Rattle From Dashboard Area On My Es350

[Nick Hislop]

Hi all, had my ES350 (black/black, looks sweet) for about 3 weeks. Enjoying the car, but have noticed a significant rattle coming from the dash area - sounds as if it is coming from near the area where the center speaker is located.

Extremely noticeable when hitting bumps in the road at about 45 mph or so; can also be triggered by more pronounced bumps at lower speeds.

Is this a known issue? If so, how can this be fixed? I have taken the car to the dealer once already, they claimed to fix it but did not (grrr..), I am putting it in again next week and wondered if there were any suggestions I should be making to the techs there.

Thanks in advance,

Nick Hislop

[SW03ES]

Check out the TSBs at www.alldata.com. There is a similar concern in the Prius with the center speaker where a plastic cap around the speaker unit comes loose, creating the rattle. Its easy to fix...

[mjdcpa71]

I have the exact same issue!!! It appears to be coming from underneath the center speaker right were the defroster vent connects to the dash.

It is becoming more noticable with the cold weather. I will have the service dept check it out, but I will bet that because the dashboard area is so big, there is nothing they are gonna be able to do. In fact, they will probably make it more noticable by futzing with it.

[Nick Hislop]

I have the exact same issue!!! It appears to be coming from underneath the center speaker right were the defroster vent connects to the dash.

It is becoming more noticable with the cold weather. I will have the service dept check it out, but I will bet that because the dashboard area is so big, there is nothing they are gonna be able to do. In fact, they will probably make it more noticable by futzing with it.

Update - After much investigation at the dealer, we managed to reproduce the issue - which was something to do with the insulation on the struts that supported the rear part of the console / dashboard area. The dealer has taken the car apart, and is fixing - I will report back once the issue has been categorically fixed.

[Nick Hislop]

And for the record, this was indeed the issue, and is now fixed.

Regards,

Nick Hislop

[Sunbeam]

I've got exactly the same rattle from the same place. I know I must get it repaired (it really wrecks the driving experience) but I'm also concerned about them pulling apart the entire dash. Do you know what they did to repair it? Is there a tech service bulletin on it? Thanks!

[Nick Hislop]

I've got exactly the same rattle from the same place. I know I must get it repaired (it really wrecks the driving experience) but I'm also concerned about them pulling apart the entire dash. Do you know what they did to repair it? Is there a tech service bulletin on it? Thanks!

Not sure exactly what they did, however it was a fairly lengthy repair that at a minimum required them to remove the plastic from above the dash. There wasn't a TSB when we discovered this issue (although there ARE TSBs relating to other sources of creaks and rattles on or near the dash) - based on my experiences they may yet create one, according to the mechanic.

In any case, things are much better now and if you are in two minds about this I would encourage you to do it, assuming that your symptoms are attributable to the same root cause.

BTW, the dealer was Lexus of Chester Springs, PA.

Regards,

Nick

[paperdad]

Hi,

We just got our car a few weeks ago and have what I would describe more of a snapping noise from that same spot on the dash. Was your noise more of a rattle, or a snap?

[Nick Hislop]

Hi,

We just got our car a few weeks ago and have what I would describe more of a snapping noise from that same spot on the dash. Was your noise more of a rattle, or a snap?

Not exactly sure what "snap" means here.. The symptom was, if going over a pothole, bump, undulation in the road, etc. at certain speads (and especially when cold) I would hear a single rattle coming from the area. Is this "single rattle" what you mean by snap? Of course, generally there were lots of these undulations, etc so the net result would be a series of annoying (and rather loud) rattling noises.

In any case, since persistence at the dealer paid off (being able to reproduce was key) I suggest you take it in and let your dealer address this. We all agreed (especially the dealer, thankfully) that a $40K car shouldn't make any of these types of noises when driving on normal road surfaces, and they did indeed fix the issue.

Hope this helps,

Nick

[paperdad]

I want to be able to replicate the noise on demand before I bring it in; it is generally when hitting bumps hard at lower speeds, or softer bumps at higher speeds. Noises (or lack of) like this are the reason I went with this car

[akhawaja]

I want to be able to replicate the noise on demand before I bring it in; it is generally when hitting bumps hard at lower speeds, or softer bumps at higher speeds. Noises (or lack of) like this are the reason I went with this car

I have got the same problem myself. the rattle sound came from the middle speaker somewhere. When dealer gave my car back after service, it said "Tightened Speaker Bolt" which when i took them on cat eyes (they have cat eyes plunging out from the road in Saudi Arabia, sorry) the noise was less, so not quite it solved the problem. I will take it back again to get it resolved. The car is so quite and this type of rattle sound hits your spent $40K up in your head!!!!

[akhawaja]

I want to be able to replicate the noise on demand before I bring it in; it is generally when hitting bumps hard at lower speeds, or softer bumps at higher speeds. Noises (or lack of) like this are the reason I went with this car

I have got the same problem myself. the rattle sound came from the middle speaker somewhere. When dealer gave my car back after service, it said "Tightened Speaker Bolt" which when i took them on cat eyes (they have cat eyes plunging out from the road in Saudi Arabia, sorry) the noise was less, so not quite it solved the problem. I will take it back again to get it resolved. The car is so quite and this type of rattle sound hits your spent $40K up in your head!!!!

okay this rattle noise is killing me now :) Yestersay I picked up my parents from the airport, and on the way back my dad asked my twice, whats this noise son?? and i was like "oh my god!" it's not me!!! Dealers... here i come to get my warranty get back in business!!

[paperdad]

*UPDATE*

I brought it in for the dash snap/rattle/pop noise. I had been aware of a TSB for ALL Lexus vehicles where there are plastic retainer pins that help the robots position the windshield at the factory. Once the windshield is installed, they are not needed and possibly create a rattle noise; the TSB says to cut them out. I spoke to the tech about the noise and he said removing these clips had solved the problem on other vehicles, so he would try it on mine. That was 5 days ago, and I have not heard one rattle since then, so I would say the clips were the problem. :) :) :)