Grisik

Just got back from Lexus River Center in Covinton KY. The service lady was very nice and helpful. I advised her that the wind noise in my 07 LS460 was unacceptable. She told me that they would be happy to take care of the problem. I asked how they were fixing the problem. She told me that they now replace both front windows with a double pane window, similar to a Mercedes S class window. Then they replace the window molding that deflects the wind in a different direction. They want to do it when they do the valve spring recall. I have read some about this problem but I have never heard of replacing the window. Any thoughts ?

I8ABMR

this is totally normal. i am going to have mine done with the valve spring recall as well.

Luxofreak

I had mine done a long time ago and no worries. Your car will be quieter for sure.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

replacing windows under tsib has been the lexus primary solution in some cases. it helps, but a few members say it doesn't take away noise completely. read the massive thread on the little triangle fix

jmcraney

I had my windows replaced and there was no improvement in the wind noise whatsoever. I continue to believe that those who experience an improvement from the glass retrofit are really getting their wind noise reduction as a result of the trim replacement which is done as part of the window job. In most cases replacing the trim provides a temporary relief and in some cases a more permanent fix. And, I need to remind you that there were numerous reports from owners of cars with single ply factory windows that never experienced wind noise or any kind of noise problem.

cmasten

i have single pane factory glass on my 07. It took me about 15 min a side to apply Jims fix and he even sent me the metal parts upon asking! as soon as the silicon dried its been silent.

Its important to fix the problem and not the symptoms here and Jims fix is getting right at the problem from my experience.

jmcraney

Thank you cmasten for your comment. You've said a lot in a few words.

I am not suggesting that anyone avoid the glass replacement. It provides income to the dealerships and income for the technicians and that helps our economy. The glass retrofit TSIB seems to be innocuous as there have been few reports of trouble other than worse wind noise. The wind noise may be better or worse after the glass replacement but that is very unlikely related to the glass.

For those who have the time and inclination to get the glass replaced, you will probably get a gas tank fill up too so there may be a $60 bonus for you if you time it right.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah jim's fix seems to be the most effective one so far. doing the window, that seems like a bandage fix, rather than root cause fix

warrenwlam

JM:
I am very interested in your fix. I have read your wonderful description and viewed the excellent photos of your repair. My wind noise was not present when I bought my 2008 LS.Do you think that by using blue painters tape that the problem that you described could be diagnosed? I plan to tape this triangle and also separately the mirror base where it joins the door. ? Your thoughts. Thanks

jmcraney

warrenwlam,

There have been several reports from owners telling us that their cars developed a wind noise problem after it had been in service for a while. I predicted a couple of years ago that some of the cars would exhibit this sort of failure because of the design of the triangle trim on the door.

As for the blue painters tape as a troubleshooting aid, several of the correspondents to LS460/600 discussions said that they tried that without any clearcut conclusions and then went on to repair their trim and successfully transform their vehicles into the exceptionally quiet cars. I also suggested that sort of trouble shooting and I am unable to tell you why it doesn't seem to provide any useful information. The trim defect is really a noise isolation problem as opposed to a wind noise problem so stopping air intrusion is not the solution.

Although I don't have any data my intuition tells me that the odds of your problem being the triangle trim as opposed to the mirror are three or four orders of magnitude higher. If I remember correctly, we have had only one person on this site tell us that they had conclusively determined that their side-rearview mirror was causing a noise problem and was able to eliminate the problem by getting the mirror repaired or replaced.

Repairing the trim is something that most of the cars would benefit from. It is easy, inexpensive and low risk.

Based on the many inputs here and on other sites, I would just repair the trim before I gave any consideration to anything else.

As for repairing the trim, you have a couple of choices. You can do the DIY fix that I suggested or some variation of that or get it done by a collision repair business. I realize that the DIY fix is beyond some owners capabilities either because they just don't do that sort of thing or because they don't have the time. The other choice you have is to replace the triangle trim with new pieces. That is something that you can do as a DIY project, get done at a Lexus dealer or a Toyota dealer. The new trim pieces are inexpensive, about $15 each, and readily available. If you need the part #s I can help you with that. If replacing the trim doesn't fix the problem I would't draw any conclusions however it likely will help and although that sort of fix might not be durable it would provide you some insight about what to do next.

Please check your Private Messages on this site for a message.