jeffofla

mattvds, welcome to Club Lexus! Out of curiousity, where did you buy your car?

wanderer99

I visited my service dept today regarding the wind noise issue. I let the technician drive my vehicle and we went out to explore this issue. He definitely heard the wind noise. 80km\h (50mph) it is there, 105+ hm\h (62mph) and its very noticeable. He even mentioned he heard it at 60km\h (38mph) on the journey back to the dealer. That is good because I can hear it too at 60 km\h.

He said he would report this to Lexus and try to find a fix. He agreed there was too much noise, and wasn't sure why it was so noisy. He was surprised by the noise. There was no dispute - he absolutely hears what I'm hearing. He also mentioned it is early in the life of the vehicle, and it may take them some time to come up with a fix.

Forget what I suggested above regarding the door seals - they look pretty good in the sunlight. We compared them back to back with the Demonstrator vehicle they have, which I had used for my original test drive. The seals are aligned slightly differently, but its impossible to tell if this makes any difference.

I then took the keys and drove the demonstrator again, this time with my salesperson. I remember their being no wind noise previously, but having the radio and AC off and paying attention, I can hear it as well. This vehicle does have less wind noise than my vehicle. at 110+ km\h (70mph) it sounded about the same as my vehicle doing 80km\h. So my vehicle is noisier than the test vehicle, which is what I felt was the case before I went back today.

mattvds

I bought my car in Los Angeles, but I live in san jose.. so i'm taking it to a local dealer here to see what they can do. It seems some other people are noticing the wind noise when driving, can anyone else confirm the issue with just the rear windows rolled down?

indelible

I believe I'm getting the noise in the A pillars also. As for the rear window noise, I haven't experienced it in the ES (never drove w/the rear window down) but in my corolla, I get the thumping noise too, so i think it's just the way the car is designed.

Ingram4868

I have not tried rolling the rear windows down yet in the ES350 but I can tell you that every sedan that I have owned over the last 10 years has had that same terrible problem. Keep us posted on what Lexus tells you.

amf1932

This open rear window 'thumping sound' is very common in many of the cars I've driven in the past. I first noticed this phenomenon in a Volvo station wagon years ago.......but the service people said that nothing could be done to help.

It comes down to the physics of air flow. At road speeds the air pressure increases in the back area of the cabin where it's trapped, and when the pressure increases too much it releases with a thumping sound. This cycle will continue unless you close the rear window(s) or change your vehicle speed.

mwike

I took one out for a test drive today & didn't notice anything. Is the noise you guys are talking about much louder than normal road noise at 75 mph that one would expect? Is it high pitch? Just want to make sure I make a good decision with my next purchase.

thanks

indelible

for me, it's a high pitched wind sound.

mattvds

For me, the wind sounds exactly as it would if you were driving with a window slightly cracked.. its a little bit high pitched and sounds gusty. Just like your car is being hit by a strong side wind. Even though it annoys me, I'm probably being a little over sensitive. I just expect a car i pay 45 k for to be perfect.

I have heard good things about lexus's service so i will let you know what the dealer tells me on wednesday.

wanderer99

mattvds describes it very well.

mwike - I'd take a test car out and put the cruise on at 75mph. Make sure no other cars or trucks are around. Turn off audio and AC, then listen. I hear road noise (depending on the road surface), but this is a wind turbulance type of noise specific to the front window area. If I drive, I only hear it from the drivers side. If I'm a passenger I can only hear it coming from the passenger side.

mwike

Thanks guys.

During my test drive, I did take it out on the interstate at 75-80mph. I didn't notice any high pitch noise, but I notice that it sounded like the wind was blowing & there really was no wind today. In the end it wasn't that bad, but definately more road/wind noise than LS's that I've ridden in before as a passenger.

thanks,
Mike

wanderer99

Sounds like the wind was blowing, but there was no wind. That is it. Having driven two different cars now, one has it worse than the other.

If you are going to buy, I'd encourage you to do a longer drive and make sure you're happy with this first.

mattvds

I took my ES into the dealership today to have my black kit installed and to look at the wind noise. The service tech heard the wind noise and was surprised. He told me it's not normal and he's going to keep my car for a day and try and figure out where the noise is comming from. In the meantime I'm get to drive a loaner GS... I will keep you guys posted in what he comes up with.

BobBass

Uhhh, pardon my ignorance, but what precisely is a "black kit?"

I know about the "gold package," but never heard of a "black kit"

amf1932

Just like the 'gold kit' replaces the emblems with gold color emblems, the 'black kit' replaces the emblems with a dark, blackish color emblems.