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

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

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

Regards,

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.

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