Too Much Sound Inside Cabin

[M.Yasir]

Hi

I am experiencing too much sound/ wind noise inside my car when traveling @85MPH even at 60MPH the cabin is not as silent as i would expect from Lexus

I noticed that my door seals/rubber gaskets are cut from various locations, could this be a reason? please see the picture

What else I can do to make the cabin as silent as possible?

Thanks

[1990LS400]

It is common for interior noise to increase as cars get older. Deteriorated door gaskets may contribute to increased noise. I drove a similar 2000 LS400 from 2003 (38,000 miles) to 2014 (179,000 miles) and my perception was that the interior noise level gradually increased over the years - especially wind noise.

The 1998 had particular interior noise issues that were addressed at the factory beginning with the 1999 model year of the LS400.

Attached are service bulletins that were used by Lexus dealers to attempt to correct some of the noise issues of the 1998 LS400. It is possible that this work was never done on your car. Even if the service bulletin work was done on your car, the noise fixes were not necessarily permanent. For example, the adhesive foam strips in the exterior mirrors of my 2000 LS400 that were supposed to reduce wind noise started to loosen after a few years. Pieces of foam started appearing between the edge of the mirror glass and the mirror housing so I pulled them out each time they showed. There were a LOT of adhesive form pieces in those mirrors!

All sorts of little noises and rattles start building up and increasing interior noise levels even when individual noises cannot be pinpointed or even noticed. Some noises may be from worn suspension components and others from loosening interior trim. I think it was in 2012 that I test drove a new LS460L. I was stunned at how much quieter it was than my 2000 LS400. My 2000 LS400 was, however, much more enjoyable to drive than the LS460L.

The door gaskets of my 2000 LS400 had no visible wear or "cuts" when I sold it last year. One thing I did in an attempt to reduce wind noise was to wipe down the door gaskets with liquid silicon several times each year. I also had the driver door hinges replaced several years earlier when a collision repair shop found that the door gaskets were not fully sealing. My assumption was that the driver door hinges got slightly bent due to the weight of the door and/or because it was used much more often than the other doors. Replacement of the hinges cost several hundred dollars. I've had driver doors on other cars sag but they could be adjusted.

Also, the amount of noise produced by different tire brands/models varies considerably. Tires put on new Lexus sedans are usually chosen for their low noise levels but often have other drawbacks such as wearing out quickly. Choosing a tire with documented low noise levels may help reduce the interior noise of your car.

t-s-i-b-nv003-98-1998-ls400-wind-noise-service-tips.pdf

t-s-i-b-nv004-98-1998-ls400-squeak-and-rattle-service-tips.pdf

[Exhaustgases]

Wow the whole top edge of the door is messed up too. I wonder how they accomplished that? Also the moon roof is known for wind noise. Those seals are real bad. My 90's look new compared to that.

[M.Yasir]

Appreciating everybody's response..

hmmm so i should look for fresh door gaskets; moreover my moon roof is not working and is already closed, while cruising at higher speeds driver side door is giving lots of wind noise and one potential quirking is coming from the glove box hinge...

As of now i am only worried about wind noise....

whole edge of the door? only paint is ward off not the metal

will keep you posted

[Exhaustgases]

Yeah but what in the world removed and chipped that paint? Its not like when the door is opened that, that area hits something? I've seen way older cars that never have that.

[pj8708]

Hi Mohammad and welcome.

One issue in solving your problem will be the cost and sourcing the parts. Jim can probably give you excellent information. Perhaps ebay or salvage yards. Many of us have always loved the "quiet" cabin of a Lexus product. My wife drives a 2013 RX and I am surprised how quiet it is . With the large tires and suspension I just assumed it would be like a pick-up truck.

Please come back and let us know how things are going.

Paul

[mappo]

Another possible culprit is the windshield. The OEM LS400 windshield is made of very thick, soundproof glass, but at this point most cars have had their windshields replaced at some point. Since the OEM windshield costs about $1200, most people went aftermarket when they needed a new windshield, and sound isolation suffers as a result. I don't believe there are any aftermarket windshields available for our cars that are the same thickness as the original Toyota part. Add in a sloppy install by the replacing company, and you'll find that most of our cars have more wind noise than an all-original LS had. Unfortunately there's no real way to fix this problem other than to spring for the OEM windshield. When these cars were worth $50K that might have been realistic, but now that all LS400s are worth less than $10K, not too many OEM windshields are going to be purchased anymore.

[M.Yasir]

I am pretty much sure that by replacing the door gaskets with good quality ones plus with a good craftsman ship to install and fix the gaskets should do the trick .... i might go today to the spare parts shop will keep you posted guys

Another potential noise is coming from the tires well that is another issue

@Exhaust

I honestly dont have any idea how the paint got chipped off and is chipped slightly on all the doors.... however the opening and closing of the doors are as perfect as they can be, well only sad thing i feel is i have to slam the door to get them locked assuming that this is normal since the doors are a bit heavy