ALA

Judging by the responses from different Lexus owners, various models and model years, this is a bigger problem than they are admitting to. On my last service visit, they cleaned the evaporator core and internals with a special "kit" and installed a charcoal filter which has helped, However I live in NJ and it is now cold. True test will be the warmer spring/summer temps when the A/C is on full time. The Service Manager finally admitted Lexus recognizes this as a problem and is working on a fix - I wouldn't hold my breath.... '

Thanks for the info Gregory. I was at the dealership today and spoke to the General Manager and the Service Manager and got the same answers (or excuses) that you probably did, which were all ridiculous and unacceptable. They did acknowledge that Lexus is aware and working on a fix and in the meantime performed a "DWD2 evaporator cleaning" and installed a charcoal filter. Coincidentally, after reading the blogs here, on Tuesday I replaced the cabin filter with a Purolator and the moldy/musty odor basically disappeared. However, the concern was, for how long? That is why Lexus did the evaporator cleaning & replaced the Purolator filter with a charcoal filter. So for now, I will monitor it and see how long this "fix" lasts. I asked about the internal claims procedure but they said they were only aware of a production complaint form. Do you have any more info on the Lexus internal claims procedure? I too will contact Lexus Corporate and if you can share any info on that process, it would be greatly appreciated. I too am very disappointed with the way this is being handled by Lexus Corporate and certainly does not live up to their "Pursuit of Excellence" slogan! P.S. BTW, when I removed the original cabin filter I noticed it was not the white pleated filter I am accustomed to seeing - instead it was a grey/black filter (however, not the charcoal one that Lexus is now using). Do you know what your filter looks or looked like? I am wondering if this media change has anything to do with the problem. Especially since Lexus claims that BMW & Mercedes has the same problem - could it be an OEM supply problem?

We live in N.J. and have had a 2008, 2010 & 2011 RX350 with no problems regarding the moldy/musty smell from the A/C vents. However, the 2014 RX350 with 9,200 miles on it, has the same musty/moldy smell problem as described above by others. The dealer acknowledged that it is a known problem and apparently Lexus does not know what to do to correct it. They too advised switching the unit to the fresh air mode and perhaps install a charcoal filter that they wanted to charge $30 for! (with no guarantee that it would "fix" the problem). It goes in for service again this Friday so I will see what they say this time and will show them all the customer complaints posted, which I am sure they are aware of. Coincidentally my wife was hospitalized for 5 days with a serious grade A strep infection the end of July. Doctors did not know what the problem was at first but finally diagnosed it and treated it with heavy duty antibiotic I/V's and 2 weeks of antibiotics at home. Could this have been caused by the mold emanating from the air vents? Who knows -- the doctors surely did not know.