GS450h - Interior Odor

[DMi3]

Hi folks, 

 

Recently bought a 2008 GS450H - in short, love it, besides the inconvenience of not having an AUX input or Bluetooth music connectivity! 

Over the last week or so I started getting a faint foul smell (smells like rotting eggs or ) while I was driving. I smelled all the interior of the car, and there doesn't seem to be any one particular area that the smell originates from.

The engine light has been illuminated, and when checked it seemed to give off a historical camshaft sensor error, which I'm unsure if it's related to the issue with the smell. Either way, I will have the error code for the camshaft sensor later today, and will get it seen to afterwards.

 

Regarding the smell:

1) A/C - I turned the A/C on and off - the smell is not coming from any of the air outputs in the car, so I presume it's nothing in relation to the A/C system which seems to be a common issue some people have been experiencing.

2) Head Gasket - the car has never overheated, I watched the temperature closely and there are no issues here. I haven't checked the oil cap for milky residue - I will do this later today, but I'm hopeful that this will be fine.

3) Oxygen/Lambda Sensor - this could be one possibility, I know that when this fails it can cause a somewhat egg-like smell coming from the exhaust.

4) Cat Converter - this could also be a possibility, just like the Lambda Sensor. 

 

I guess my question is whether anyone has ever had any of these issues, and what steps they took. I'm based in Ireland, no extended Lexus warranty here - I'm having all work done privately by a dealer. Based on this, I have full trust in that the issue will be solved, but I don't want them going on a wild goose chase at my expense - these things are rather pricey as you can imagine.

 

Thanks in advance! 

[Farqui]

Hi Dimitru, welcome to the forum and other than the odd smell, how are you enjoying the gutsy Hybrid?

When I first acquired mine it had a dank/musty honk regardless of the AC and needed a long session with one of those HVAC cleaning bombs.  It's been fine ever since.

Regardless of the AC being on/off, your odd whiff might also be caused by a mouldy AC matrix.  As the cleaning bombs are cheap and easy to use, then it's surely worth a shot and can't hurt.

Cheers, Lee

[DMi3]

Hey Lee, 

Love the GS. Coming from a diesel jeep, really enjoying how smooth and quiet the GS is. Can see that the car was made with comfort in mind.

Thanks for the advice on the A/C - I tested it out earlier and there actually is a small bit of a musty smell but nothing serious. I'll be looking at this next week. Was that the only issue you've had so far? 

Small update - checked the car out earlier, and it seems like the smell is the strongest in the boot which is quite strange. No inherent foul odor coming from the exhausts. Anyone ever experience this previously? Can the smell be coming from the batteries? Hybrid system seems to be working fine, and batteries are charging well.

Thanks, 

D. 

[Initial P]

Grom audio is your best bet for Bluetooth audio retrofit costs about £130 but well worth it.

[Farqui]

Interesting that your pong is stronger in the boot, check the 12v Battery behind the NSR panel. At the rear there should be a vent hose from the Battery to outside the vehicle through the rear panel. If this hose isn't connected, then perhaps it's the cause of your odd smell.

My car came with a busted exhaust but the vendor stumped up for a replacement. I got an aftermarket stainless middle and rear section made up, which makes a little more noise than OEM. I know what you mean about the quiet engine/exhaust, it's weird.

Along with the exhaust I've had a few other age related gripes, the rear was riding low and now my rear toe adjusters are locked solid causing poor tyre wear.

It's a great car to hop over to relatives in Belgium. I thoroughly enjoy the stealthy, sleeper style and occassionaly surprising other drivers.

[DMi3]

2 hours ago, Initial P said:

Grom audio is your best bet for bluetooth audio retrofit costs about £130 but well worth it.

Thanks for this - I'll look into it!

1 hour ago, Farqui said:

Interesting that your pong is stronger in the boot, check the 12v battery behind the NSR panel. At the rear there should be a vent hose from the battery to outside the vehicle through the rear panel. If this hose isn't connected, then perhaps it's the cause of your odd smell.

My car came with a busted exhaust but the vendor stumped up for a replacement. I got an aftermarket stainless middle and rear section made up, which makes a little more noise than OEM. I know what you mean about the quiet engine/exhaust, it's weird.

Along with the exhaust I've had a few other age related gripes, the rear was riding low and now my rear toe adjusters are locked solid causing poor tyre wear.

It's a great car to hop over to relatives in Belgium. I thoroughly enjoy the stealthy, sleeper style and occassionaly surprising other drivers.

Good point, it could be some sort of a venting issue as I took the side panel down where the 12v Battery is, and the smell seemed to be really strong there. I'll check out the Battery too to make sure it's not faulty/overheating. I'll check for other venting pipes and hoses too, cheers for that!

Have you had it long, and what year is yours? I've heard a lot of people having some suspension related issues - can't say it's a surprise due to the weight! Hope the fixes didn't cause too much pain, but either way the investment is worth it.

Yeah, it definitely is a very fun car to drive. Love the sleeper aspect of it too, there aren't many of these on the road here so not a lot of people know of them. Can easily be overlooked and seen as a "grandad" car - until you put the foot down! The fact that it's a dark horse is putting me off modifying it in any way on the outside, the most I'd go is maybe upgrading the wheels in time to come. The current original ones have started flaking near the centre which takes away from the look.

[Farqui]

I'll have had mine 2yrs in February and at it's first service the dealer tried to make out the shocks were leaking but what they didn't count on was me checking and getting a second opinion from my local indi.  Needless to say, I now no longer trust them and service the vehicle myself.  

I'm currently trying to get the rear tracking sorted out but the cam-bolts aren't available at my local auto factor, a local Toyota dealer can get them next day tho :)

Let us know how you get on with that 12v Battery of yours.

[Britprius]

As Lee has already pointed out about the 12 volt Battery if it is this that is giving off the odor I would advise changing it or at least check by hand it's temperature after about an hours use. If it is noticeably warm the likely scenario is that it has a shorted cell. This effectively turns the Battery into a 10 volt Battery that is being charged at the maximum output of the charging system "possibly as high as 100 amps". This makes the Battery gas excessively giving off the smell. 
The charging system sees it as a flat Battery continuously charging it at a high rate increased by the shorted cell. 

John. 

[Malachy]

Good man John yes a boiling Battery smells of rotten eggs! Where are you located OP?

[DMi3]

Hi all,

Some great feedback here - a lot of it very relevant to my own issue actually.

Update: stripped the boot on Friday, and ran some tests. Smell seemed to have been coming from the original Panasonic 12v Battery as opposed to the other batteries. Removed it, and it was very slightly inflated on one side. Furthermore, the extraction tube that plugs into the Battery vent was missing.

In a nutshell: this meant that the Battery was somewhat damaged inside, which was giving off the disgusting egg-like sulfur smell. And because there was no extractor tube linked to the vent on the Battery, the smell was going straight into the boot, and then making its way into the interior of the car.

Solution: removed the original Battery, and replaced it with a temporary 12V 50AH AGM Battery. Will be sourcing a 70AH Battery this week. Note - the replacement Battery didn't have the temperature sensor, so I removed the one from the original and simply stuck it on the side of the new one with some heat-resistant tape.

 

Lee - I am definitely going to be running my own diagnostics from now on, seems to be the only way of avoiding changing half of the car for no reason!

John - hit the nail on the head pal, seems like that's exactly what was happening. The Battery was damaged and was simply being overcharged, causing overheating, giving birth to the smell. The lack of a venting tube made the whole situation much worse.

Malachy - located in Cork, Ireland.

 

Thanks for all your help folks! 

D. 

 

[Malachy]

Glad you got sorted I'm in Millstreet so not far away!

[Farqui]

Excellent, well done finding and fixing that yourself [emoji106] I'd he happy with that result, so i hope you raised a glass to celebrate.