2GenIS350

2008 Lexus ISF 160xxx miles ML System

I recently noticed that my car’s speakers aren’t really sounding great and I’m very upset as music is one of my most precious things in all my vehicles owned.
I noticed a few things that I will list and hope to get some intel from the members.
Prior to the list I want to make it known that I tested the speakers and determined all flaws using the cars audio fade option.

1- Front driver side door bottom speaker no sound at all very flat, right side fine (3 total speakers on ML ISF FRONT DOORS)

2- Right passenger side door bottom speaker sounds like a pebble is being thrown at my door when I put on a heavy bass song on (very annoying)

3- When fader is set to only rear all bass/music sounds VERY flat (not sure if this is normal)

4- Couple months ago I had a very bad rattle/thumping sound coming from one of the rear speakers every time I played music and had the windows down, sometimes even happened when I hit a hard pothole. However this is no longer happening not sure why?

Also want to mention that I did have a rattle in the rear 2 speakers which was due to a loose speaker cap that I glued back on and went away.

Now for problem #1 I want to mention that it wasn’t always like this I do remember having bass at one point in time, and just like how I mentioned the thumping in the rear I had when I hit potholes it would occasionally do the same thing for my front door speaker. Could this mean it’s a bad speaker that needs replacing?

Problem #2 I want to say it could be the same issue I had with the rear speaker, a loose speaker/ dust cap but not sure as I couldn’t find any videos or pictures of members disassembling any door panel speakers.

Problem #3 I want to assume it’s possible the subwoofer that’s blown? Did a lot of digging and seems like the ML sub is a POS!

Don’t know if this is an important detail but my cars screen does prompt a message saying external disk not connected, related to NAV. Not sure why but if it’s not related to my sound issues we shall save it for another day (unless your just a nice guy and want to help me save time and not go bat**** crazy on Google every night losing sleep to search all this BS up) 😂

I will be at the shop in the next hour or so and I plan on opening both door panels to check out the speakers if possible and will be removing the rear seats and everything to take out the sub and will post updates tonight! If anyone here can spread some wisdom on what to look out for what to test etc please let me know so I can tackle these problems and possibly provide a solution!(fingers crossed lol)

Thank you!

2GenIS350

I opened up the following speakers
•Front driver side lower speaker
•Front passenger side lower speaker
•Subwoofer
I also took apart my amplifier

Turns out the front driver side speakers wire was ripped off the connection port- needs replacement
Passenger side speaker cone was ripped attempted to repair no good- needs replacement
Subwoofer had a crack in cone no good however I noticed that when I pushed down on the cone it started to work could be a bad voice coil thing? That red thing in on the bottom, need a new sub too unfortunately

I put everything back together and now I can’t play any sound past level 15 if the fader is set to anything but only front speakers, I feel like I messed up the AMP? All I did was open clean and put back together.
if I set the fader to front middle front driver or front passenger speakers I can put it at any volume. If I set it one tick down the speakers will pop and volume will cut.
Any help on what I can do would be nice, I plan to order front speakers got them both as a pair for $100. For the sub im not too sure I see used ones going for around $350 but i want to know if I can use a aftermarket sub maybe with the same amplifier?
Im taking my car to a stereo shop Tuesday to see what’s up.

Driver side speaker, torn connection wire (red)

Amplifier opened up cleaned out

Passenger side speaker torn cone

tronim

iTrader: (1)

ugh...I have an 08 @189k and my speakers are a sore spot for me as well.
I occasionally look around other posts and google for other examples of aftermarket speakers I can just purchase and fit into the spaces like the old ones and keep falling into Narnia with all the options.
I even went to Crutchfield to order speakers from there and can't seem to decide on their many options that will give me a speaker that is equal or better than OEM and that will fit without cutting....
I keep putting it off in hopes of finding a suitable shop that wont mangle my **** and rob me...

What speakers did you find that were $100 a pair?

2GenIS350

Hey sorry for your issues, this seems like a common problem in the community. Unfortunately I haven’t done no work on the speakers yet as I’m waiting for a solution just like you are and go aftermarket that will provide good quality if not better then the POS ML. The speakers I was talking about were used ML speakers on eBay!
please let me know if you figure anything out.

MMI

Have you tried taking the speakers to a speaker repair shop? The ripped foam surround should be a simple fix. The ripped wire should also be a simple fix. Can't speak to your amp issue tho.

2GenIS350

Yea got to make some time to take it to a speaker spot need to find one near me (Queens, NYC)
Even if the speakers aren’t repairable it’s easily replaceable like I said I can get a pair for the front for about $150 (used)
Its mainly the Subwoofer and Amp I’m worried about, kind of need advice on how to run a aftermarket sub as I never did any audio related work to any of my cars ever.

ChpEng

iTrader: (1)

ML speaker description. (Recommend checking the factory service manual for your model year to confirm.)
Amplifier pinouts.
Foam repair kits.

The OEM ML stereo uses 8Ω speakers, so replacing them with 4Ω speakers risks damaging the amplifier. Reputable car audio shops will recommend piggybacking an integrated DSP/amp on the OEM ML amplifier with aftermarket speakers. This gets expensive quickly, but new, known-good OEM ML amplifiers are not cheap either. I appreciate Crutchfield's fitment guides and friendly consultants, but their core business is selling equipment, not ensuring the longevity of your build.

I have some dead door speakers that have drifted lower on the upgrade/fix list.
Here are some information sheets I cobbled together for sanity retention purposes:

MY11 OEM Speakers

MY11 OEM Amplifier

2GenIS350

to be very honest I suck with all the wire things haha I’m going to take it to a audio shop and see what they say about my amp if it’s any good or if it’s shot cause the sound cuts off after I raise the volume after 10, wouldn’t that be a amp problem and not the speakers/sub?
The repair kit you sent is that for the door speakers?

GS400V8

iTrader: (4)

In my 08, there were so many blown speakers. Probably only 8 actually worked. The center nav speaker was literally missing its cone. Was just the frame and voice coil left. I like to replace with OEM.

If it were me I’d listen to each speaker with my ear against it. Easy to do and will show you what’s going on.

Once all the speakers are in new condition or replaced, and it’s still sounds bad/cuts out, I would disassemble the amp and see if there’s any corrosion that could be cleaned or any capacitors bad. If that didn’t work I’d try either a used OEM amp or new OEM one.

ChpEng

iTrader: (1)

It sure sounds like an amplifier problem to me.
Yes, the repair kits should work for the door speakers.

MMI

Could be amp but I'd definitely start with the speakers. If any of them are shorting out, the amp is probably going into self protection and cutting power.

2GenIS350

I’m going to replace the 2 lower door speakers and maybe just disconnect the sub for now and see how it goes, taking my car to a audio shop in Long Island in the next coming days to check out the amp

GS400V8

iTrader: (4)

MMI - That was my thought as well
And 2GenIS350 - Did you hold your ear up to each speaker with music on? There are 14 speakers and it can tell you alot before you go to the shop. It's almost a necessity to do this as the shop might miss something you pick up.

2GenIS350

Yup I did, I noticed that the front doors which have 3 speakers- 2 was good 1 bottom speaker was no good on both front doors
center dash speaker good
for the back the doors I believe have 2 speakers they were good
Subwoofer was out only worked when u pushed into the cone
2 small speakers on the sides of sub by the rear glass working good

when I take my car to the shop maybe both front speakers are repairable, one of them had a clipped wire other had a cut cone.
however the speakers aren’t my concern it’s the sub and amp. A used sub for this car goes for almost $400 which is a lot and the last thing I want is for the sub to go out like this again. I really want to just install a aftermarket sub and sound system in general but at this point I don’t think it’s possible

2GenIS350

I also want to mention that I opened the amp myself and just took a look at it and seemed perfectly fine no water damages just hit it with a blower to clean it out a bit reassembled and problems started, maybe I caused some damage to the amp myself?