FastFord

Is this on a 2022 RX350?

Just picked up a new 22 and she has a slight drone at 1500. Crawled underneath and it looks like it already has a weight on the exhaust as shown in the pictures.

Glad yours worked out, maybe you submit a resume at Lexus. 5 years and they haven't solved it yet! lol

OReliable

2022 RX350 F-Sport (Appearance)

Not sure why mine doesn't have the exhaust weight. I shouldn't have touched/moved my weight today because the vibration is slightly louder than it was yesterday. I think the closer you can move the exhaust clamps to the catalytic converter***, the less vibration there is. I will have to re-test it tomorrow. I found that having the weight face the passenger side reduced the vibrations more than having it face the driver side.

dibl

It appears they fixed it in 2023, with a 4-banger and a turbo.

PROGRESS!

(I'll keep my 2018 ... for a long time ...)

FastFord

Mine is facing driver and is right up against the cat. Maybe I'll swing it to the passenger side.

The drone is more like a vibration. Right at 1500 rpm. I have had drone on a truck we used to race. That was drone! this is not really like that, A vibration sort of, but sounds more like a mild aftermarket exhaust note.
Not that bad and I am not going to lose sleep, just think it should not be there. oh well.

dibl, You are right, just sold my 2022 NX350 F sport 3 turbo Very buzzy getting it moving. Very quiet while moving.
Love my old school V6.

The 4 banger in a 2023 RX350 might be a disappointment to some. Have to have the hybrid....

DampDuffer

I did not dislike the 4-cylindar turbo on my 2017 NX F-Sport, but except for the lower gas mileage, I prefer the smoooth 6-cylindar in my 2022 RX F-Sport.

A mitigating factor to the gas mileage: The NX called for premium fuel, the RX does not.

FastFord

I did not dislike the 2022 NX350 either, it was just too buzzy sounding getting it going, yet extremely quiet once up to speed. Highway driving was dead silence. I doubt the turbo ever kicked in (F sport3 version). I drive like the old fart I am. It was mostly a tad too small for me. I am very much enjoying another RX350. Probably one of the last 6 cyl I'll have the chance to own.

OReliable

I had some time today to finally drop off my 2022 RX 350 F sport (appearance) at Ray Catena of Freehold, NJ.

They gave me a base 2021 RX350 loaner in the meantime while they take a look. I noticed 0 droning at all in my 20 mile drive back. Tried 26-30mph @ 1500rpm and 56-60mph @ 1500rpm, but no drone or cabin vibrations at all.

I didn’t see any dampers underneath the car either when I got back home.

They told me they also fill up their loaners only with premium gas, but not sure how much of a difference that makes if anyone wants to test it in their RX next time they fill up.

I also asked the service advisor if anyone else reported a droning sound at 1500rpm and he said this is the first he’s heard of it.

Will update you guys when I get my car back later this week.

FastFord

Back in 2016 that's what the dealers said....never heard of any complaints about anything. Two years later the same thing, oh you're the first we've heard of it. Over 1 million views later, oh we have never heard of that sir. They are trained not to acknowledge anything, even when there is a TSB out. I like my Service advisor and we used to have some good arguments. He would always end our "fight" with a smile, basically your right but I can't do anything. Still dealing with him!

As for premium in the RX, it makes no difference, at least it didn't on my 2016, haven't tried it on the 2022. Mine's not that bad and 5 years later I have a lot less fight in me. I think 90% of the drone issues are with the F sports. Must be the 100 extra HP they produce!

OReliable

Just got off the phone with the service advisor and wanted to post as soon as possible.

Basically he said they can't do anything officially until Lexus themselves releases a TSB for the 2022 model. He told me the foreman knew exactly what I was hearing based off the notes I gave him, (26-30mph and 56-60mph @1500rpm). They test drove it anyway to confirm it, which they did. They're saying its because of the gearing and the engine anticipating to be at the next gear...

At the end, I asked him "Maybe I should put the damper weight on it myself? 🤔" and he said jokingly, "I didn't hear anything".
Back under the car I go to re-add the damper.

They did order and fix a loose engine clamp that was making some rattle noise at 5-6k rpm which I noticed while driving to the dealership yesterday.

If you have a later year RX350 not covered under the TSB, please write to corporate Lexus so that the issue can be documented and hopefully release a TSB for us.

dibl

Yeah, I've been testing that theory for about 4 years now. It's true -- the 2GR-FKS runs noticeably better, and smoother, with 89 or more octane fuel. It takes a couple of tanks to settle down to optimal performance.

OReliable

After digging through the internet, some people are saying that there is an exhaust "break-in" for the first 1000-2000 miles as the carbon builds up on the inside of the pipes. Currently at 550 miles and there is still a drone (without the damper), but I think it's getting quieter now (could be my imagination wanting the drone to go away ).

The loaner I was given had about 15,000 miles had no drone at all, so there may be a correlation...

alan2955

I’m at 2200 miles on mine and it’s still droning. I also drove a brand new one off the lot with no drone at all. I’m not buying the story that they get better with time. It’s probably people are just getting used to the misery of listening to the thing. I’ve also just tried premium gas with no difference whatsoever, at least initially. And you don’t even have to drive the cars to get the droning problem. It does it just fine in park when revved up to about 1600 RPM. Which blows the theory that it’s the load on the engine that’s causing this vibration, when there no load at all in park.

alan2955

They sure have a lot of nonsensical excuses. On mine you can rev the engine up in park and you still get the same droning, so it’s not anything to do with it anticipating the next gear. It’s just there’s a harmonic resonance in the exhaust system around 1600 RPM that creates this noise and vibration. Also, strangely, mine is not bad at all when first started, but the droning starts after about a mile or so. I wonder if it’s something to do with that spring loaded joint forward of the converter? I have another call into my service manager and I’ll probably get the same answer that you got. I’m not anticipating any service bulletins on these cars, especially with this power train basically no longer in production. Sad that we paid all this money for these cars that are so screwed up and no one knows how to fix them. I’m going to pursue the dampener on the exhaust like you did. Did you put the dampener right ahead of the catalytic converter? And did it take two different sizes of clamps to fit that area properly? If so, what sizes do I need to buy. At least it might offer some relief, and I’m tired of fighting with Lexus. The service people at my dealer are obviously well aware of this issue as well. They don’t deny that it’s a problem on some cars,but their hands are basically tied by Lexus headquarters, ineptitude in dealing with the problem. I told him about the Toyota dampener weights with muffler clamps, and he said maybe you should try that lol.

OReliable

Hmm that’s interesting because I only get the droning while driving on flat or slightly inclined roads (not downhill). I have tried revving it to 1500rpm while in my driveway, but did not notice anything.

Which part is the spring loaded joint that you speak of? A picture would be great unless you’re speaking of the joint between #1 and #3.

I got the best result from placing it in location #1, with the weight damper hanging below the cat converter (you’ll know what I mean when you try to install it). To me it sounded better the weight on the passenger side, but yours may vary.
In location #2, it dampened it as well, but not as much as #1 did. #3 was negligible in my opinion, but I will re-test this weekend.

I bought the 2 1/2” and the 2 3/4” exhaust clamp from AutoZone. In my opinion, you can probably get away with using 2 of the 2 1/2” clamps. Also buy extra nuts and washers while you’re there. I believe it’s a 3/8” nut from my memory. I’ll be ordering another exhaust damper, just to test different location combinations. In addition, I’m going to re-install it using only 1 clamp to see if there’s more/less vibrations.

So to summarize what I’ll be testing this weekend.
Location #1 with 2 1/2” clamp (weight facing passenger)
Location #1 with 2 1/2” clamp and 2 3/4” clamp
Location #2 with 2 1/2” clamp
Location #2 with 2 1/2” clamp and 2 3/4” clamp

With 2 weights
Location #1 and #3

J123rx350

It is really unfortunate that Lexus does not respond to these issues and come up with what is most likely a simple resolution. I like my 2021 rx350 except for the vibration and although some of the individuals have mentioned that this is an ongoing issue with toyota v6 as well as Lexus it still is one of those things you would think would be addressed. I was on the fence between the Acura MDX and the rx350 and now I am questioning my decision.