bear2

Hi everyone, I'm a new owner of a 2011 RX350. I just picked it up today and think it's great so far.

One thing that's bothering me about the new ride is the wheel wells don't have the usual plastic liner that i'm used to seeing. Instead it's lined with a rugged cloth-like material. I've never seen this before on a vehicle and when i questioned the dealership, they said it was for noise dampening. I checked the other 350's on the lot and they also had the same liner.

Interesting thing is all their other models had the normal plastic liner.

Any other 2011 owners have this experience? Or is what they are saying the truth?

RXSF

They are telling the truth. It is also on my C class.

the idea is that when you go over rough roads, like a construction site, the little tar pebbles will not interfere with your conversation inside the car.

Instead, I find it to be a great way for leaves and other debris to be stuck there during the fall season on my mercedes. With the greater wheel well clearance on the RX, its not that much of a problem.

stw2046

I 2nd that for rxsf. They are for sound proving. I do appreciate them myself and found them to work. They do kill some road noise too.

ziggy1

Unfortunately, they are more difficult to keep clean and on my old 2008, there were some annoying fuzzy, string like pieces starting to appear around the wheel wells. Nevertheless, they are there for a purpose and to contribute to the overall enjoyment of the ride.

kitlz

I'm not a fan of the felt-like liner either. A direct spray with the hose dislodges most of the stuff that gets caught in there. Considering I do this every week when I clean my RX they look pretty good.

TorontoIS

I've now had two previous cars with that type of liner, one an Acura TL and the other a Lexus IS 350. Now my RX 450h has it too. I'm not bothered by it at all, I never give it any thought and seldom look in there anyhow. It does its intended job which is keeping more road noise out of the cabin.