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.

Thanks for this - I'll look into it! 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.

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.

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!

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!