Lexus ES Solving Rattles and Noises
I have 4k miles on my '06 ES330 and two noise problems.
1. I recently started to hear crackling noise from the dashboard or the driver's seat. It's hard to locate the exact noise source, but probably it's coming from somewhere in the dashboard. Has anyone had this kind of problem?
2. I hear noise from the right front side only when driving 50-60mph. It's not mechanical noise. It's something like what you hear when you hit an empty plastic bottle. What could be this?
1. I recently started to hear crackling noise from the dashboard or the driver's seat. It's hard to locate the exact noise source, but probably it's coming from somewhere in the dashboard. Has anyone had this kind of problem?
2. I hear noise from the right front side only when driving 50-60mph. It's not mechanical noise. It's something like what you hear when you hit an empty plastic bottle. What could be this?
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1. When I am driving with my arm resting on the center armrest, the armrest rattles like crazy.
2. The rubber footrest for the left foot "squeaks" like crazy when you exert pressure with your foot. This happens just due to normal shifts in driving position. At first I thought it was the seat but it's not.
3. The plastic housing around the rear view mirrow is really cheesy. When you grab it to position the mirror, the plastic creaks and squeaks. It's actually embarrassing.
4. The driver's inside door pull handle makes a plastic creaking sound when you open the door.
I think that Lexus has cut corners in some places that are making the car look cheap. Does anyone know if they give their Engineers and manufacturing people cars to drive ( if not free, then at a very steep discount)so they can discover these problems for themselves? I've always thought that it would be a very worthwhile investment in improving quality. They should be encouraged to drive the car that they build. If they have to live with it every day in all kinds of conditions, I think they would discover a lot of problems before too many make it to the general public.
However, recently I've begun to notice a looseness or slight rattle feel in the steering wheel/column, especially when making a left/right turn from stop and beginning to accelerate. Also, when exiting the interstate onto a sharply curved ramp, I feel a slight "bump" in the steering wheel as the car is still in the sharp turn. It's really difficult to describe; I went on a test drive with a mechanic (him driving) and naturally could not duplicate.
Anyone else experience it or something similar??
ps. I already took it to dealer once, but they parked the car under the sun and couldn't reproduce the noise. I'll bring it to another dealership this weekend and will instruct them specifically to test drive the car when the car is cold.
I also noticed the same noise coming from the area where the windshield and dashboard come together on the driver's side. I'm bringing the car to Longo Lexus this weekend and I'll ask them if a service bulletin exists for these rattling noise problems. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks,
My 6-month old ES350 is still in the shop...it's been 5 days since I dropped it off on Saturday. The technician tested drive with me on Saturday morning when the car was cold, and we were able to figure out that the noise from the passenger side actually came from the passenger chair when it was in the tilted-back position. That noise went away after changing the passenger seat to the upright position. The technician reasoned that since the chair has so many moving parts, it's normal to have rattling noise when the chair is tilted back. I have to say I'm frustrated because the technician told me that there is nothing can be done on that, I would just have to change the passenger seat to upright position when there is no passenger! This is outrageous! What kind of service is this? It doen't solve the problem at all! As far as the noise from the driver's side, they still coudln't pin point the cause. That's why my car is still in the shop. Has anyone experience these problems? I would love to hear any past experience that might help me solve the problem.
24,000 miles. I brought it to a mechanic and he could not feel the rattle or sense of looseness on the steering column.
I only started to feel this about a month ago.
Do you have any luck to pin point the problem yet?
a) The rear bumper expands in sunlight and therefore does not align with the fender on both sides.
b) The door metal trim for the front and back door do not align.
c) Rattles from rear deck.
d) Speaker makes a buzz noise when the volume is above 12.
e) Engine makes a loud noise when you start it in winter.
Have been to 2 dealers and none of them have solved the issues and they say nothing is abnormal, meaning all the above issue are normal to $40,000 reliable car? I don't agree. Please help me out on how to solve some if not all of the above issues.
reat car, with the exception the transmission gave you whiplash with its unexpected downshifting, upshifting in residential neighborhoods. The dealer could never fix the problem, which we could no longer live with. They offered to trade it in for a new Lexus 350 in April 2006.
Well, transmission is noticably better, although I think maybe we were just spoiled by Nissan's transmissions - as this one still stammers in neighborhood driving.
The worse problem is the noise. From a dash rattle that drives you nuts on the highway as it rocks rattles and rolls, to the lower engine rattle that drives you nuts at the same RPM all the time.
The local dealer can't find the rattle issue - can't even hear it. You can't miss it. Sounds like the entire dash is moving sometimes.
The engine rattle is very pronounced at startup, and slowly goes away. It can be reproduced at about 2,500 rpm very easily. It literally sounds like a quiet diesel when started, and is embarassing for a salesperson's car when traveling with clients.
Lexass claims they can't hear the rattle. I took the service manager for a drive, he couldn't hear it. Finally, a specialist went for a drive and after pointing it out about 6 times, he finally stated that they were aware of that sound, they had heard it before and Lexass claims its not an issue and has no fix for it.
If you like driving diesel sounding engines, this is the car for you. I would like to have it repaired, but my patience is wearing thin. I might just trade it in on an Infiniti or something different. I guess I set my expectations too high for these cars.
Yep, I've now owned two, and probably won't own any more. I can't speak positively about my experience owning the ES330 and the ES350. :mad:
So in a nutshell, if it is very cold, the noise is evident. When the car warms up, the noise goes away. But if the car is stopped and parked for a time (even as little as an hour if the temps are cold) the noise is again evident when it is re-started. It's a thumping, rattling, vibrating sound. When one is driving, the noise appears to be coming from the driver side door or undercarriage, but sounds are difficult to pinpoint, so this might not be accurate. When one is a passenger, the sound definitely comes from the driver's side but NOT the dash.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
After the fifth time to the dealer I went nuts on the service technician to the point he actually came to my house and we drove about two minutes and low and behold he heard the NOISE. Loud and clear. The car was just returned to my house and I was 100% assured that the problem is fixed. According to the tech the noise is coming from the roof pillar on the drivers side. They dropped the roof liner and took off the covering to the roof pillar and found metal clips loose that caused the rattling. This makes some sense to me but until I drive it for a week or so I won't know for sure if the problem is fixed.
I will definetely let you know the outcome and I'm hopeful you can benefit from this info as well.
Do let me know how this works out for you. I'm printing out all this information so that I have ammo when I show up again at the dealer. I'm waiting until we get a forecast of below freezing for at least 2 days so that I can take it in, they can let it sit out, drive it cold, work on it, let it sit out again, drive it cold again. It will NEVER rattle when it comes out of a toasty warm shop environment.
More to follow.
Take Care
Why don't you give it a try and have your dealer check it out. What do you have to lose? I really hope it works out.
Let me know.
Ron
Ron