rag doll, feels like it's going to tip over, is 2-3 inches too tall, and smells terrible.

But don't be fooled by people thinking it's 'new car smell' or the dealership people who say, "oh yeah, just run the heater" because both are nonsense.

It's mold, it's recurring, it's a chronic problem, and everyone needs to file their Lemon Law paperwork against the A/C mold problem so we can get a Service Bulletin or a recall to repair or replace the cars. No manufacturer should be allowed to sell a vehicle that makes a person sick.

Mold can make you mildly to critically ill and land a person in the ICU with serious illness requiring surgery, and worse. I would not wish myasthinia gravis on my worst enemy.

It's mold. File the lemon law form, today.

[Gryphon]

I am not so sure that mold is mold in all cases. Mold that forms on stale food for example generally does not make a person deathly ill nor give them myasthinia gravis.

Tom

[CAH]

My problem was mostly cured when I replaced the carpets in the 400h. It seems the jute under the carpets never dried out after getting saturated with water due to a clogged air conditioner drain line. This eliminated 99% of the problem. There is still a bit of a smell in the car. It could be "new car smell" from the carpets. It could also be the deodorizers they used on the vehicle after they removed the carpet. The residual smell seems stronger when the humidity is high.

I have no idea if the saturated carpet and subsequent high relative humidity in the cabin caused mold in the vent lines, as I have no idea what mold smells like. Anyone care to offer an explanation?

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

I've complained about the odor since the first month I had the car. The odor made my motherinlaw, who already has mayesthinia gravis caused by mold, sick when we went for a 1-1/2 trip.

It is mold.

It is mold and after giving up with the dealership where I purchased it I went to another dealership. Not only did three different advisers indicate it is mold but the each suggested running the car for 30 minutes on HIGH to dry it out. As part of my 30,000 service they changed the filter and deodorized the compartment.

. . . . . . . . . snip

The mold / AC issue is/was easy to solve. We simply sprayed the snot out of all the surrounding parts, & the filter with this:

http://usera.imagecave.com/w4abj/TotalHYGIENDM1.jpg

End of issue for us. It's sold in Australia, and the EU, but very hard to find in the U.S. though. The mold thing ... few seem to use the search function here, but the thing has been covered ad nausium, and so I keep posting & posting. Many autos seem to suffer from the mold potential, and deal w/ it in different ways. Now as to the dealer using "deodoriz[ing]" chemicles, MAN, some of THOSE chemicles are as bad, if not worse than molds. The stuff we found (above) is manufactured with human health in mind, whereas some of the so called deodorizing chemicles simply mask the issue with perfumes ... which are just petro chemicles. Good luck w/ your fix, & here's hoping the deoderant didn't simply mask the problem.

[SW03ES]

I'm a real estate broker and mold is a big issue right now in real estate transactions and as such I've learned a lot about it.

There are a bunch of different types of mold, only one or two that will make you as sick as the mold that effected C.L. Taylor's mother, which was probably Stachybotrys (toxic mold, black mold, etc). I've never heard of a case with that type of mold in a car.

Different materials will grow different types of mold, stachybotrys grows mostly on sheetrock or drywall. There really isn't anything in a car for mold to consume to the point where you could have an extreme enough infestation to make you sick, as can happen in a house.

What you get in a car is more likely a mildew or allergen mold, which can aggrivate allergies but isn't likely to hurt you.

If you have mold, you have water. So if your RX is "infested with mold" C.L. Taylor, water is getting in there somewhere...