twister

^My bizarro bro, glad u r OK and found a time to drop into the forum We all miss your "personal" stories!!! BTW, if you going to tell me that you're also expecting a second baby (boy) in 2 month just like we are - I will completely freak out LOL!!!

Yeah, its just a car, ES or GS. My daily round trip commute to work now takes about 100 miles, so I pick up all kinds of nasty rock chips. Of course by Murphy's Law those are just above my clear-bra where hood is not covered The main thing is that after over a year of owning my car I still look forward every single morning to drive it. I never felt the same with any of my previous cars, even the new one.

garsarno

I say the same thing with my V8 Impala SS......

Kaius88

You gonna freak bizzarro bro. My wife just had a baby boy 2 weeks ago. Close enough! The car is the least of my concerns.... It's safe and reliable...that's all I care about.

MD350

Finally got my car into the shop today. Well, they say the engine knock is caused by the injectors. I was told the 3.5L has large injectors. More to come on the rattles and the warped rotors.

However, I am driving an RX350 loaner. Wow, very impressed!

ES350Bob

MD,

Might be interesting to call them on the fuel injection story, it is sad they feed people total BS on something.

Maybe if it worsens, or a rod is thrown they may be more forthcoming.

Ask them to explain to you how it could possibly be the fuel injection system when it does not happen in park or neutral, since the fuel injectors are consistently injecting fuel at those times too under acceleration when in park or neutral.

If it were the fuel injector, it would do it in park, neutral and in drive.

MD350

I drove the RX this morning. Had a very faint cold knock. I really had to listen for it. I was say it was totally normal and nothing to be concerned about. But, very different from my car and the Sienna and Rav 4 that I drove. Very Impressed with the RX. I would buy one!

So, what does this mean? I don't know. I really don't want the Lexus techs fooling around with my engine trying to get this knock to go away. They tend to make things worse.

Bob, I know it is not the injectors. But, as long as I am covered, I am going to leave well enough alone. In another year or two, the car will be gone anyway.

ES350Bob

I agree with your not wanting them fooling around with your engine.

It might be better for the next guy though if you insist on an explanation and in doing so let them know their story just does not add up.

LexBob2

I recently had an RX350 loaner with only 1,200 miles on it, and was impressed too. I'd never driven one before. I see why Lexus sells so many of them.

MD350

I still have the RX. I love it, I don't want to give it back. Now I see what a true Lexus vehicle is like. It is tight, solid, quiet, and the transmission is perfect (it is the 5 speed). 4,400 miles on it.

By the way, I have my dealer fixing my rattles on my ES. They had to tear my whole dash apart again. They can't figure what is causing it. So, it is not ready today. I gotta laugh. What a piece of junk.

I may very well consider buying an RX in a year or so.

YotaCarFan

That sounds fishy to me. I cannot imagine Toyota/Lexus having such a high error rate for piston tolerances for the ~2 years they've been making these 2GR-FE engines. They've been making cylinders and pistons of similar composition for decades.

I think diesel-rattling sound is a characteristic of this engine. The 07 V6 Camry (same drivetrain as ES-350) I dumped b/c of multiple dud transmissions and other defects had the same annoying noise. Two cars in a row with the same noise doesn't seem like a coincidence to me.

I'm curious that people say the noise only occurs when cold. Mine makes the noise whenever the engine is idling or I'm driving under 20mph, even when fully warmed up and during warm weather. It's especially obvious when at a drive-through -- the noise bounces off of the restaurant wall & my window is down.

ES350Bob

Yota,

If you consider the degree of transmission issues it is not such a stretch to allow something is also up on a large scale with putting the engines together.

From a comment made to me about my first ES350 I'd say engine tolerance issues, ?? piston-valve-rod tolerances ??, have been going on for quite some time. It is just that many accept a car making the noise, just as the service manager said to me right after diagnosing mine had a valve problem that would sell all day, as is, on the lot meaning they knowingly sell them this way.

If I had not experienced one without this noise, I too would also swear it is characteristic of this engine and those claiming they did not have it or could not hear it in their car had hearing issues, but I did drive one cold started and up to hot completely without it. I can understand why it seems unbelievable that this is not characteristic of this engine as so many you can drive have it present.

Interestingly i share an experience MD had, first one at dealer and an RX loaner with 13,000 miles on it, no wind noise, no knocking tapping engine noise at all, horrible alignment problem though that was correctable I think, and the only difference otherwise to do with engine, was the RX had what is called engine growl (normal) under acceleration more noticeable than the ES, BUT did not have that annoying knocking noise for miles/minutes.

Before my ES350 experiences I was unaware of the degree and chronic nature of varying issues Lexus/Toyota has had ongoing for years, a decade plus it seems. If not for the internet I might still be clueless to the widespread nature, instead having to wait a year plus for the Consumer Reports types of the world to give me a glimpse something is up though no way near the detail you can get from the internet.

As for your noise even present at hot or warmed up...(we) call that the clacking sound which is the next phase after the first phase of knocking. You may also experience vibration in steering wheel, armrests and floorboards worsening over time. If present in your car, throw it in neutral and watch it or feel it vanish. Over time the banging metal on metal noise of the knock lessens slightly though always present while the clacking at hot or warmed up and vibration increase. And as you mentioned, very noticeable at a drive through and not just to you but also those working the window of the restaurant and also under an (concrete surrounded) overpass stuck in crawling traffic.

2007es350

Your reasoning doesn't hold much water if you realize that Toyota/Lexus has been making automatic transmissions for many years too. So why are there transmission problems with the ES350?

I'm just glad that all my ES350 problems were resolved when Lexus bought back my ES350. I couldn't be happier with my LS460.

garsarno

I would not have rewarded them with a purchase of another Lexus, esp their best model.

onepointon

The cold start-up knock is due to piston slap. Both the RX350's and ES350's do it, you just have to be in the right conditions to hear it. I have been told by many people through the chain that its a normal condition.

What I have been told is that when they designed the new engine, they used new metals, along with smaller piston skirts to reduce weight and rotating mass. Under cold start-up conditions, there is a litter extra tolerance that allows the knocking sound. The sides of the pistons are coated with a teflon type material that will prevent any damages to the sidewalls. This information isn't secret, we have been telling our customers this since the weather has been cold and concerns started rolling in. The best thing you can do is allow your vehicle to properly warm up on a cold morning.

As far as replacing the engine to get rid of the noise, that is incorrect. As far as I have been told, there are no updated pistons, shortblocks, or any other parts inside of the engine. It is just a 'normal' characteristic of the engine unfortunately.

2007es350

My question is: why are some cars louder than others? My dealer told me that the enginer replacement was the only solution since you can't fix this problem without tearing apart the engine. Of course, Lexus is calling this a "normal" characteristic and won't fix this "problem".