Subwoofer Rattle >0

[ED.]

I'm starting to notice a rattle with my 98s woofer. GREAT bass in this car and I don't even have the Nak upgrade.

It sounds more like something in the car vs. the woofer but I was curious if anyone else hears one from their car time to time. I hope it's my golf clubs but I doubt it! I listen to a lot of "bassy" music and never, ever have it all the way up; strong enough at half!

[1990LS400]

I could be something else vibrating ... maybe remove the golf clubs, mother-in-law, etc. from the trunk and all the junk from inside the car and see if the rattle is still there. I had a nasty buzzing in my previous LS and looked all over trying to find it -- it was a loose setting in a ring I was wearing!

If it's the subwoofer rattling, I think I remember a thread on this forum or ClubLexus about someone eliminating a subwoofer rattle with strategically placed superglue.

There is zero rattling from the Nakamichi subwoofer in my 00 LS although I can sometimes feel the base through the seats and the steering wheel.

[PCW]

I'm starting to notice a rattle with my 98s woofer. GREAT bass in this car and I don't even have the Nak upgrade.

It sounds more like something in the car vs. the woofer but I was curious if anyone else hears one from their car time to time. I hope it's my golf clubs but I doubt it! I listen to a lot of "bassy" music and never, ever have it all the way up; strong enough at half!

Here's the link for the sub-woofer repair:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=46353&mode=threaded&pid=366339. Hope this helps.

[Just Doug]

Does anyone know how to get to the sub woofer in the back? do you have to take the back seats out and then the top of the back deck? I don't believe i can get at it from within the trunk???!!! Help...

[pj8708]

Does anyone know how to get to the sub woofer in the back? do you have to take the back seats out and then the top of the back deck? I don't believe i can get at it from within the trunk???!!! Help...

Here are a few quick steps for removing the sub.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=40341&st=0&p=259941&hl=+remove%20+subwoofer%20+ls400&fromsearch=1entry259941

[dulobast25]

I do repairs on all lexus speakers, including all subs and mark levinson and nakamichi speakers.

Contact me for info.

[Tony W]

I used the glue gun approach by flowing the glue all around the outside of my 2003 LS430 subwoofer along the joint of the foam and the outside wall, also flowing the glue inside the foam all the way to the edge of the fabric core. This totally eliminated the speaker scratching and rattle. Sounds like new. Thanks for the advice I received through the forum. This saved me several hundred $$$ and much aggravation. Rear deck grill can be pried up easily. Cheers, TonyW

[Zett123]

I used the Silicon sealant method with speaker in place. Took less than 5 minutes and sounds as good as new and I crank the bass!!! (Before the speaker blew with bass way down on the equalizer),

[john339]

I did the hot-glue repair last night.

I also ordered an aftermarket woofer for when my repair finally fails.

Sounds good now even with the bass turned up.

We shall see how long the quick fix lasts.

It took about 10 minutes and that included letting the glue gun warm up for 5 minutes.

[Mark In Phoenix]

I replaced my subwoofer with the Polk DB840DVC 8 inch Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer available on Amazon.com for about $60. This speaker fit in perfectly as a replacement for the O.E.M. Speaker in my 2003 Lexus LS430. It has much more base response than the factory speaker. The factory speaker had a light weight magnet and was basically a cheap speaker. I was surprised by how cheap the factory speaker seemed. The Polk was heavy and much higher quality and it sounded like it. I think you would definitely be getting ripped off if you pay the dealer $300 for a factory replacement speaker that sucks. Don't fix that old piece of junk, replace it.

Replacing the speaker wasn't an easy job. I had to take out the entire back seat, unbolt the seat belts, disconnect a couple of electronic connectors going to the rear seat, and unbolt and lift up the center of the rear deck. My arms got scratched up working under the rear deck when unbolting the speaker and removing it. I recomend wearing a long sleve shirt. There are two speaker coils with two sets of connections, unlike the original speaker that has one set. You have to read the Polk instructions to determine how to wire the speaker for your car. I wired mine so the two speaker coils were in series for an 8 ohm load on the amplifier, which I think was correct for my car from what I had read on other posts. All you need is a soldering iron, solder, and a foot of 16 gauge wire. It's easy.

I had some difficulty figuring out how to take the two plastic mounting brackets off the original speaker and put them on the new speaker. I advise you to closely study how the original speaker was mounted before you disassemble it so you can put the new speaker in without trouble. Take a few pictures of the intact assembly from various angles before disassembly for reference later. I had to find a picture of a factory speaker for sale on EBay to figure out how to put mine together. Be sure to route the speaker wire through the slot on the mounting brackets so you don't have to pull the speaker back out like I did to reroute the wires.

I hope this helps you have an easier time than I did with the work. I had some problems completing the job, but it isn't extremely difficulty. Just somewhat difficult doing it the first time for a "Shade Tree Mechanic". With some time, tools, and determination you can probably complete the job and save yourself several hundred dollars by doing the work yourself instead of taking the job to the Lexus dealer.

Good luck.

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[AttilaTheHun]

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[billydpowell]

when I got my last 99, the speaker rattled even when not on. I popped the cover off and the cone was not even attached, just rolling around, I glued it back on and it sounds fine now...

[Jake Siegal]

what helped me a lot just now was to stuff something in between the brake light and the glass, that was what i just discovered was causing most of my rattling. i would make sure it's something like that before attempting to fix/buy a new subwoofer, like i already did...