I purchased and picked up my new 2011 RX 450h in December. From the second day of ownership I've had a very persistent rattle coming from the front passenger door panel. It seemed to worsen when colder but never completely went away. I did notice that it was lessened when a passenger had his/her arm on the armrest.

Today I think the noise is gone! Today I made the fourth visit to the dealership for this problem. Today they replaced the door panel, I am hopeful that this will finally fix the noise which has been driving me and my partner crazy.

Why did it take four tries to fix it you ask? Well at each previous visit I took a test drive with the technician. Each time he confirmed the noise, you couldn't miss it. Each time, he took the door panel off and did something such as apply felt at contact points, or reroute a wiring harness. Each time, a test drive with him revealed the the noise was gone! However, by the end of that day driving over the pot hole ridden roads of the downtown here, the noise would gradually return. After the third try the day after when I knew the noise was back, I called to let them know. Unbeknownst to me, the technician ordered at new panel at this point. So when I arrived, feeling frustrated, but never angry at them (I knew they were taking me seriously and were apologetic for the problem and time it was taking me to get it fixed on a brand new Lexus!) I was pleasantly surprised to find that he had planned to install this new panel as that was what I was going to suggest that they do.

Anyhow, I am hopeful that this one single problem with my new RX is now gone, fingers crossed, and that I can drive this awesome SUV in peace and silence, other than the Mark Levinson stereo playing of course.

 

That's great news Benny. Only rattling going on in mine is from the ML Enjoy the ride. Now all we need is for the snow to go away and the warm weather to come back.

 

You're right on that Anita. My RX is finally clean again but they're calling for snow again tomorrow. I do really hope the rattle is gone. I guess in the next few days I'll know for sure.

 

its nice that they were able to find and fix the rattle. many times, rattles are impossible to reproduce when you want them to and more difficult to isolate

 

I guess the snow was waiting for you to come back from Hawaii

RXSF is right on about the rattles. They never show up when you make the trek to the dealer. I don't have them except for the occasional squeak going over a bump. Maybe less plastic and more padding inside would help. Best of luck.

 

I've definitely had the experience of not being able to reproduce a rattle in a car when I've brought it in to the dealership. In this case, it was always there, and in fact today, I didn't even need to be hitting any bumps to produce it. I have to say how pleased I am with the service at Lexus, they don't doubt you and they take your concerns seriously. Kudos to Lexus. That is one of the reasons I left Acura years ago.

 

i have 2010 rx450h and have the same problem like you. i haven't bring it in for them to look at it yet let me know if that fix the problem

 

On my drive in to work, things seemed fine. Hopefully they will stay that way. I might have heard a little something, but I wasn't sure.

 

where i live we dont have that many cold days but when its cold it rattle loud and clear. i might have to bring it in next winter season bc its warm here now...
is there anyway you can post the invoice that way i can tell them exactly what to fix? thanks

 

I'm hearing it a little tiny bit today : ( I'll have to give it a few more days to see what happens.

I don't have an invoice, I had to leave for work and my service advisor was away from this desk. They said that they would forward it to me or just give it to me the next time I was in for service. I fear it might be sooner than later. I hope I'm wrong.

 

The rattle is coming back....... : (

 

Ya think? Benny's dealer seemed interested in resolving it for him. I'd rather have them try to fix it to his satisfaction than start over.

 

I'm going to sit on it a bit, perhaps this rattle is slightly different and not the same as the first? Perhaps there were actually two rattles at the beginning and one is gone leaving me with this softer one? I'm really unsure. I have to say that my dealership is really trying, and they are treating me well with this, unlike my previous Acura dealership. I'll keep an ear on the rattle and call them once I'm sure it is either a recurrence of the same original one, or maybe a slight different one.

I am frustrated to say the least, but I'm not giving up on either the brand, car or the dealership, yet.

 

When you do bring it back to the dealer ask them if they can drive the car with the door panel removed this way they can isolate where the rattle coming from good luck

 

I was thinking about doing that actually to see if the door without the panel is making any noise itself, thanks.