08 rx350 rattles (how bad a hit?)
10-02-07, 05:50 PM
#16
Sadly i can't do that. The rattle seems to come more as you approach 60mph or a VERY bumpy road. I am not comfortable driving in either of those situations with the door open. I even had the head technician look at it. Now maybe they can do that (with the panel off) but I'm not gonna mess with that as they would probaly try to void my warrenty if I did that.
I have tried holding all different parts of the door to see if it would stop the rattle. sadly it has not.
The bottom line is that a rattle (no matter if it can never be fixed) does NOT make the car a lemon. So other then me just wasting my time and keep bringing it in for them to look at and not fix, there is not much I can do.
I have tried holding all different parts of the door to see if it would stop the rattle. sadly it has not.
The bottom line is that a rattle (no matter if it can never be fixed) does NOT make the car a lemon. So other then me just wasting my time and keep bringing it in for them to look at and not fix, there is not much I can do.
Trading in your RX350 for RX400h (although this one is made in Japan) is not worth it, IMHO. You are loosing some amount of money doing this and you get a car that will look old(er) once the 09 rx comes out in a few months. Further, there is no 100% guarantee the new RX400h will be rattle free. I drove an RX400h loaner and it was a rattle galore. Granted this was a loaner, so it had been trashed around perhaps?
In the mean time, have the dealership keep trying to fix the rattles in your RX350. Try another dealership if you have too. The 2009 RX350 will be out next yr. If you trade in your current RX350 for that one, it will be a better 'gamble'.
Last edited by SugarRush; 10-02-07 at 06:16 PM.
10-03-07, 12:48 AM
#18
Lexus Test Driver
Have the techs heard the rattle? If so and it can be easily duplicated, take the car to service get a loaner and tell them your not coming back till its fixed--end of story!! Enjoy your loaner for a while
They should easily be able to take off teh whole door panel, maybe the B pillar inside panel and drive around with all that off and should be able to find it...
They should easily be able to take off teh whole door panel, maybe the B pillar inside panel and drive around with all that off and should be able to find it...
10-03-07, 06:26 AM
#20
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Have the techs heard the rattle? If so and it can be easily duplicated, take the car to service get a loaner and tell them your not coming back till its fixed--end of story!! Enjoy your loaner for a while
They should easily be able to take off teh whole door panel, maybe the B pillar inside panel and drive around with all that off and should be able to find it...
They should easily be able to take off teh whole door panel, maybe the B pillar inside panel and drive around with all that off and should be able to find it...
When I was at the dealer, I went on a test drive with them and the tech heard the noise so I have no idea what they are doing over there
Another thing which pisses me off a bit (over the course of them holding the car, sat to Tues, they put 150 miles on the car. I know they need to drive the car to see if they fixed the rattle but that seems a bit excessive.
As for going for the lx/gx, I'm not a huge suv guy. Don't really like the really large suv's.
At this point, I think my only options are trade it in for the 400h, an acura mdx, or wait a year and deal with rattles to get the newer model.
I don't want to get the same exact car just because I worry I may now have such bad feelings toward the 350 that I will be looking for faults in it.
10-03-07, 07:42 AM
#22
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argoldst,
You still haven't said which door is making the rattle. If its other than driver's door, get a rider. Now go to that VERY BUMPY road you mentioned where the rattle is sure to happen. Now have the door opened ONE INCH, rider holding it. That's all it takes, just enough to separate door from doorframe.
Are you saying you would rather trade in your car than try this step?
After doing this, tell us what happened.
You still haven't said which door is making the rattle. If its other than driver's door, get a rider. Now go to that VERY BUMPY road you mentioned where the rattle is sure to happen. Now have the door opened ONE INCH, rider holding it. That's all it takes, just enough to separate door from doorframe.
Are you saying you would rather trade in your car than try this step?
After doing this, tell us what happened.
10-03-07, 08:17 AM
#23
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argoldst,
You still haven't said which door is making the rattle. If its other than driver's door, get a rider. Now go to that VERY BUMPY road you mentioned where the rattle is sure to happen. Now have the door opened ONE INCH, rider holding it. That's all it takes, just enough to separate door from doorframe.
Are you saying you would rather trade in your car than try this step?
After doing this, tell us what happened.
You still haven't said which door is making the rattle. If its other than driver's door, get a rider. Now go to that VERY BUMPY road you mentioned where the rattle is sure to happen. Now have the door opened ONE INCH, rider holding it. That's all it takes, just enough to separate door from doorframe.
Are you saying you would rather trade in your car than try this step?
After doing this, tell us what happened.
It is the driver's door. Obvisously, I am not really comfortable driving with the driver's door open (especialy at faster speeds when the rattle tends to happen more frequently).
10-04-07, 07:08 AM
#25
Have you eliminated the roof rack cross bars? 60 mph and bumpy roads make me suspect it. Try relocating each bar and verify they are locked. At those speeds, without a stethescope, sounds are elusive.
10-04-07, 02:03 PM
#26
MultiTasking Mom
i think you should try another dealer. i have 3 in my area and 1 is VERY BAD at this kind of stuff, while another is mediocre and the 3rd is STELLAR. i had a bad rattle from my overhead factory DVD system and it would not stop. on the 3rd attempt to fix it they just ripped it out and put in a new one. problem solved, no rattles for 4 years.
the door rattle seems like something that is easily identified and fixed w/ insulation. there has to be something that has a resonant frequency that is triggered by the car's natural vibration at 60mph. i suspect they cannot locate it easily b/c obviously when they are working on it they are parked in the garage but at some point i think they'd just insulate all moving parts and call it a day.
on another note, 6500 to trade up to to hybrid doesn't exactly sound like a deal to me. plus, the hybrid drives differently - have you tried it out? i like the technology but the CVT is a little skiddish and the electric to gas engine shudder is something that i didn't like either. just something to think about in case you have not driven it.
anyway, just my 2c. i know how bad rattles can be, and i have a VERY LOW tolerance for them as well. perhaps they can comp you something to make up for all the time in the shop and the excess mileage they've driven. good luck and keep us posted!
the door rattle seems like something that is easily identified and fixed w/ insulation. there has to be something that has a resonant frequency that is triggered by the car's natural vibration at 60mph. i suspect they cannot locate it easily b/c obviously when they are working on it they are parked in the garage but at some point i think they'd just insulate all moving parts and call it a day.
on another note, 6500 to trade up to to hybrid doesn't exactly sound like a deal to me. plus, the hybrid drives differently - have you tried it out? i like the technology but the CVT is a little skiddish and the electric to gas engine shudder is something that i didn't like either. just something to think about in case you have not driven it.
anyway, just my 2c. i know how bad rattles can be, and i have a VERY LOW tolerance for them as well. perhaps they can comp you something to make up for all the time in the shop and the excess mileage they've driven. good luck and keep us posted!
10-11-07, 03:55 PM
#27
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Rattle for -> door opened: gone, door closed: present
Hi, my '07 ES350 was having this kind of rattle. It sounded from inside right B pillar. I went to dealer A 5 times. They replaced all pillar panels, a whole set of seatbelt but no help. The rattle is still there. I then Went to dealer B. They found it's rattling on stricker of right front door. Stricker is the U shape metal door lock. When you open the door you will see it. Dealer B did insulation on housing of the stricker and it's gone now. They said there's a plate inside B pillar and the plate was loose. I found some loaner ES350 have this problem as well.
Don't know the stricker difference between RX and ES. Would suggest you keep trying with different dealers. Just give it a try on stricker.
It took me 6 visits and finally it's solved. It's frustrated, yes, but don't stop on trying. Good luck.
Don't know the stricker difference between RX and ES. Would suggest you keep trying with different dealers. Just give it a try on stricker.
It took me 6 visits and finally it's solved. It's frustrated, yes, but don't stop on trying. Good luck.
10-11-07, 04:19 PM
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pma0224,
Sorry, but argoldst will not find this problem because opening the door while rattle is in progress would be "unsafe". Glad you were able to fix your issue, though. Incidentally, didn't you mean "striker" was the problem?
Sorry, but argoldst will not find this problem because opening the door while rattle is in progress would be "unsafe". Glad you were able to fix your issue, though. Incidentally, didn't you mean "striker" was the problem?
10-11-07, 10:46 PM
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Rattle for -> door opened: gone, door closed: present
Hi tgdaman, I'm sorry. I didn't type it clearly because I was at office. 
The rattle was from right B pillar. To duplicate, I parked my ES at garage. Opened front right door. Sat in rear right seat and opened rear right door. Closed rear right door and the sound was solid. Then I closed front right door. Opened rear right door and closed it. And the ticking rattle came. This was the open/close rattle.
The service advisor put down 'stricker' on the document so I just used that word. I heard a similar rattle from some loaner ES and 'probably' from one loaner RX.
My original dealer didn't solve it for 5 times. A 2nd dealer told me the rattle was normal on ES (what a great answer
). A 3rd dealer located and fixed it within 1 visit. I would say different dealerships may have different skill levels on repair. Try more than 1 dealership is a good idea.
The rattle was from right B pillar. To duplicate, I parked my ES at garage. Opened front right door. Sat in rear right seat and opened rear right door. Closed rear right door and the sound was solid. Then I closed front right door. Opened rear right door and closed it. And the ticking rattle came. This was the open/close rattle.The service advisor put down 'stricker' on the document so I just used that word. I heard a similar rattle from some loaner ES and 'probably' from one loaner RX.
My original dealer didn't solve it for 5 times. A 2nd dealer told me the rattle was normal on ES (what a great answer
). A 3rd dealer located and fixed it within 1 visit. I would say different dealerships may have different skill levels on repair. Try more than 1 dealership is a good idea.
10-11-07, 11:03 PM
#30
Hi tgdaman, I'm sorry. I didn't type it clearly because I was at office. The rattle was from right B pillar. To duplicate, I parked my ES at garage. Opened front right door. Sat in rear right seat and opened rear right door. Closed rear right door and the sound was solid. Then I closed front right door. Opened rear right door and closed it. And the ticking rattle came. This was the open/close rattle.
The service advisor put down 'stricker' on the document so I just used that word. I heard a similar rattle from some loaner ES and 'probably' from one loaner RX.
My original dealer didn't solve it for 5 times. A 2nd dealer told me the rattle was normal on ES (what a great answer). A 3rd dealer located and fixed it within 1 visit. I would say different dealerships may have different skill levels on repair. Try more than 1 dealership is a good idea.
The rattle was from right B pillar. To duplicate, I parked my ES at garage. Opened front right door. Sat in rear right seat and opened rear right door. Closed rear right door and the sound was solid. Then I closed front right door. Opened rear right door and closed it. And the ticking rattle came. This was the open/close rattle.The service advisor put down 'stricker' on the document so I just used that word. I heard a similar rattle from some loaner ES and 'probably' from one loaner RX.
My original dealer didn't solve it for 5 times. A 2nd dealer told me the rattle was normal on ES (what a great answer
). A 3rd dealer located and fixed it within 1 visit. I would say different dealerships may have different skill levels on repair. Try more than 1 dealership is a good idea.