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Well, with really warm temps and crazy high interior cabin temperatures, it's normal to expect some temporary and minor plastic expansion/contraction popping noises in a Lexus. I've owned several and none have ever been immune to extreme temperature variations. However, I was easily reminded how superior the NX (or IS) is to my in-law's new Elantra with a festival of creaks from its thin plasticky dashboard in the same extreme heat.
In any case, Lexus could still do better with the rearview mirror which creaks when touching it in these extreme temps. It's worse in the NX as compared to the IS.
Luckily there is a fairly easy fix, but a word of caution, this is not for the faint of heart because to pry open the casing, you will create some small nicks in the plastic.
Materials:
- As with most squeak and rattle repairs, fabric tape (hockey tape) is your best friend.
- Scissors
- Flat head screw driver or strong plastic pry tool (either one taped on the tip to minimize damage)
- Torx screw driver T3
Steps:
1. Slide plastic cover (you may not have this same setup if you don't have LDA and Auto High-Beams)
2. Disconnect the power clip and unscrew with the Torx screw driver. No need to fully remove the screw, just 2-3 full counter-clockwise turns. Then slide up mirror and remove.
3. The trickiest part is prying open the mirror casing. You need to press down and twist the plastic "halves" away from each other along the locations as shown on the top side, and similarly on the bottom side. Nicking the plastic a touch is virtually inevitable, but it's not visible once mirror is mounted.
4. Remove the "skeletal" metal clip along the mirror, then remove the mirror and remaining circuit board.
5. Apply fabric tape on one half along the contact edge as shown. Optional: I folded up sub-floor padding material in the crevices for added solidity and sound-absorption of any minute creaking inside the casing.
6. Reverse the above steps for assembly and mounting. You'll note it's tighter to snap the halves back together making the mirror feel more solid.
Yes, great information and DIY corradoMR2 ! I'm not having that noise, only the slight crack from the silver trim on the doors in the extreme heat. When the AC vents are on high, the cool air hitting the silver strip cause a little cracking, but stops once the interior gets cool . Thanks for all your information and DIY on this forum, and happy weekend to you !