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.
