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This might help someone so here we go:
One of my RX's (I own 2 of them) had this pretty awful droning noise. I tried playing with weights adding them to different spots on the pipe which did not make a huge difference. So I decided to take it to Lexus. As expected they installed the updated midpipe with weight attached which reduced the drone a lot to my surprise... I lived with it for a few months and after driving the car in different conditions I realized that the drone was reduced but it was still there along with the vibrations between 1500-2000 rpm. I again experimented with adding weights and while adding a weight next to the oem one helped it - it was never perfect and I wasn't really happy with it. Especially having another car at home that sounded and felt much better. So I brought it back to dealer thinking they'll say they cannot do anything. But to my surprise the tech heard the noise. Diagnosed it as a rattling/bad separator inside the y-pipe (it's a small Y pipe in front of the mid-pipe. Apparently it's not just a simple pipe but it has some sort of separator inside) and replaced it.
It made a noticeable difference although still not perfect.
This might help someone so here we go:
One of my RX's (I own 2 of them) had this pretty awful droning noise. I tried playing with weights adding them to different spots on the pipe which did not make a huge difference. So I decided to take it to Lexus. As expected they installed the updated midpipe with weight attached which reduced the drone a lot to my surprise... I lived with it for a few months and after driving the car in different conditions I realized that the drone was reduced but it was still there along with the vibrations between 1500-2000 rpm. I again experimented with adding weights and while adding a weight next to the oem one helped it - it was never perfect and I wasn't really happy with it. Especially having another car at home that sounded and felt much better. So I brought it back to dealer thinking they'll say they cannot do anything. But to my surprise the tech heard the noise. Diagnosed it as a rattling/bad separator inside the y-pipe (it's a small Y pipe in front of the mid-pipe. Apparently it's not just a simple pipe but it has some sort of separator inside) and replaced it.
It made a noticeable difference although still not perfect.
This is very promising! What year are your cars?
I scheduled my 2022 RX350 to get this done on Monday. I'll report back with results.
21 was droning. 2020 was a bit louder in the 1500rpm but it was easily cured by me adding 1 damper on a clamp in the stock location.
So after driving it for a few days it feels better. It used to drone horribly at 1800rpm. Exactly 67mph when driving on the highway in top gear. It is fully gone now. Silky smooth and no drone at this rpm. The only thing remains is a 1500rpm booming noise/vibration that seems to be unavoidable to a certain degree on these cars. It is still a bit louder than my other car in this rpm range but nowhere near as bad as it was previously. Also it cannot be heard at all when accelerating normally. Only when it stays in this rpm under load or a very slow acceleration.
One thing that I still want to try is measure the exhaust flange clearances and compare that between the 2 cars. It was reinstalled twice at this point and I would like to make sure that it's the same..
This might help someone so here we go:
One of my RX's (I own 2 of them) had this pretty awful droning noise. I tried playing with weights adding them to different spots on the pipe which did not make a huge difference. So I decided to take it to Lexus. As expected they installed the updated midpipe with weight attached which reduced the drone a lot to my surprise... I lived with it for a few months and after driving the car in different conditions I realized that the drone was reduced but it was still there along with the vibrations between 1500-2000 rpm. I again experimented with adding weights and while adding a weight next to the oem one helped it - it was never perfect and I wasn't really happy with it. Especially having another car at home that sounded and felt much better. So I brought it back to dealer thinking they'll say they cannot do anything. But to my surprise the tech heard the noise. Diagnosed it as a rattling/bad separator inside the y-pipe (it's a small Y pipe in front of the mid-pipe. Apparently it's not just a simple pipe but it has some sort of separator inside) and replaced it.
It made a noticeable difference although still not perfect.
Does that mean somethiing was broken inside? If yes, we can confirm that with a rubber mallet.
I dont think that is the case for the majority of the owners here. This is the characteristic of the vehicle is the flaw. What we are only trying to do is masking the problem.
I believe the root cause is due to the TNGA platform has changed as explained by The Car Care Nut. The engine mounts are mounted in the not ideal locations. Where the engine vibrations are not absorbed by the engine mounts well and gets transfered throughout the the exhaust system. Then it is felt in the cabin as the exhaust system is right below it.
Does that mean somethiing was broken inside? If yes, we can confirm that with a rubber mallet.
I dont think that is the case for the majority of the owners here. This is the characteristic of the vehicle is the flaw. What we are only trying to do is masking the problem.
I believe the root cause is due to the TNGA platform has changed as explained by The Car Care Nut. The engine mounts are mounted in the not ideal locations. Where the engine vibrations are not absorbed by the engine mounts well and gets transfered throughout the the exhaust system. Then it is felt in the cabin as the exhaust system is right below it.
Looks like the separator inside the pipe wasn't in best shape. And i never said it was a universal fix. My opinion is that vibrations and noise are really coming from exhaust and not the engine vibrations. And I think it might be in part related to the flange connector and its tightness. I actually tried loosening the bolts a little at some point and that changed both vibrations and drone. But as you said my car had additional issue and so that test was pointless.
Looks like the separator inside the pipe wasn't in best shape. And i never said it was a universal fix. My opinion is that vibrations and noise are really coming from exhaust and not the engine vibrations. And I think it might be in part related to the flange connector and its tightness. I actually tried loosening the bolts a little at some point and that changed both vibrations and drone. But as you said my car had additional issue and so that test was pointless.
I absolutely agree. Since soon after this thread started I've said the same thing, mainly because of all the stories about how some are affected and others aren't, some had that TSB done that added the damper but still some had success while others didn't. THAT section can be tightened to different degrees and that could explain why different vehicles are different.
I could imagine when you take the car on for the TSB they probably put the most junior person on it, a simple part replacement and the inexperienced mechanic could well not tighten correctly.
Also, in Australia we only have Japan built vehicles and there is no talk here about these vibration issues, there's no TSB issued for it. I never really felt anything until I read about it on here, that's when I took more notice and thought, yes, there is a minor vibration at certain revs, not bad though. Maybe it's as simple as tightening that flange correctly to remove the vibration.
I absolutely agree. Since soon after this thread started I've said the same thing, mainly because of all the stories about how some are affected and others aren't, some had that TSB done that added the damper but still some had success while others didn't. THAT section can be tightened to different degrees and that could explain why different vehicles are different.
I could imagine when you take the car on for the TSB they probably put the most junior person on it, a simple part replacement and the inexperienced mechanic could well not tighten correctly.
Also, in Australia we only have Japan built vehicles and there is no talk here about these vibration issues, there's no TSB issued for it. I never really felt anything until I read about it on here, that's when I took more notice and thought, yes, there is a minor vibration at certain revs, not bad though. Maybe it's as simple as tightening that flange correctly to remove the vibration.
I'm not even sure it's a matter of simply torqueing the bolts. I think it's more of having the right and even clearance on all sides which will result in the same torque on the bolts only if both bolts and nuts are clean, spin freely, springs have no differences and the whole part including the gasket is totally straight and even.
Finally got the TSB done and also engine mounts loosened and re-torqued.
1. The engine vibration at several RPM ranges that started after they dropped my engine is now gone. Car feels much smoother.
2. Exhaust drone vibration is reduced, but still there. It's much easier to ignore it now.
The job was done by the shop's foreman who did my front cover oil leak repair and is very skilled.
Interesting observation - the drone isn't there when the car is started cold, it comes in after about 10 minutes of driving. It's summer here now and the weather's in the upper 80s/lower 90s. Curious how it will be have when it gets cooler.
Still, I can at least ignore it now as it mostly blends with road vibration and noise.
I also noticed my RX 2022 to simply have a bass-resonant cabin... road noise from the tires gets a boomy amplification compared to the 2023 and 2024 cars I had as loaners which have no boominess in the cabin whatsoever. I bet that doesn't help the drone issue.
By reading forum it seems that many are experiencing the same humming noise that I am getting from a recently purchased 2019 RX350
Has anyone had it resolved by dealer. Very annoying!!
04-08-24, 09:47 AM
Adding photo for reference.
