8 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHpretty annoying.. air vents + smell
Leading reported evidence
Check drains easily enough and deal
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
You can check the drains easily enough and deal with what you find.
Leading evidence: 'Check drains easily enough and deal' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check drains easily enough and deal' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Don't know, but I would change the air filter and see if that helps.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
You can replace the cabin air filter and then see if the smell remains.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
For the smell sometimes -- my experience anyhow -- is changing the cabin air filter (and using another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
For the smell sometimes -- my experience anyhow -- is changing the cabin air filter (and using another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
This growth can arise from leaving the car parked with the A/C having been run right up until the engine is shut off which leaves the evaporator and other surfaces of A/C damp which is an attractive place for mold/mildew spores to take root.
Use another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
For the smell sometimes -- my experience anyhow -- is changing the cabin air filter (and using another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
8 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T220748Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
I notice that when i'm in the freeway/highway or driving >40ish mph, that air comes out of my air vents even though it says "OFF" on the air conditioning...
the faster i go, the harder the air comes in. I have my fan setting on temperature HI, so the air that comes in (even though it is OFF) is hot. If i turn on the fan, put the temp down, then turn it off, the vent will continue blowing in cold air.
basically, even though my fan setting is OFF, the vent blows in air from the outside.
Kind of like how on older cars, if you move the switch from recirculating air to fresh air, air comes in from vents even though your fan is off until you move the switch back to re-circ and it stops.
how do i fix it so it stops blowing air when off? i tried turning the fan on, hitting the re-circulating button, waiting for 5 seconds and turning it off. no dice - still blows in air...
also, when i DO turn on the fan only, not AC, the smell that comes in is pretty gnarly.. not like burning rubber or exhaust or anything, but like old rotten spoiling smells haha
will it go away if I change the air filter?
If you don't want air from the outside you press the recirc button. It sounds like you did this, but then turned it back off...Just leave it on to block external air. With the fan off and the vent closed you shouldn't get any airflow.
With auto climate A/C when I turn the fan speed to off no air comes out of the vents no matter how fast i drive.
I have no experience with the manual A/C system and it may be different.
For the smell sometimes -- my experience anyhow -- is changing the cabin air filter (and using another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away.
In some cases though -- which I have avoided by practicing what I've been told and what appears to be based on my results good A/C hygiene -- the smell arises from mold/mildew that can grow mainly on the evaporator or in that surrounding area. This growth can arise from leaving the car parked with the A/C having been run right up until the engine is shut off which leaves the evaporator and other surfaces of A/C damp which is an attractive place for mold/mildew spores to take root.
This can be made worse by if there is a tray that collects water dripping from the evaporator and a drain to remove the water if this tray collects water and becomes stinky from a bocked tray drain.
If the smell arises from deeper down than the cabin filter it is more work to deal with. Sometimes cleaners can be sprayed in but this is only a temp solution and can make the cabin smell like someone spilled a bottle of Lysol or bleach in the car.
The best solution though the most expensive is to have this area opened up and cleaned and wiped down and then try to practice good A/C hygiene and try to dry the system out before parking the car.
Also, another source of the smell can be water (or just damp plant trash/litter) in the drain basins under the front trunk lid under the panels on either side of the battery cover.
These collect plant/leaf trash and litter and if not cleaned out periodically can smell. In severe cases rain or wash water can back up and overflow into the cabin and then you have to deal with the issues arising from electronics getting damp.
You can check the drains easily enough and deal with what you find. You can replace the cabin air filter and then see if the smell remains.
If it does then you have to decided what to do about the cuase of that.
Sincerely,
Macster.
Air pressure on the car's front surfaces "at speed" results in airflow through the intake vents. As you noted it does not happen in recir. mode. Seeing it's not a really good idea to leave the system in recir mode in the wintertime that's not a good idea anyway.
The best you can do is put the system in the defrost/defog/demist mode and thereby "baffle" (2 180 degree reversals of incoming airflow) the air inflow somewhat.
But. Are you complaining about the airflow itself or it being HOT...??
The very best solution for soving the problem of mould and mildew odor is the EED by Airsept(.com).
Your A/C evaporator normally operates as close to freezing, ~33F, as is feasible. So, absent a LOT of warming airflow through it, it might take up to an hour for that temperature to rise to the point wherein the thin film of condensate still adhering to the ~10,000 square inches of evaporator vane surface begins to evaporate.....BUT REMAIN WITHIN THE A/C PLENUM AREA.
The short term answer...lower the windows slightly each and EVERY night.
The Lexus LS400 series has a UV light mounted within the A/C plenum area in order to combat the growth of these microbes.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
