rattle in rear air duct caused by loose piece of candy
05-07-11, 07:27 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
rattle in rear air duct caused by loose piece of candy
I have a rattle in the rear air duct underneath the passenger seat in my 2010 ES350. I know this is caused by a small, round jaw breaker candy that is trapped inside. I can hear the jaw breaker roll from side to side as I make turns. It sounds like it's deep under the seat, almost to where the front passenger's feet are.
Things I've tried:
1) Driving up a loading dock ramp, backing down fast and slamming on the brakes to throw the candy toward the rear and out of the duct.
2) Using a vacuum hose from a self-service car wash.
3) I straightened out a wire coat hanger, covered about 6 inches with sticky tape and inserted it into the duct about 2 feet, then drove around awhile to try to get the candy to stick on the tape.
Out of ideas. Anyone have any others?
Things I've tried:
1) Driving up a loading dock ramp, backing down fast and slamming on the brakes to throw the candy toward the rear and out of the duct.
2) Using a vacuum hose from a self-service car wash.
3) I straightened out a wire coat hanger, covered about 6 inches with sticky tape and inserted it into the duct about 2 feet, then drove around awhile to try to get the candy to stick on the tape.
Out of ideas. Anyone have any others?
05-08-11, 02:51 PM
#5
Gravity is on your side, first thing i would do is to search for the diagram of the air duct, but i think that your candy is laying horizontally, so that good news.
This is what i would do: first, park you car with the rear facing down, then if you have a flexible wire, make a hook and fish it out.
This is what i would do: first, park you car with the rear facing down, then if you have a flexible wire, make a hook and fish it out.
06-12-11, 11:21 AM
#6
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Rattle - resolved!
I took a ride with a Lexus tech. He correctly diagnosed that the candy was rolling around between the carpet and the floor pan - not inside the air duct.
He took out the passenger seat, raised the carpet, and found the candy - all 10 pieces of mini jaw breakers.
I wanted to post this follow up because I think owners should take a look at how large the carpet opening is underneath the driver and passenger seat air ducts. If you have back seat passengers, you may wish to familiarize yourself with this opening and how easily something small could slip in there.
One benefit of the Lexus cabin is how quiet it is, but if you have 10 pieces of candy rolling around on the floorboard, it is not so peaceful!
He took out the passenger seat, raised the carpet, and found the candy - all 10 pieces of mini jaw breakers.
I wanted to post this follow up because I think owners should take a look at how large the carpet opening is underneath the driver and passenger seat air ducts. If you have back seat passengers, you may wish to familiarize yourself with this opening and how easily something small could slip in there.
One benefit of the Lexus cabin is how quiet it is, but if you have 10 pieces of candy rolling around on the floorboard, it is not so peaceful!
06-13-11, 02:58 PM
#7
beels1: Too funny, how did the candy get there? When I was growing up we weren't allowed to eat in the car - I'm assuming it's the works of a playful child. 
Glad you got it fixed, did it cost you?
Glad you got it fixed, did it cost you?
Trending Topics
06-14-11, 08:59 AM
#10
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
More info on the candy entrapment
I could easily duplicate the sound repeatedly by rolling the steering wheel left and right while driving at a slow speed on a straight road. This isn't normal driving style, so wouldn't be a problem in and of itself, but you could also hear it whenever I made a left or right turn, which became maddening over several months.
One interesting thing about the rolling candy is how much free travel it had. It was clear the candy was rolling along as a group (it sounded like one single ball rolling) in some kind of side-to-side channel approximately under the front passenger's feet about even with the shifter. The back and forth travel sounded like about 18-24 inches.
The comment about the no-eating rule is ironic, because I've always had this rule for my kids in my cars, but my wife doesn't. A comparison of the appearance of the rear seating areas in our cars tells the tale. In this case, however, my kid wasn't really eating. The culprit was a squirt gun he got at a birthday party which had the tiny jawbreakers inside. Unbeknownst to me, my son dumped out the jawbreakers and they eventually worked their magic.
M&Ms wouldn't have caused as much of an issue because they would have eventually melted in the Texas summer heat, but I don't think these jawbreakers would ever have melted.
Regarding the charge, I lucked out...twice. The first time, the shop manager good willed me for about an hour labor. They found 6 pieces and I thought it was fixed, but several days later some more pieces worked their way into the channel. In the second visit, they found another 4 pieces and they good willed another hour to Big Lexus. I should point out that I have bought 6 cards from Lexus; 4 from this dealership and I am very nice and polite to everyone there, so I don't think it hurt them to let me slide.
Finally, I'm not one of those people who doesn't take responsibility for their actions, but I think an argument could be made that the large gap in the carpet area underneath the air duct, combined with the unobstructed rolling path, is a minor defect. It's very easy for items to get in there, perhaps loose change which is quite common. The textured surface in there might prevent change from sliding around and causing a problem though.
One interesting thing about the rolling candy is how much free travel it had. It was clear the candy was rolling along as a group (it sounded like one single ball rolling) in some kind of side-to-side channel approximately under the front passenger's feet about even with the shifter. The back and forth travel sounded like about 18-24 inches.
The comment about the no-eating rule is ironic, because I've always had this rule for my kids in my cars, but my wife doesn't. A comparison of the appearance of the rear seating areas in our cars tells the tale. In this case, however, my kid wasn't really eating. The culprit was a squirt gun he got at a birthday party which had the tiny jawbreakers inside. Unbeknownst to me, my son dumped out the jawbreakers and they eventually worked their magic.
M&Ms wouldn't have caused as much of an issue because they would have eventually melted in the Texas summer heat, but I don't think these jawbreakers would ever have melted.
Regarding the charge, I lucked out...twice. The first time, the shop manager good willed me for about an hour labor. They found 6 pieces and I thought it was fixed, but several days later some more pieces worked their way into the channel. In the second visit, they found another 4 pieces and they good willed another hour to Big Lexus. I should point out that I have bought 6 cards from Lexus; 4 from this dealership and I am very nice and polite to everyone there, so I don't think it hurt them to let me slide.
Finally, I'm not one of those people who doesn't take responsibility for their actions, but I think an argument could be made that the large gap in the carpet area underneath the air duct, combined with the unobstructed rolling path, is a minor defect. It's very easy for items to get in there, perhaps loose change which is quite common. The textured surface in there might prevent change from sliding around and causing a problem though.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
