From what I have read, this problem can be best duplicated on cold start. Maybe leave your car at the dealership and have them start it the next day.

 

That's what they did. I had loaner cars multiple times already.

 

Mine was mostly after the car was driven and left for about 30-45min then restarted.

Example:

I would go to lunch, short trip approx 2 miles or so. I would park the car for about 30 - 45 min while I ate. On restart the car made the sound.

I had explained that to the dealer several times but they said they could not replicate. I was frustrated an they could tell. A really cool adviser told me to record the sound and even if he had to lie and say he recorded it, it would get done.

 

Maybe I can help you guys out with your frustration by telling you about mine, and ultimately the solution for my start-up rattle. Long story short, I've taken my IS to the dealership (actually 2 different dealerships) a total of 4 times now. The first 3 times, the startup noise was heard by the technicians and they performed the TSB outlined for the problem. Well, it started doing it again!! This time, they couldn't reproduce the noise. They even kept the car for 4 days-starting it up several times a day. Frustrated....and thinking I was slightly insane at this point, I made my way around town to run some errands. I put the car in neutral (thinking i was in reverse)and revved the engine. And low and behold, clear as day, there was the same rattling/clattering that i keep hearing on startup. Took it to the dealership right away and they said I had "a wobbly piston". Ended up replacing the small engine block. Oh, and after they finished with the small engine block, they said my alternator was "too loud", so they replaced that as well. I got my car back today, and no noise as of yet.

Maybe you guys that are hearing the rattling even after the dealership has made several attempts to fix them should look into this. Put your car in neutral, rev up the engine and see if it makes the rattling noise. Sure would've saved me some time and frustration. Hope this help!!

 

I started to hear some kind of rattle too on the initial start up... this is after the car has been sitting for awhile too. Once I heard it i turn it off and re-started and nothing... this isn't the 1st time I heard this... sounds pretty serious

 

My noise has came back. Only lasted one summer I believe.

 

My IS350 is in the dealership right now and they aren't able to reproduce so far. Hopefully they will be able to hear the sounds tomorrow morning. Luckily I do have the noise captured as video in my blackberry as evidence.

It seems like there's a few folks that had this repaired via the TSIB but ultimately, the issue came back. How long after did the issue come back?

Also, just as a fact to note, in looking at the TSIB, it looks like this is covered under the powertrain warranty which is 72 months or 70k miles.

 

On the 3rd attempt, i heard it 2 hours after getting my car back from the shop!!

 

Cool i can use your clip to take it to my dealership. Same color too. Awesome!

 

Hello, I have this exact problem, can someone please give me a working link to download the TSIB, or email it to me? Thanks! c_hoepelman@hotmail.com

 

I just got a call from my dealership. They were able to reproduce the rattle and they will be applying the TSIB. I'll be getting the car back sometime tomorrow. Hopefully the rattle is gone and gone forever.

 

i have 45,000 miles on my 06 350 and this cranking noise just started. i take my car to the dealer when ever the service light comes on. i got my 40,000 mile check recently and my oil changed. i know my oil is good and its not that cold here in nor-cal , but i noticed the noise happens when the car has been off for a couple of hours or sitting over night. so now for some reason when i start my car i just decided to pump my gas pedal one time and sure enough the noise goes away. i will still make an appt. to the dealer but i was wondering if this could be and injector issue?

 

I had the startup noise from ~25k miles. It occurs during startup (1-2 seconds) randomly either during cold days or even after driving it a bit. Once it started to happen 3-4 times a week, I decided to get it fixed. I was apprehensive to get it fixed at first because this is not an easy fix, requiring replacing components of the VVTi camp gear. It almost requires pulling the top half of the engine apart.

I had it worked on at the Oakland Coliseum Lexus Dealership about 4 months ago (32k miles), and the car is now at 39k miles with no problems. I bought my car there and have taken my car there for all of my services. They had experienced the same problem and fix a few other times. HOWEVER, when I called several other dealerships in the SF Bay Area neither the San Bruno or Palo Alto dealerships had worked on the problem.

Maybe it’s because I have a very good relationship with my service rep (who’s a great guy), but all I did was hand them the TSIB, left the car with them for 4 days, and got it fixed. They knew about the TSIB, and didn’t ask any questions.

 

Most of you guys who got urs fixed is prolly the '06-'07 model and there's no way of getting of out that tsib since it designates that year. A bit part of my problem is from my car being an '08 and the rattling noise being hard to reproduce. I'm going to try the neutral rev and see if i come up with anything.

 

i have a 2008 IS350 and took it to the lexus of pleasanton for an oil change. i noticed the noise a couple times on start ups but forgot to mention it to them. after the tech changed the oil, he heard the crank noise, so they offered to do the TSB and i didnt even ask for it! great service. had the IS350 back for 3 days already and it feels great!