vicara

to date, no calls, no reply, no acknowledgment of my last correspondence. all the while my car is a garage queen. The DMV plates came in early this week but has yet to install hoping that I can still get a swap.

Honestly, I'm about to give up. The letter I'm about to send to Lexus corporate will be my last and then I will just chalked it up as a nightmare. Bad decision going to Lexus, that is. I took a leap of faith, even with this crappy economy, but I guess I set the Lexus brand too far above the rest and get a huge let down in the process.

rxets

vicara, did you post your experiences on Edmund or any other car review sites?

I'm wondering if those sites will take these negative feedbacks.

The G Man

It is not like Lexus not to respond to your correspondence. Get a lawyer to write them a letter, that will get their attention.

Btmnk21

iTrader: (1)

Two things I've noticed in the past week+ of ownership.

1) Wind noise stemming from the driver window/rear passenger and possibly the passenger front window. This is loudest on the highway and sounds very much like my 14 year old car- kinda disappointed it is not whisper quiet.

I've also noticed two seals that look funny. One is on the exterior passenger window. It looks like it is not "glued" properly and is loose. The second is the front driver window at the top. Looking from the outside the seal is squished and not flat to the window. Almost as if there is too much seal and the window compresses it so much it moves away from the window.

2) A low dull humming over almost any paved road. I think it's the tires, but it could also be air passing under the car. Again, sort of disappointed.

Any ideas?

rxets

Btmnk21,

I got all the issues you're experiencing... And, more...
The front bumpers assembling, large gaps
TPMS panel under driver-side dropping
The spoiler/cover under the left-rear seat dropping
...

I couldn't remmeber all...

rxets

2 complaints:

1. Noise... this engine is very noise, especially before it reaches its working termperature. As data2009 said above, it sounds like diesel engine...

2. After 1.2K miles, the suspensions seems to be working better and can absorb more vibration from the grounds. However, RX10 suspensions are soft, sometimes the car is swaying like a boat. I should pay $3k more for the sport pkg. Although I think Sport pkg doesn't make this car super stiffer, it may be better than nothing.

Hal56

sounds like that before any of us future owners take delivery we should prepare a checklist and go through the cars.

JD Powers tracks defects per 100 cars or something like that and the average is 1-2 problems per car for the hi rated cars.

now--will the 450 coming out of the new plant in Japan be better--or leave glitches? I guess time will tell but with a pretty high end sticker price and history the expectations are pretty high. They shouild be delivered to customer defect free. Not the stuff I am reading about here.

sightdev

Don’t forget this is a $40k vehicle and not a six figure exotic cruiser. For the price of our RX, Lexus did a good job applying best engineering. Compare to 2005 RX, my current 2010 RX wind noise is near non-existent, road noise is much reduced. Reduction in road noise can be combination of new wheel-well lining material that you would find in a truck of a sedan and Bridgestone tires [18's]. I have already put on 1300 miles in the past few weeks in varying speed and weather condition, cabin inside is very quiet with windows up but a lot of “buffering” noise when window(s) are open wide. Only quieter CUV/SUV I have experienced was with Veracruz which I had for about a week. I can even hardly hear the engine noise inside the garage. In my RX, only time I can really hear engine is when I first start the vehicle in the garage but once it is outside and running for about a minute, I can hardly hear anything even with the windows down.

rxets

I ususally hear what I said above when I turn off the music and close up all windows.

However, I have to agree the sound-proof is good and the roaring engine in the cold start would not be harsh to the ears when shutting the doors in the garage.


Did you hear any abnormal or loud engine noise/sound when going uphills in low gears? MY RX seems to try hard to climb up...

Thanks.

sightdev

I wonder if you have some other issues or even little manufactured defect. We really put all three of our vehicles to good use and we are currently using the new RX as out of town vehicle, we went on a 400 mile road trip three days after we purchased RX and another 400 miles road trip last weekend. We have about 1300 miles on ODO and those miles were good miles with full load. During 1300 miles we put on the RX, many of those hours we didn’t use any sound system and the kids were watching movie in the back seat with the headset on so I would have heard any abnormal/loud sound. RX350 has timing chain verses RX300-330 timing belt. Timing belt are noticeably quieter compare to the chains but with all the new engine bay covers and insulation that went into our 2010 RX, I don’t hear much engine noise once it is outside the garage and in normal driving condition. Only time I would really hear engine sound is when I have half to full throttling. We don’t have many hills around where I live/work but I do spirited driving. Sometimes when I try to accelerate after coasting it “pauses” to find the right gear before accelerating but it doesn’t make any noise. I don’t remember that with 5-speed on 2005 RX but sometime annoying but luckily it only happens on rare occasions. May be you should go test drive another RX to compare the noise level. Also you should make sure your windows are closed using the “auto” up so you know for sure your windows are tightly closed to seal out outside noise. I read in the forum where users are experiencing weather strip miss alignment or falling apart. There is another who is experiencing oil leak from engine/transmission. All manufactures have certain percentage of defective assembly so you should go check out the other RX for comparison and try to address any issue(s) sooner than later.

rxets

sightdev, thanks for your advice. I'll definitely get friends' RX10 and the dealer's to test-drive.

Mine is quiet on most of conditions, smooth on the highways, high speed (50+ mph) uphills, or high gears (4+).


I'm wondering if moving my RX10 back to SF, what's going to happen!? Probably mine will become the noise pollution maker out there.

Cruiter

Your mention of timing chain vs belt is possibly good news (or not). Changing the belt is one of the big expenses on most new cars somewhere in the 100,000 mile range due to labor cost. So the plugs could be the only big expense at that point? Or does your maintenance manual call for several chain tension adjustments that might eat up the dropped cost of belt labor.
Thanks in advance. Waiting for my 450h, and assuming it will have the chains as well. One more way to reduce lost engine power IS good news though
Anticipation .

PS, it just dawned on me from my Porsche days. When cold, the chains made noise. That might be what many folks are hearing when the engine is cold. Just a thought. Very simple layman's test. With engine idling, touch one end of a broom stick to chain drive cover. Put your ear on the other end. Is that the sound you hear amplified many times ??? That trick is from the 'practical knowledge' tool box. Will work on any part of any engine, air or water cooled.

sightdev

Pros and cons to having chain verses belts. Luckily all Toyota engines with timing belts are non-interference engine so there will be no destruction if t-belt was to break during operation. Lexus/Toyota doesn’t list the t-belt replacement interval but experts do recommend changing every 80k-90k. I have a friend who still has his 1990 LS400 with 200k+ miles on original t-belts so I guess it can go as long as the chain. Long time ago when I had SC400, the total cost to change the t-belt was $2000+ at the dealer that included t-belt, water pump, tensioner, seals, and other small items/fees. In 90’s t-belts became popular; according to manufacturer it was cheaper and quieter operation that flooded the market with t-belt engines but as people complained about cost of maintenance and failure rate of some of the engines, chains are making a comeback. It is rarer to see t-belt engine on new cars now and I am glad chains are back. Hope the new SC due soon will use the 460 engine which as chain compare to 430 and 400 which had belts. SC is due for new design but I can’t find any spy photos but I do hope for the 4.6 V8 with 8-speed transmission and fix top instead of the folding top.

meowmix52

I have a '09 RX, which shares virtually the same engine; diesel-like sounds are prominent as well , sometimes a faint "knocking" noise can be heard even though I use premium unleaded gasoline...

Other than that, the car drives great
Like others said, the Lexus is already great for the price (entry Luxury)

rcf8000

I just took delivery of mine this afternoon, but already I have concluded that the road noise is less than with my '07 RX. The new one has Dunlop tires. Engine noise may be slightly greater than my '07, but is not objectionable.