1999 Ls400

[ewflueckiger]

Just bought a "new" 99 LS400. There are some consistent shakes & rattles inside the cabin along with major rattles coming from the door panels when going over bumps in the road. Any suggestions for how to minimize this myself. I don't really know where to start.

Also - I notice a whining noise coming from the engine when the A/C and defroster are on. I cannot hear it from inside the cabin, but it is pretty loud when walking around the car when its running. What is this coming from?

[eatingupblacktop]

Just bought a "new" 99 LS400. There are some consistent shakes & rattles inside the cabin along with major rattles coming from the door panels when going over bumps in the road. Any suggestions for how to minimize this myself. I don't really know where to start.

Also - I notice a whining noise coming from the engine when the A/C and defroster are on. I cannot hear it from inside the cabin, but it is pretty loud when walking around the car when its running. What is this coming from?

First of all, welcome to the LOC. Now I have to ask you, since you just purchased the car, didn't you check the car before buying? Whining noise sounds like you could be low on refrigerant or it could be the compressor itself. One thing you should do is use the search facility to read up on your probs before posting. There's a ton of info available on every topic. Then when you get advice, you'll be better able to understand it. Rattles from the door panels sounds to me like someone replaced the speakers and the panels were not correctly reinstalled or the car has been in an accident and the repairs were not done properly.

[ewflueckiger]

Just bought a "new" 99 LS400. There are some consistent shakes & rattles inside the cabin along with major rattles coming from the door panels when going over bumps in the road. Any suggestions for how to minimize this myself. I don't really know where to start.

Also - I notice a whining noise coming from the engine when the A/C and defroster are on. I cannot hear it from inside the cabin, but it is pretty loud when walking around the car when its running. What is this coming from?

First of all, welcome to the LOC. Now I have to ask you, since you just purchased the car, didn't you check the car before buying? Whining noise sounds like you could be low on refrigerant or it could be the compressor itself. One thing you should do is use the search facility to read up on your probs before posting. There's a ton of info available on every topic. Then when you get advice, you'll be better able to understand it. Rattles from the door panels sounds to me like someone replaced the speakers and the panels were not correctly reinstalled or the car has been in an accident and the repairs were not done properly.

Thanks - I did check the car before I bought it buddy. The A/C works fine and that is what I looked for. I did not hear anything inside the cabin, so I assumed it was fine. I did not notice the noise until I left the car running with the defroster on.

[1990LS400]

I agree that the whining might be from low refrigerant or worse in the A/C compressor -- I noticed that the one on my similar 00 LS gets noisier when low on charge.

The "major rattles coming from the door panels" is odd. I have an almost identical car and it's about the most rattle free car I've ever owned. The few times I thought I had a rattle in either my 1st or current LS, it turned out to be junk in the glove compartment or door pocket moving around. Once I had a buzzing sound that was driving me crazy -- I traced it down to a loose setting in a ring I was wearing... which was funny since I doubt if I could have heard the buzz if driving any other car.

A tool I have used to trace interior noises is an automotive stethoscope. I have one exactly like this one: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/sto...amp;cm_ite=auto

How many miles does your "new" 99 LS have on it? There are a few front suspension bits that typically wear out between 80,000 - 120,000 miles that can cause some nasty vibrations.

[90LS400Lexus]

I agree as well that those mentioned rattles are quite odd for a Lexus LS, especially a 1999. My 1991 LS400 has 217K and the interior is still 100% squeak and rattle free and amazingly, so is my 1988 Mercedes S-Class LWB sedan with 155K. I also had a 1990 LS400 with about 270K and the door panels were tight!

As mentioned by Eatingupblacktop and 1990LS400, it could be where the panels have been removed and poorly placed back on, or something rattling around in the pockets. Also - it seems that some "southern" cars, especially from the southwest, the interiors tend to "bake and harden" because of the hot, blazing and strong sunshine. It shrinks the interior plastics and generally increases rattles/ticks/squeaks. However, I would think that a 1999 car would not quite yet have this problem, but its possible.

You may want to make sure all of the fasteners are tight.

What about the intrument panel? Does it rattle or have any "ticks" or pops as well?

I agree that the whining might be from low refrigerant or worse in the A/C compressor -- I noticed that the one on my similar 00 LS gets noisier when low on charge.

The "major rattles coming from the door panels" is odd. I have an almost identical car and it's about the most rattle free car I've ever owned. The few times I thought I had a rattle in either my 1st or current LS, it turned out to be junk in the glove compartment or door pocket moving around. Once I had a buzzing sound that was driving me crazy -- I traced it down to a loose setting in a ring I was wearing... which was funny since I doubt if I could have heard the buzz if driving any other car.

A tool I have used to trace interior noises is an automotive stethoscope. I have one exactly like this one: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/sto...amp;cm_ite=auto

How many miles does your "new" 99 LS have on it? There are a few front suspension bits that typically wear out between 80,000 - 120,000 miles that can cause some nasty vibrations.

[ewflueckiger]

The car had 81000 miles on it when I bought it. Now has 84000. It was a corporate lease before I purchased it and it has a clean carfax so I can't imagine the panels being removed for any reason. The rattling isn't major, but I can hear it when the radio is off. Not sure if I want to start pulling the panels off and make it worse. If I take the panels off, is there anything I can put underneath it to dampen any vibrations? No rattle is coming for the dash or up front, and nothing from the rear seat.

[1990LS400]

A "clean carfax" means nothing -- less than nothing. I suggest you have someone ride with you whose sole job is to determine exactly where the rattles are coming from. I once had me wife drive (not a Lexus) while I probed the interior with my stethoscope to determine exactly where a rattle was coming from. It's even possible that the rattles are not coming from something loose in the car interior.

[ewflueckiger]

"while I probed the interior with my stethoscope"

-that's what she said

[90LS400Lexus]

My other old Mercedes I had - a 1985 380SE with 300K miles, had very annoying "scrunching" (not rattles or squeaks), but scrunching sounds from the door panels. It was almost disturbing to the point I wanted to remove them. Did a search on the MB forums and found out that Mercedes purposely made the panels too large to close the gap even more so to speak. Only problem was that after the car aged 10-20 years, the bottoms of the door panels would rub on the floor seal plate and make this dreadful noise. The solution was to get some velcro strips and attach them to a couple of spots on the lower door panels. I did this on my car and presto- the interior was as quiet as new, despite this car being 22 years old and 300K miles! My 1988 Mercedes has the same style interior, but as of now, I do not have the noise from these door panels. The interior is still 100% rattle and squeak (and scrunch) free.

I know the LS's do not have this particular issue, but maybe its something you can track down that something like this may put a stop to. Like I said, its strange, because my 1991 LS400 with 217K and my old 1990 LS400 with over 250K had quiet door panels. I cannot imagine a 1999 with less than 100K with menacing door panels, unless they have been tampered with or damaged.

Is it possible that the PO was in the bad habit of constantly and abruptly slamming the doors shut? Some people are naturally rough with cars. We had a neighbor once that would slam the doors, stop the car with the parking gear, rather than brakes (she would cram the car in park before it was stopped), squall the tires when she was backing out, jerk the steering wheel and this is just from what I could see from the driveway.

[ewflueckiger]

You put the velcro on the inside of the door panel? I road the car with somebody and it seems like the majority of the noise is coming from the molding around the window. When I pull on it a little, it gives easily. I think I'm going to take it off and see if I can't put something under there to dampen the vibrations.

To your third point - I do notice that when I shut the front doors it isn't nearly as quiet as the back doors. You know that sound a Lexus door makes when it's closing? It's a lot louder on the front two. I appreciate all the advice that has been given so far. If I have any other questions, I'll ask, or anybody has more suggestions, bring it on. Thanks.

[90LS400Lexus]

You put the velcro on the inside of the door panel? I road the car with somebody and it seems like the majority of the noise is coming from the molding around the window. When I pull on it a little, it gives easily. I think I'm going to take it off and see if I can't put something under there to dampen the vibrations.

To your third point - I do notice that when I shut the front doors it isn't nearly as quiet as the back doors. You know that sound a Lexus door makes when it's closing? It's a lot louder on the front two. I appreciate all the advice that has been given so far. If I have any other questions, I'll ask, or anybody has more suggestions, bring it on. Thanks.

Yes, on my old 1985 Mercedes I did. I just stuck it on the bottom of the door panel where it makes contact with the sill that runs along the frame/carpeting. Its the way they designed the door panels that caused the noise over the years. Thankfully my 1988 does not have the problem- totally quiet and squeak free interior, but it has alot less miles than my 85' did. My 88' has 155K, my 85' had nearly 300K. Also too, the 1986-91s have slightly different door panels than the 1981-85s do.

Yeah, when closing the doors, they should be quiet. I would bet someone has either constantly slammed the doors on yours, or they were removed in the past and poorly reinstalled. Can you post photos of the door panels? Maybe we can see something in there in comparison that looks out of the ordinary that will steer you in the right directions.

[ewflueckiger]

I'll post some photos on Saturday when I get a chance. Really appreciate the help so far.

[fisher972002]

Yeah

A creaking 1999 would be weird.. My 1991 has 173K on it all in town miles and this morning it was -18 degrees and she didn't creak at all anywhere, except when it's really cold, there is a slight creak in the windshield, I think it might be that trim piece in the dash... But only when I hit a really bad bump and it's -18 or -5, really really cold and -20 or so wind chill...