Hello, I recently purchased a used LC500 about six months ago. The previous owner smoked cigars, but the dealer masked it with a nearly insufferable cologne smell. Albeit the smell has has gotten better, I haven’t been able to get rid of it. I’ve tried (in order):
- steam cleaning/interior detail
- two car bombs
- wiping surfaces with white vinegar
- dryer sheets
- AC drain plug cleaning
- AC intake cleaning (in interior vents and exterior intake vents)
- spraying lysol thru AC intake
- spraying ozium thru AC intake
- Ozone treatment
Notably the interior is full of suede, specifically on the seats and headliner. The only thing(s) I haven’t tried yet are a bowl of charcoal or white vinegar. Is there anything else I should try?
Good information. My current to do list is to remove the seats and scrub the carpets, buy a new nice cabin air filter, spot clean the headliner (replacing does not seem realistic in terms of pricing) and look into cleaning the evaporator again. I understand the best method is to unplug one of the AC lines and foam directly into the evaporator to clean it, I just have no idea how to do it
Do NOT disconnect the AC coolant lines! That requires specialised equipment and generally a license.
The Lexus forums might have a simplified way to clean the evaporator.
Before you do all this, please try makeup removing wipes. Mother is a smoker and have left my car in her garage with window down while she smoked in there.
Got makeup wipes and wiped every fabric surface, including whole headliner. Dont scrub just fold the wipe into 4’s and gently sweep the surface.
Immediately after the smell was 90% gone. Next day couldn’t even smell it anymore.