tdjacw

That rumble you speak of at 1500rpms is where the issue starts, I belive all of our cars have this inherent flaw. The problem is that the amount of rumble /drone/ vibration varies widely from car to car.
RX 350 AWD and RX 450h AWD. ..... utilizes an updated underbody platform of its predecessor, it has been given revamped front engine mounts to the sub-frame structure.
Maybe the motor mounts attached to the sub-frame is part of the issue..

FastFord

Luckily the little rumble at 1500 is so faint that I have to listen for it. Under normal acceleration it is not there. Only when I accelerate very slowly and actually try to make the noise. There is however no drone and no vibration even when I make it rumble. Sort of like driving a standard and shifting from 1st to 3rd.

The rumble I have is sort of normal for a car shifting too early, but the drone some people are having and definitely the vibration in the steering wheel needs to addressed by Lexus. Some of these vibration/noise issues that people have posted on youtube are not normal. I can't figure out how Lexus can ignore those problems.

Again, sorry to the folks that have to go thru this...

HORSE9

iTrader: (1)

Almost bought a Nebula Grey with Luxury package last month but this thread had me second guessing it...... is there any
difference between Ontario built and those assembled in Japan?

gadgetman1

I'm not 100% sure, but I thought I was told at the TMMC tour of the Lexus RX & Toyota Corolla plant in Ontario, that they are the only plant in the world that makes the RX. Please correct me if I'm wrong. It's possible the RX is still made in Japan & sold only to that market, since their driver's side is opposite North America's. I say this because I didn't see any right-hand-drive vehicles in either plant during my tour. If you get a chance, tour this plant - its awesome! One could eat off the floors there. It's the best factory I have ever toured, and I've been thru many, many factories.

toyotaman7

There should not be any difference. Majority of USA Rx' come from Canada. All of Canadian market RX' cone from Canada.

I have a Canadian made one and do not have any of issues in the forums. Had minor droning that was resolved with the ecu update.

guxu

I guess temperature plays a big role in this problem. It was above 80 yesterday. While the noise and vibration levels were still more than I expected for a $53K vehicle, it was not that bad. I definitely won't call it piece of XXXX. Also, if I only hold the soft leather parts on steering wheel, it is hard to feel the vibration there. But it is still pretty easy to feel the vibration from the floor and gas paddle, while my $23K vehicle has no vibration at all.

gadgetman1

Can you have an all leather steering wheel cover made? I know this should be a factory engineering issue, but if leather blocks the vibrations, why not?

guxu

I am not going to cover my $450 wood steering wheel. Normally I am holding the leather parts anyway.

GSFRX350

In Australia we get Jap built ones - mine was bought used (12 months old, 18,000kms) an ex-Lexus head office vehicle. The Lexus dealer filled the tank and off I went - fairly quickly onto a freeway home but once off freeway the car didn't feel right, hesitation, hanging onto gears, some noise (drone I guess) like it's laboring, sometimes the tranny seemed to not be able to decide which gear to be in. Drove it for a week like that around a small area over the same roads numerous times until needed a refill. Filled up (70 litres) with the recommended 95 RON (our mid range fuel) and wow....a different car, the hesitation has gone, very smooth acceleration now from low RPMs, noise is gone mostly (maybe a slight one but not a problem) and the fuel consumption has improved by 15%. I feel the dealer put in our cheapo fuel 91RON and obviously the car didn't approve.

The same day as the refill I spoke to Lexus Australia who researched my problem - they said no TSB issued for Australia, he could see the Canada, USA ones but appears to be no issues here. Remember though our RXs are Japanese - maybe the Canadian built cars aren't up to standard.

FastFord

It's too bad that you and others have to run premium fuel to make your RX run properly. Mine is built in Canada and ever since the hesitation TSB was done it runs great! No vibration, drone or other issues.

Koogone

I recently contacted the president of Toyota regarding the Drone noise in my 2017 RX 350. Their response was "it is a known characteristic of the car and they are working to find a solution to the problem". HUH!!!!!!
This problem has existed sinse the 2016 models came out.

Please file complaints with Toyota until this is resolved

tdjacw

Same BS I was told. If its a known issue why are they still in production? This is destroying the Lexus name.
Its pretty sad that its become a crap shoot weather or not you get a good one. I'll bet if a class action lawsuit is started. They will find a solution quickly.

s4iscool

what's the email address of the "president?" At least you got some canned response. Everyone needs to do the same for the hesitation not being fixed despite the tsb.

FastFord

It's easy to look up Directors, VP's etc...Just look up for your Country. I contacted Lexus Canada VP/Director for Lexus Canada and got a call within 24 hours. She advised me that a special rep would be handling my case and would be calling me soon. I didn't expect the VP to actually run with the problem, but was very pleased that I was given a direct number and email so I wouldn't have to go thru Lexus Customer Service. Two hours later I had a person call me and arrange for the TSB for Hesitation to be done on my car. Lexus Canada made all the arrangements with the dealer, had the Engineer work with my dealer, loaned me a brand new 2017 RX350, and fixed the hesitation. There was no Canadian TSB at that point for Canadian RX350's. Two weeks later it was being sent to all Canadian dealers with a TSB number for Canada.

Escalating an issue to Corporate level gave me great results. I was professional and gave only the facts. I did not rant on, or exaggerate the problem.

tdjacw

I have started using 93oct gas and thought the drone and vibration were better. This morning the temperature was cooler and damp and guess what vibration and drone are back. This Vehicle is so frustrating to own. I guess folks who live in the warmer climates have less of an issue. For me I Really cant wait until its financial feasible to trade it in and go back to Chevy.
The more I think about the service Manager telling me no one is dying here and I shouldn't get upset about it just irritates me.