GS2006

Drex,
Any thing to watch out for or tricks to removing the cowl? I will be going to the dealer on Tuesday to have them fix what the other dealer messed up with cutting through the paint and into the metal. I would look at the cowl myself, but do not want to touch it until the paint and metal issue is resolved. Don’t want to be blamed. They will be looking at the rattle also as a second item. Once the paint issue is resolved and if they don’t get rattle fixed, I may take it apart myself. I’m going to instruct them not to take the dash apart.
Thanks

Jace7

I would be so thrilled if you could post some picks of the area/removal of the rattle area. I have taken it in twice, no luck. They said bring it in again, but if this worked for you maybe I will try. I'd hate to have them accidentally mess something else up. I take more care than they do, no doubt.

Any chance of some pics and some more instruction to go with each pic??

Thanks!
J

2thfixr

I had the TSIB done today and so far so good. All I could do is smile as I was taking a test drive with the service manager and it was completely quiet. At first it wouldn't rattle and he was doubting that I even had one. He was convinced there was no rattle so he actually answered a quick personal phone call while on the test drive and stopped listening for it altogether. The funny part was that prior to the test drive I asked if a lot of GSs came in with dash rattles and he said no. Then during the drive right after he got off the phone, he said, "These cars are so quiet that little things sound like big things. It might just be the CDs in the glove box, usually when these come in for rattles, they get really loud." "when these usually come in"?!?! I had to laugh and I'm pretty sure he knew why. Then it happened! My GS didn't let me down, it started clattering like nobody's business! He didn't say anything more and for some reason, I felt like I had defeated him. It has been not rattled since I left the dealership so I am happy for now. The big test will be when it's 34-36 degrees outside and the interior is warm and toasty.

I might do the foam mod anyways. After all, it can never be too quiet.

DrexLex

The cowl is held in by only 2 fasteners. The kind that insert into a large hole, then a threaded peg is inserted to spread the fingers out. One on each side, toward the front edge of the cowl, near the hood struts. I used a phillips driver to back out the peg, then a gentle pull upward on the cowl pops out the fastener.

They are not readily visible, however, as they are beneath the rubber/plastic strips that run along the top edge of each fender--to seal the hood. Those are each held in by 3 fasteners, and it's easy to slide them off by moving them away from the fender. Horizontally.

Anyway, once you remove the 2 fasteners holding the cowl, and of course the wipers (14mm nut driver), then you only have the three "tab" clips to release. Pulling up on the cowl's front edge is about all you can do. Be gentle so as to not break off the tabs.

Once these are free, the cowl just slides forward and off the windshield. It takes a wee bit of finagling but not too difficult. Once you have it off, take her for a spin. If you still have rattles, then at least you can look elsewhere. But if the rattles are gone, it tells you something!

You can look at the bottom of the cowl to see if the prong is still there or not. Mine was there, and a bit deformed, as if it was contacting the metal slot, so I cut it off. flush. I assume that's what the TSB says, but I've never seen the TSB details.

DrexLex

If the extra foam worked, I'll probably not remove the cowl again to take pictures. If it didn't work, I'll take pictures as I try other solutions. I have some other ideas...

GS2006

Thanks Drex,
Wife drove the car today and called and said it was rattling real badly. 39 F out side.

When you removed the tabs on the passengers side can you in vision how the dealer would have sawed into the paint into the metal? To do this was it complete carelessness?
Thanks

GS2006

Drex, here is some enjoyable reading for you. Thanks for all your help.
http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Lexus/116...-06/index.html

Jace7

SO? Is it still gone? DID the service correct the problem????
oh ya, mine still rattles..

DrexLex

GS2006, thanks much for the link to the TSB! It may come in handy.

I guess I can see how one could scratch the paint when trying to saw off the "pin" on the underside of the glass. Not much elbow room there. In my case, I did not try that since my noise problem goes away when I remove the cowl. So I have been concentrating on how to reinstall it but avoid the noise.

As I reported earlier, part of the "groove" in the cowl where the windshield sits had no foam strip--so I added some there. This morning I finally drove the car, and the creaking was still happening. So again I removed the cowl, went for a silent drive to confirm, then took another look at what to do.

1) I misreported which side was missing the foam strip. It was missing from the driver's side, actually. About a foot long section. But as I said, adding foam there didn't really seem to fix it.

2) In my cross section diagram, I attempted to show the curved "finger" which presses against the glass to hold it tight in the groove. I found today that in two of these clamp areas, there was a telltale mark that showed the glass was contacting the "crotch" of the plastic. These are not in the same area where the "groove" foam was applied. I cut two pieces of a foam rubber material, about 1" square, and tucked one into each crotch, covering the area where the mark was seen.

3) I found that some insulation material behind the battery, that covers the firewall, was curling at the top, away from the metal that sits under the cowl. I took a piece of duct tape, about 16" long, and taped the upper edge to the metal. If this was rubbing inside the cowl, it should stop.

4) On the cowl, near the little tab that slides into the slot in the metal under the cowl, there were a pair of ribs molded into the cowl. Each is about 3/4" long. They appear to rest up against the metal underneath the cowl, and they showed clear signs that they were in contact there, as the edges were deformed. I trimmed off about 1/8th inch of these two ribs (driver's side of the cowl) and one more rib closer to the center of the cowl. This was the best "find" I think I have made thus far.

Reinstalled the cowl, wipers, the whole lot. Test drove for 10 minutes. Still quiet! But before declaring victory, I'll let it sit overnight an chill.

Stay tuned...

2thfixr

It's not completely gone. There was a 90% improvement in that there is no more loud clicking type of sound but now it is replaced with a quieter but more frequent tight sound. It's not loud at all and my wife failed to hear it everytime I pointed it out despite sitting on that side of the car. I can live with it but I will be taking the cowl apart to see what else can be done. Judging from the improvement, the pins and glass TSIB definitely played a part in my rattle. I solved the wind noise issue in the ES350 so this should be an easy one.

Jace7

can you please post yout service invoice? or just retype.
I will give the dealership one more time to fix, then I will just do cowl on my own.
did they have to cut or anything? I read on the bulletin that they need a little saw..... wondering what that is for.....

thanks!

2thfixr

I printed out the actual TSIB and gave it to them. The service writer stapled it to the work order and they did whatever was in it. I believe Twister posted the TSIB previously. If I can find some time, I may take the cowl apart just to see what's under there.

Jace7

Ok, well I am taking it in one final time, this being the 3rd time, on the 28th, Thursday, to take care of this dang dash rattle; I will let you know what happens.
I printed out all the pages from the TSIB, as well as the cowl removal, and foam diagram DrexLex was so nice to post. They better not give it back without this being completely 100% resolved.
We'll see.........

2thfixr

Here is a possible explanation of why your dash rattles aren't going away.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=255591

2thfixr

Drexlex, it looks like you are focusing on the plastic trim piece itself. If your rattle isn't resolved with the cowl piece, check out the guidance pins for the windshield. See pics above. I'm a little unsure of how cutting the pins will help. In fact, they feel like they are in there very tight so they must be putting some pressure on the windshield. IMO, pressure usually helps alleviate rattles but if vibration is transmitted through the windshield as a large structural body, it may cause rattles. I am not so sure I even want them cut now.