BKGiantsFan Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 I picked up my new "baby" just over 2 weeks ago and I'm stopping in to introduce myself. I gladly drove 6 hours round trip to get it because it only has 45000 miles and is the AWD version with Navigation and Bluetooth. The only issue I have is that I just started to notice tiny white particles on the dash and around the vents (see pics attached to this post) after running the heat for the first time a couple days ago. Has anyone else seen anything similar? I'm thinking of taking it to the nearest Lexus dealer (which is still an hour away from where I live) to have it checked out unless someone else has seen or heard of this before.
James Horning Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 The dust , very fine , is caused by the erosion of the protective coating on the evaporator core ( air conditioning ) . Service bulletin L SB 0032 08 excessive dust from HVAC vents may apply . Please see your dealer as soon as possible warranty is time/mileage. The evaporator is replaced and the duct work cleaned out . The dealer will also check for recall status on this vehicle. Certain years require the replacement of the intelligent power module ( hybrid ) , crank shaft pulley , and carpet cover and clips. I really enjoy the hybrid line up , the 400 h is blast to drive!!
pj8708 Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 James will the cabin air filter block some of these particles or does the evaporator flakes bypass that filtering system and just get sucked in to the vents. This is really interesting as I've never heard of such a wierd thing before! Thanks, Paul
pj8708 Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 I picked up my new "baby" just over 2 weeks ago and I'm stopping in to introduce myself. I gladly drove 6 hours round trip to get it because it only has 45000 miles and is the AWD version with Navigation and Bluetooth. The only issue I have is that I just started to notice tiny white particles on the dash and around the vents (see pics attached to this post) after running the heat for the first time a couple days ago. Has anyone else seen anything similar? I'm thinking of taking it to the nearest Lexus dealer (which is still an hour away from where I live) to have it checked out unless someone else has seen or heard of this before. Welcome to the LOC. Looks like a great ride. Enjoy! Paul
BKGiantsFan Posted January 24, 2013 Author Posted January 24, 2013 The dust , very fine , is caused by the erosion of the protective coating on the evaporator core ( air conditioning ) . Service bulletin L SB 0032 08 excessive dust from HVAC vents may apply . Please see your dealer as soon as possible warranty is time/mileage. The evaporator is replaced and the duct work cleaned out . The dealer will also check for recall status on this vehicle. Certain years require the replacement of the intelligent power module ( hybrid ) , crank shaft pulley , and carpet cover and clips. I really enjoy the hybrid line up , the 400 h is blast to drive!! Thanks for the reply, James.Google did show evidence of other Lexus Owners having this same issue. While it's good to know I'm not alone and not imagining things I'm a bit concerned. I definitely will take it to the nearest dealer to get looked at right away.
BKGiantsFan Posted February 20, 2013 Author Posted February 20, 2013 OK, time for a status update. I took it to the dealer and had them fix the issue (the TSB helped greatly as he service agent stated he'd never seen the problem in the 3 years he'd been working there). They emailed Lexus and explained the situation and that I just bought the car and Lexus told them to offer me a goodwill gesture of 50/50 on parts and labor. The end cost for me was a little less than $500, which I can live with since I got such a phenomenal deal on the car. It's been around 5 days now and I've been running the AC and the heat and no little white particles! Woohoo! Lexus of Orlando definitely has me as a future customer because of this experience.
Flint400 Posted November 7, 2013 Posted November 7, 2013 Is this the most recent discussion on the white dust issue? Our 2006 400h has had this problem since we bought it used with 85000 miles in 2010. Now we have 126xxx. We had it in the dealership today to have it checked out and they said it is indeed the evaporator problem, but they won't cover the replacement. They gave us an estimate of $2311.80 to replace it. We certainly aren't interested in investing $2300.00 to fix a problem that is obviously a common problem. Any one else had luck getting Lexus to pony up to the repair? Any help would be greatly appreciated...........Dave
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