JCtx

Interesting experiment. I've only driven the car around town with the top down; never on the freeway.

So the problem is on the freeway, huh? Since you had the vent in 'recirc', with no outside air, the hot air down there must be permeating through the firewall, and staying stagnant. The open vent pushes a little, but not enough. Hmmmm. Design oversight? But how do you remove air from there?

Maybe folks with other convertibles can help you solve the mystery. Or start a thread on such BBS.

Hey, you can do one more experiment. When you detect the 90+ temps down there next time, turn on the A/C until the temp drops to ambient, then shut the system off (vent on 'recirc') and see if the temp increases again. Just an idea.

Have a great weekend ahead guys.

advancer

This heating thing only occurs when the car is restarted after the engine gets to full operating temperature. It does not occur when the engine is started cold no matter how long it has been running. The heat almost seems to be coming from the radio. Those of you who are also experiencing it should eject a CD when you feel the heat in the cabin--it will be very warm to the touch.

Mykotse

I posted a forum last April-May about this same problem but I did not get any response... Now I see this is a common problem. Has anyone used the Lemon Law ???

michosc430

i have the same problem........i think the hot air is actually comming from the cd player.....my gets pretty hot when i use it for a while. next time touch the cd player and feel the heat.

Roofless

Which begs the question - "Is that meatloaf I smell or just steamed Senator?"

1NICESC430

>"Is that meatloaf I smell or just steamed Senator?"<

LOL, Roofless ...

I'll bet sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference and there are few senators I'm willing to get close enough to find out for sure. There are others I would get close to just to assure my aim.

vx430

I have discovered this problem a few days after delivery so I naturally brought it back to the dealer. They said nothing was wrong and gave me some bull**** excuse so I just letted it be. Funny that this happens on the SC too since I used to have a SLK 320 before and the same thing happened. It was worst when the weather is hot and both cars was sitting outdoors for too long.

Without a real solution, what I do now is whenever it happens, I would press auto on the temp control, let all of the hot air out and then turn it off, works most of the time. Please do post the defect, if it is one, so we can force the damn dealer to fix it.

v

Mykotse

I think if we all bring our cars to the dealer and complain about it maybe we can force a recall or threaten the use of the Lemon Law. I just find it hard to accept that this is normal for a $65K car, let alone a Lexus. Sure we can go around all year long using our A/C but sometimes I just want the fresh air. Besides, running the a/c compressor all the time affects the gas mileage and engine performance. I'm taking mine to the dealer and will let you guys know what happens.

'04 Indigo Ink Pearl / Saddle
HRE 843R