Did anyone measure the cabin noise level?
02-03-23, 08:37 PM
#61
Instructor
A couple of tangential data points on sound. I DLed "Soundmeter" for my Samsung (I do not like apps like the one suggested above since too many permissions and too much data captured) and took some readings. Suburban feeder road - about 60-70 dB with traffic at approx. 35 mph. Inside our Pathfinder at about 40-50 mph, 60 dB. On the highway, with some headwind at 75 mph, 72-78 dB. While I don't have our Lexus yet to take readings, the one we test-drove in similar conditions was orders of magnitude quieter. I cannot fathom 80 db in a new Lexus.
EDIT: The demo we drove had Blizzak snow tires on it, too!
EDIT: The demo we drove had Blizzak snow tires on it, too!
Last edited by Eagleboy99; 02-04-23 at 03:39 PM.
02-04-23, 04:19 PM
#62
I have an actual Sound Level Meter I use to set up my surround sound systems. I just did back to back runs between the RX and our 2015 Honda Odyssey EX-L. Same road, same route, same speed (50mph). In both cases radio off and fan speed set to 2 (effectively low air flow). I wanted a low fan speed because I never actually drive with the fan completely off. Typically I run fans at a mid speed.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
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02-04-23, 04:33 PM
#63
Pole Position
I have an actual Sound Level Meter I use to set up my surround sound systems. I just did back to back runs between the RX and our 2015 Honda Odyssey EX-L. Same road, same route, same speed (50mph). In both cases radio off and fan speed set to 2 (effectively low air flow). I wanted a low fan speed because I never actually drive with the fan completely off. Typically I run fans at a mid speed.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
02-04-23, 05:27 PM
#64
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
I have an actual Sound Level Meter I use to set up my surround sound systems. I just did back to back runs between the RX and our 2015 Honda Odyssey EX-L. Same road, same route, same speed (50mph). In both cases radio off and fan speed set to 2 (effectively low air flow). I wanted a low fan speed because I never actually drive with the fan completely off. Typically I run fans at a mid speed.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
02-04-23, 05:27 PM
#65
I have an actual Sound Level Meter I use to set up my surround sound systems. I just did back to back runs between the RX and our 2015 Honda Odyssey EX-L. Same road, same route, same speed (50mph). In both cases radio off and fan speed set to 2 (effectively low air flow). I wanted a low fan speed because I never actually drive with the fan completely off. Typically I run fans at a mid speed.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
This road is a multi-lane suburban road with lights every 1/2 mile. Traffic was light and did not contribute to noise in the vehicles.
The RX varied between 68dBc and 70dBc. The Honda was between 87dBc and 90dBc. That is a huge difference. 20dB is perceived as 4x by the human ear and is 100x in actual power level. Our Honda had its windshield replaced years ago and, at speed, there is a continuous rumble of moderate wind noise.
At idle (with the motor running) the RX measured consistently 64dBc. The Honda was varying between 70dBc and 74dBc. The engine cooling fan on our Honda is noticeably louder when it kicks on.
I knew it would be quieter, my guess going in was 10dB. Now that I ran the test I want to find my receipt from the windshield replacement and see if I can get them to redo the seal.
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PeteInGilr (02-04-23)
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anoop (02-04-23)
02-15-23, 08:53 PM
#67
Great review! Thank you for putting the work in to provide us with such useful information. I too just purchased a 23 350h. I've had it for a couple of weeks and took it in today to have mudguards installed. Our local dealer washes all cars after they are in service for any reason. So I took mine out on the interstate to apply sport mode and blow off all the remaining water drops..... and just for funsies too! For the first time, I noticed quite a bit of road/wind noise. So much so that I turned the music off to get a good feel for it. Today was the first time I had it out on the interstate and driving approximately 70. It was really loud. I checked all windows, doors, and moonroof. All were closed. Any ideas on why this would happen? Surely the addition of mudguards isn't creating drag enough to increase the noise that high. Hopefully it is a fluke and will quieten down over the next few weeks.
Again, thanks for your post.
Again, thanks for your post.
02-16-23, 12:08 PM
#68
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Great review! Thank you for putting the work in to provide us with such useful information. I too just purchased a 23 350h. I've had it for a couple of weeks and took it in today to have mudguards installed. Our local dealer washes all cars after they are in service for any reason. So I took mine out on the interstate to apply sport mode and blow off all the remaining water drops..... and just for funsies too! For the first time, I noticed quite a bit of road/wind noise. So much so that I turned the music off to get a good feel for it. Today was the first time I had it out on the interstate and driving approximately 70. It was really loud. I checked all windows, doors, and moonroof. All were closed. Any ideas on why this would happen? Surely the addition of mudguards isn't creating drag enough to increase the noise that high. Hopefully it is a fluke and will quieten down over the next few weeks.
Again, thanks for your post.
Again, thanks for your post.
Was this the first time to drive the car at this speed or to notice such noise? Did you measure the actual noise level?
02-16-23, 01:23 PM
#69
I'll check out your thread and contribute. But to quickly update, I took the car out again today and drove for about 40 miles on various interstates around Little Rock. It seems to be tire noise. The difference between concrete road and asphalt is unbelievable. On asphalt interstate the car is as quiet and smooth as advertised. On concrete, it is really loud. The car came with Goodyear. Not sure if it's tire specific or if that's just the way it is on concrete.
02-16-23, 01:28 PM
#70
Mine came with 40 psi and it's between 37 and 39 now. I thought they should be 32 or 33. I'll have to check.
02-16-23, 03:58 PM
#72
I wasn't aware you could download a decibel meter app for iPhone until I read this thread. I will now test mine tomorrow and report back.
02-16-23, 04:45 PM
#73
I’d be interested in knowing how accurate it is compared to a dedicated decibel meter and also if the accuracy is dependent on the phone’s hardware that its running on (iPhone SE v iPhone 14). I had used this app on my first gen SE and it seemed to generate very high readings going all the way up to 90 dB on the highway in my then new 328i.
02-16-23, 05:12 PM
#74
I'll be using it on the 13 pro. So probably not scientifically significant, but for our purposes should work. I just tested here in the family room with no TV and normal convo and it tested in the 40s
02-16-23, 05:25 PM
#75
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Yes, these are not that scientific. Some YouTube videos test these apps against physical dB meters and they were generally OK. If you have one of the recent Apple Watch models (like this and last generation?), it should have the "Noise" app. You can try with that one too.
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tedward155 (02-16-23)