My 2003 ES300 developed an annoying noise that seems to be coming from the right rear of the passenger area. I took it to my dealer and he told me that I'm the third owner with this complaint. He said that they have to remove the rear door panel and do some sort of modification to eliminate this problem. Has anybody out there ever heard of this?

Alan

 

Sounds like an isolated problem. You may want to check alldata.com to see if there is a TSB out for that specific problem. If not, you can always try the next Lexus dealer for warranty service.

 

actually it is not that isolated. The dealer is right and it has occured with the 02 and 03. It is infact the sound insulation in the rear doors. It either has to be secured better or totally removed. It sounds as if the doors are creaking or slightly open. You hear it most when you go over little bumps in the road and it can get to be annoying. It is worse when the car and outside temps are colder. Flipside909 is right, so far alldata lists no TSB. I have not looked for a TSB in "Mitchell's On Demand" as of yet.

There were several threads this past winter from people asking if anyone else with an 02 or 03 has heard any funny noises. One member had the insulation removed and no more noise. I'm not ready to have door panels removed yet. You can get used ot it, turn up the stereo, or remove the culprit.

The decision lies with you.

steviej

 

Thanks for that information. That's exactly the noise I'm getting! I have an appointment at my dealer next week to do this modification. I'll post back after this minor surgery on the car and let you know how it worked out.

Alan

 

since you posted this, I have intently listened for the rattle, and to my surprise I barely hear it anymore. I must say, I have purposely driven on pothole filled roads and ones with lots of little bumps.....nothing.
Maybe the insulation has settled into a good position.

steviej

 

The fact that you don't hear the noise anymore reminds me of a new Honda Prelude I owned previously. In that case I heard a strange creaking noise from the rear window glass whenever the outside temperature dropped to below 40 degrees. I didn't do anything to correct this, but it seems to have stopped making this noise after a few months of ownership. Maybe I should wait to have this repair done on this Lexus and see what happens......... but knowing me I might become too impatient.

Alan

 

Today I took my car for a trip. The weather was nice.....about 60 degrees. Would you believe that I didn't hear any noises coming from the back door. I definitely think that this is a temperature problem! 40 degrees=noise.......60 degrees=no noise. I'm not going to let the dealer do this modification for awhile and wait to see if this happens again........I hate when they have to remove the door paneling, but that's another story. Maybe it'll heal itself.

Alan

 

This is one of those, if it doesn't bother you then don't bother. Anytime a door panel is removed, I always get nervous cause the liner never goes back on the way it came off. I hate the thought of rust prematurely developing cause the palstic leaked.

motor on dude.

steviej

 

I just spoke to the Lexus company and I was told there is a Service Bulletin issued recently to Lexus dealers on how to correct this noise problem.

Alan

 

I brought the car to my Lexus dealer this morning and they did their thing.
No more rear door rattles!!! Besides while waiting for the car to be repaired(2 hours) I went into the customers lounge and read the daily newspaper and had a delicious cup of coffee and a danish. Now the car is quiet as a mouse.

Alan