Hey guys,

My 08 GS350 now has 800 miles on it and I am absolutely loving it. It is an amazing car.

This past weekend, the dreaded creaks began. I only hear them when going over bumps (but there are a lot of bumps in Chicago) and it sounds like they are coming from directly in front of me, somewhere in the vicinity of the windshield. Hopefully my dealer is a pro at fixing these creaks now and can do so during my 1000 mile service without having to take too much apart.

Also, I sometimes notice not quite a burning smell, but a very hot smell, when I get out of the car. I noticed it from Day 1, but it's intermittent. It doesn't seem to be related to the distance traveled. I drive the car cautiously, so I cannot imagine I am doing anything to cause such a smell. Perhaps it's just the normal smell of the brakes or something? I drove a Mercedes S550 for a week recently and I noticed the same smell. Thoughts?

 

Sounds like you might have the creaking from the windshield. The code for that TSIB is NV005-06

 

I think the creaks and the smell are unrelated. I had the windshield creaks, but did not notice any smell. I am guessing new paint burning somewhere in the engine compartment. It will probably go away.

I am from Minneapolis and noticed the creaks in cold weather. I had mine completely fixed in Jan of this year. The car has been dead silent ever since. I would recommend waiting until next season to get the creaking fixed, especially if the creaking disappears this week when it warms up. It will probably be silent all summer with warm weather. Then you can deal with the problem this fall when it gets cold again. It may take 2 or 3 trips to the dealer to fix it.

 

I bought my car in Dec 2007. I currently have 3400 miles. I havent experienced a single rattle or creaks. Either i'm lucky or I'm deaf and cant hear it.

The smell is normal.. Your car is in the break in period. I experienced that when my car is new. It can also be commming from the new brake pads and new rotors. After 2000 miles all da smell went away.

Enjoy your new car and hopefully dealership can fix all your creaks and rattle noises.

 

Nope! - You live in California! - Drive the car to Chicago where the OP lives or Minneapolis where I live in January, and your Dash and Windshield will sound like a Marching Band!

 

nah no need to be in certain region i talked to tommy this morning. it took my gs350 less than 3000 miles to have creaks and it became very annoying actually (and squeak all the time)

 

i had random occurrence of clicks and creaks, usually just once here and there when going over rough roads.

and i am in AZ when it's 90+ outside..

 

On my car, it was silent when the Temps were 40 degrees and above. So I guess some cars are worse than others.

According to my Lexus Tech that fixed my car, the expansion of the dash at higher temps filled the gaps, so you could not hear the creaking. So if yours creaks at higher temps, it just means the gaps are even bigger!

 

hehehe i should set the car on fire next time

 

I went to my dealer about 3 times with this. I even made a tech ride with me. He is saying eventually there will be a windshield recall. It happens when it is really cold out (below 38 deg.for me) No harm at all, yet... he said he has yet to see someone with a 3rd gen gs have a crack, chip etc. from this.

The service write signed off on this and said that the windshield is 50K warranty protected from stress cracks.

Just sit tight, they should be recalling by end of this year says MR. RUMOR

 

Same here... I wanted to wait until I had a few miles on the car and I now have 5,000 miles... My 2008 delivered to me around November 24, 2007, I have been listening for creaks, squeaks, and any annoying noises... So far, I hear NOTHING! Turn music off, drove miles in City and Highway...nothing... The only thing I can say is...

"Damn.. I drive a new Lexus!"

 

I am amazed that this current GS has been rolling off assembly lines for over 36 months and still same complaints.....unbeleivable....

 

It isnt just GS, it is also IS, ES, LS (I think RX also). It is a design flaw. It will probably will cost them millions or tens of millions of dollars to fix the problem. It looks like they dont want spend that kind of money. In my opinion, they will pay a high price for it in the future if they keep ignoring these minor issues that has plugged their all new designed cars.

 

Lexus did the same thing with the GX470, they knew there was a problem with the rear drive shaft clunking when the GX comes to a stop back in 2003. They release a TSB in 06. In the 2008 GX, they still have the same problem, go figure.