kyrsplat

So after having my IS250 for a whopping 2 months my car has developed the incessant rattles and squeaks that plague the car. I knew about this going in so it's not killing me, but it kinda leaves me wondering if rattles in all levels of luxury cars are becoming way too common. What do you think?

A few years ago we had an old S600 that was a vault and a C5 Audi A6 that was equally solid. Then we got a Q7, an A4, a Touareg, A8, and my 250 after owning a Jetta. All of them have been plagued with rattles that I feel shouldn't exist at all in these types of cars.

STIG

Take it back to the Lexus. My Is350 was also a rattle box after 1 month, and they replaced the whole dash, and now it's been rattle free ever since.

mmarshall

Lexus has shown a noticeable drop in build quality with both the new ES and IS models. I have written about it in my reviews of both. The dash rattles you speak of come primarily from lighter-weight, lower-quality interior materials and somewhat looser assembly. You will also notice that the new doors are also thinner and more tinny-feeling. The reason your new dash was rattle-free is that perhaps the dealer took the time to do a more thorough job installing it than at the factory.

RXSF

cant really blame them. as a company, cost cutting is the numbe one priority and i have to say, both the ES and IS is a lot of car for just over 30K.

mmarshall

Maybe so, but the last ES was a lot MORE car for 30-40K. It also rode more comfortably.

The last IS was of higher overall quality, and had all-season 55-series tires as an option, but, of course, did not have the 306 HP V6 or an AWD version....two major errors that were corrected in the new version.

So, yes, for the ES, at least............you CAN blame them.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Unfortunately, this runs across the board of luxury makes, but not all models.

The entry level lux models such as the IS and ES will unfortunately not have the detailed attention as the LS. However, I think that in general, it beats most non-luxury vehicles out on the road.

EDIT: And not that this is acceptable, but it will most likely occur moreso on entry-level vehicles than top-of-the-line models.

mmarshall

The last ES, while obviously not an LS, did in fact have superb attention to detail and quality materials....especially the wood trim. It was a superb car for the money....I'm almost sorry I didn't buy one while new ones were still available. The new ES, while, granted, not necessarily a piece of junk, is a noticeable step down in several ways........and the dash rattles (the thread topic) is one of them.

And there are also non-"luxury" cars out there that have good and superb attention to detail.....the present Subaru Outback, Hyundai Santa Fe/Veracruz, the new Chevy Malibu, etc.... And just wait till the next Hyundai Sonata bows.....you won't believe the interior.

SLegacy99

My mom's two RX's have been fine. My dad's 3 series rattles pretty wickedly at the head liner. Can't say I've ever had a rattle problem with my non luxury Subaru.

mmarshall

Let's see if the next-generation RX can keep that up.

Yes, Subaru does a great job screwing a car together, but they are not totally rattle-free as miles accumulate.

Part of it depends on the weather. Warmer temperatures.....especially if the car has been sitting in the sun.........tend to dampen out rattles by causing parts to expand and press against each other, eliminating the loose clearances that can cause rattles.

A typical car, if it is going to have weather/climate-caused rattles, usually will have more rattles in the winter than any other season. There will also be more engine noises on cold starts at lower temperatures until the engine heats up....especially below about 20 degrees Farenheit or so.

RXSF

my rx330 has one rattles. one in the sunroof operation panel that nobody can seem to fix. lol

i remember by rx300 also had a rattle in the glove compartment. that was fixed after the whole drawer was changed out.

i think rattles are pretty hard to stop and prevent. its just a matter of design. some times, a rattle doesnt appear for a long time after lots of use, so its hard for a manufacturer to find them before production

mmarshall

The more-rigid chassis designs of today, compared to those of decades ago, have gone a long way towards eliminating rattles....in the old days, cars had both longitudinal (fore/aft) and lateral (body-twist), chassis flex, which led to rattles and squeaks often starting to pop up in the first few thousand miles.

Today's rigid chassis designs hold this off much longer. Most of the rattles and creaks in today's cars come from poor-quality, lightweight, or cheap interior plastic, not chassis flex. And that, of course, is simple cost-cutting.

And last, of course, smooth roads and softer suspensions/tires will go a long way towards preventing rattles as well. Some of today's rattles are due to the current infatuation with firm ride, steering, and handling. On rough roads, these firmer underpinnings transmit a lot of road shock and jarring into the interior, thus encouraging more rattles.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

I can't comment for all cars, but the new camry's also have this problem. When I was at the Infiniti dealer, the guy told me that the new G37 is "100% rattle-free car". So maybe it's not a growing trend, or maybe he was just trying to get me to buy it. lol!

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

The RX is a hit and miss in terms of rattles and noise no matter where the car was built. I had a Japan built RX 330 with some rattles, but it didn't bother me much since the type of cars I usually drive are lowered, sports suspension, stiff chassis cars, so in comparison the RX was actually kind of quiet However, compared to some of my other Lexus cars, the RX IMHO was the least Lexus like in terms of cabin noise isolation. Probably because it is an SUV. None of it mattered to me since I personally like to hear the engine and exhausts. Speaking of rattles though, my 99 LS400 is rattling a lot now days and it only has 55K miles on it

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Should ask him how confident he is and if he is willing to put his money where his mouth is. If you test drive the car and hear a rattle would he be willing to knock of $5K without question from the selling price

Mr. Jones

except the wood was fake in the previous ES.