toneman

Slightly OT, but FWIW--I also measured the interior noise level at warm idle (approx. 600 rpm)--parameters were: gear in Park, car parked in an outdoor parking lot w/ no other vehicles nearby passing by me, radio and climate controls turned off, sound meter placed at ear level and directly in front of my head and set to A-weighting (necessary so that the meter can pick up lower frequencies, which I'm guessing engine idle noise would typically resonate at since the meter would not pick it up at all when set to C-weighting) and slow response; meter measured 71 dB.

Trying to find a way to fairly-accurately measure interior (essentially, wind) noise at cruising speeds--I'll have to find a quite stretch of highway in order to do this since the meter will otherwise undoubtedly pick up ambient traffic noise (either cars passing mine, or vice-versa...not to mention road noise), in addition to any wind noise that may be apparent. Of course, any readings I obtain won't mean a whole lot unless compared to readings obtained by other folks using similar measuring and environmental criteria.

Gojirra99

I hope your fix is permanent & you & family can really enjoy this car from now on

LexBob2

Edmunds reported 67.5 decibels @ "70 mph cruise". When they tested the ES350. It will be interesting to hear what you report.

ES350Bob

That will be interesting, he is above that now at idle, and likely mine is equal to his as I hear it at idle.

Do you have idle dB and full throttle accel dB as posted before? I can find it but if you have it please post it.

LexBob2

I don't think all members would agree, but FWIW, here is what Edmunds said on the subject in their test:

"Even during maximum acceleration with the throttle pinned and the tranny fluidly linking gears, you're reminded this is a luxury car. It's exceptionally quiet, engine noise is barely perceptible and there's virtually no road discord. Drive like a normal human being, and you'll be in one of the quietest environments we've tested during a 70-mph cruise (67.5 decibels)".

ES350Bob

No I would not agree with that claim and likely neither would tony starting out with an idle dB nearly 30 points higher than the claimed for idle.

Lexus ES:
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpconta...7/pageNumber=4

dB @ Idle: 41
dB @ Full Throttle: 74.6
dB @ 70 mph Cruise: 67.5

toneman

I might be able to get some fairly-acceptable results if I decide to drive the ES to Mickeyland next week since driving down I-5 in the Central Valley is pretty wide open w/ not a whole lot of dense traffic--fewer vehicles around you to affect noise readings. I say "decide" 'cuz I don't particularly look forward to having bugs and whatnot splattered all over and through the front of my vehicle...and believe me, there are plenty of bugs to hit while driving down I-5 for 4-5 hours...and at 75+ mph, those bugs leave a very nasty mark/stain on your vehicle.

LexBob2

There's no doubt a lot of variation with the test equipment used, testing methods and locations used etc. You'd probably need to take an average from a couple of sources and go from there when making a decision. Personally, I'm satisfied with the noise level in our car. But that's subjective with each person.

LexBob2

Here's what the new Camry XLE V6 did in an Edmunds comparison test. Pretty consistent with the Lexus, considering the Lexus might a have a little more sound deadening material:

Db @ Idle: 46.5
Db @ Full Throttle: 73.9
Db @ 70 mph Cruise: 70.0

2thfixr

You can confidently tell your tech that he is an idiot. It's basic aerodynamics. Put your hand out the window perpendicular to the wind and it will make noise and increase turbulence. Put it parallel to the wind and it will make far less noise and cut through the wind. As stated in my post, I folded my mirrors 45 degress, not all the way in. If you look at the shape of the mirrors, the inside durface of the mirrors is completely flat. Putting the flat surface squarely into the wind is going to create a lot of turbulence and will make more noise regardless of what's going on with your window gasket. I might suggest taking a look at the gasket anyways. I know it seems like a small detail that won't make a big difference but the side view mirror area is usually a spot where they spend quite some time when designing these cars. My 745Li even had dimples on the mirrors to smooth out airflow around them and decrease wind noise. When I shimmed the gasket and caused it to deform even more, I had significantly more wind noise. That's what led me to concentrate on that area. If your noise is as bad as mine was, it's definitely worth a try.

2thfixr

When are you going to D-land? You will be driving right by my area.

toneman

2thfixr--yeah, I had similar thoughts about the tech who went along w/ me...

The one thing I regret not telling the service manager/tech was to offer a smartaleck remark like, "Why should I accept some issue that's evident in my car as "normal", just because it happens/exists on an identical car?"

I'll--or should I say, "we", since I'm bringing the family--be in D-land Thursday to New Year's; we would have been there around that time last year too had my wife not broken her leg right before Christmas. I'm still debating as to whether I should drive the ES or the Denali--the ES will cost me less in fuel expenses by far (half as less, based on fuel economy), but the Denali is roomier and has slightly-better equipped entertainment options for the kids...but hey, now I'm digressing from the original topic...

toneman

Wow, I had forgotten that Edmunds had measured noise levels at idle as being "only" 41 dB; like I stated, obviously my testing equipment parameters would be meaningful only when compared to someone else's results when obtained using the same parameters and test equipment. FWIW--my sound level meter can only measure as low as 50 dB, so if it were even possible for my ES to achieve anywhere near 41 dB...I would not be able to know that it can achieve such levels w/ my equipment.

ES350Bob

A 71 dB idle on your testing equipment is noteworthy. I'm curious what your other readings may be so please post them when you have tested. I view my former ES, and although slightly less current ES, both having a noisy idle, and accel. Certainly not having near a 41 dB reading at idle.

lds

I have a wind noise that I can hear when driving 40 mph that sounds like the window is not fully closed.

I was just examining my driver side window, following what 2thfixr did to reduce the wind noise. I did notice one place near the triangle, that the gasket was not laying flat against the door so I pushed it down. I haven't test driven it yet -- it is snowing out -- our first snow of the year. I am not very confident that this will solve my problem.

I noticed that the plastic piece that is on the bottom left of the window ( sort of triangular ) is not (glued down?) properly. If I press on it, it moves closer. I checked the passenger side window and it is firmly attached.
I might experiment with taping it down with painters tape.

Lisa