johnnieliu

TSIB#NV009-03 - MOON ROOF AND HEADLINER RATTLE SERVICE TIPS "Some customers may experience rattling conditions from the headliner areas shown below, while driving or upon door closing. The following procedures have been developed to address these conditions." The TSIB shows 3 locations: A: Rear, Passenger side headliner, just behind front seat. B: Just behind the aft portion of the moonroof. C: Below the rear spoiler. JL

I emailed Lexus corporate several months ago regarding the dash rattle and the "popping" sound and they recommended that "I contact my local dealership" to fix the problem. This is our 1st Lexus and probably our last. I'm not putting down the brand or corporation and I've had great luck with Toyota's, but like you stated above, this is a $40K+ vehicle, and these types of annoying noises are very distracting. JL

I too have this "popping" sound. The sound is apperant when the car flexes. The dealership also applied the TSB for the front struts, but soon after driving away from the dealeship, the "poping" noise re-appeared. The sound is liken to when you "flick" the edges of 2 credit cards against each other. I'm thinking about taking the vehicle to another dealership. I initially thought this noise is related to the "dash rattle" but it is totally different. I also have the dash rattle noise, but this "popping" sound is more pronounced and noticable.

Yes, 70% of the rear-view, but 90% of the "useable" rear-view.

I sent an email to Lexus Tech Support and they responded with the following: "Per our technical department, the 2005 navigation features cannot be modified to your 2004 model. We are sorry for any inconvenience this situation may cause you. " JL

There is NO solution. It is a "feature". I've emailed Lexus tech support, and the system was never designed to support audio out into the main cabin speakers for the AUX audio inputs. The Toyota Sieanna which shares the same system, also has this "feature".

TSIB #NV009-03: MOON ROOF AND HE DLINER RATTLE SERVICE TIPS Introduction: Some customers may experience rattling conditions from the headliner areas shown below, while driving or upon door closing. The following procedures have been developed to address these conditions. TSIB #NV006-03: INSTRUMENT PANEL RATTLE Introduction: Some customers may experience rattle noises coming from the center of the instrument panel at the base of the windshield. The following procedure has been developed to improve the condition. I have both in my wife's vehicle, but we have yet to have the dealer apply the TSIB's.

I also have a "buzzing" noise around the driverside rear passenger headliner area. The follwing is an excerpt from TSIB #NV009-04: From TSIB #NV009-04: Some customers may experience rattling conditions from the headliner areas shown below, while driving or upon door closing. The following procedures have been developed to address these conditions. I plan on brining this up on my next service. JL

I get your point. I guess a better comparison would with an MDX, or FX35.

My J30 will try to maintain speed on an incline at its top gear 4th. So the acceleation need to maintain speed is gradual and not abrupt like the RX330. Also, the RX330 has a tendency to overshoot its set speed, disengage the throttle and cruise back down to speed, and then engage the throttle once set speed is met. I think that the ECU is the culprit and not CC, and I think that its linked to the other "acceleration", "transsmission lag" problems reported on this and other boards. BTW, I did have my ECU re-programmed per existing TSIB# TC005-03. JL

I HATE THE RX330 CRUISE CONTROL!!! We just came back from a roadtrip from WA-CA. Going up and down the pass and hills was horrible using the cruise control. The car downshifts to 3rd gear abruptly, such that it felt uncontrolable and hazardous. This is very evident if you are going up hill on slightly windy stretch of freeway and much more evident if there was a slow moving trunk in fron of you. We did the same trip last year in my Infiniti J30, and the cruise control was much smoother and didn't abruply downshift when trying to maintain speed on an incline.

Our roadtrip from WA - N. CA - S. CA - WA we averaged 22-24 MPG at an average speed of 70 MPH. I used both 87 and 91-92 Octane gas, which made no difference in MPG. Around town, 90% city, 10% Freeway, we get around 17 MPG. '04 RX330 AWD

My wife also has this color combo....were in Auburn, WA. Not too many BFP and Neptune Blue vehicles were made.

I bought an AWD RX330 with NAV, RES, Premium Plus, etc. from the same Lexus of Portland dealer back in September '03 for $43K(no registration). If I were to buy MY car used today, I would not pay more than invoice - 10%. Since most RX330's are now going at or near invoice.

Sounds like TSB SU001-04 "Front Suspension Noise". "Some 2004 model year RX330 vehicles may exhibit a creak or knock noise, from the front of the vehicle, while driving over small bumps, turning the wheels, or coming to a stop. The front coil spring may be contacting the suspension upper support. The fron coil spring upper insulator has been change to improve this condition." Production Change information: 2WD - JTJGA31U740024295 4WD - JTJHA31U640046261 JL

1st Character: The 1st character of your car's vehicle identification number identifies the country where it was manufactured: 1 or 4-USA; 2-Canada; 3-Mexico; J-Japan; S-England; W-Germany; Z-Italy. 2nd Character: The 2nd character in your car's VIN specifies the manufacturer: A-Audi; B-BMW; H-Honda; A-Jaguar; D-Mercedes; N-Nissan; T-Toyota; V-Volvo; V-VW 3rd Character: The 3rd character in your car's vehicle identification number indicates the vehicle type or manufacturing division. This varies among car makes and models. 4th - 8th Character: The 4th through 8th characters in your car's VIN reveals its features/attributes, such as body style, engine type, model, series, etc. Again, this varies widely among car makes, models and equipment. 9th Character: The 9th character in your car's vehicle identification number is a VIN accuracy check digit, verifying the previous numbers within the VIN. This check digit is a single number or letter "X" used to verify the accuracy of the transcription of the vehicle identification number. There is a precise method for obtaining the check digit; however, it is not relevant to our discussion here. Suffice to say that after all other characters in the VIN have been determined by the manufacturer, the check digit is calculated by carrying out a mathematical computation. The correct numeric remainder - zero through nine (0-9) will appear. However, if the remainder is 10 the letter "X" is used to designate the check digit value. 10th Character: The 10th character in your car's VIN tells you the model year. (This varies somewhat among car manufacturers - see the chart in the "Here's How to Find Your Car's VIN" section below for specific locations by car make.)

TSIB #TC005-03, "ECM CALIBRATION: SHIFTING ENHANCEMENT". "fixes" these hesitation complaints. Verbatim from the TSIB: "Introduction: To enhance ATM shifting, the Engine Control Module (SAE tem: Power Control Module/PCM) calibration has been updated." This is not a "goodwill gesture" service, but rather to fix a known problem per TSIB. The dealership WILL get paid by Toyota/Lexus to perform ALL TSIB services.

The DVD RSES comes with a remote and 2 wireless headphones. You can confirm with Lexus corporate and if dealership won't provide, I would complain to corporate. JL

I had a different experience. We had a couple of snowy-icy days here in the PNW and I thought my AWD RX330 did quite well. I was going down this curvy-icy hill, when I felt the rear end fishtale, but the vehicle corrected itself before it became uncontrollable. I went down this hill(1st gear) an average of about 5-10 MPH becuase of the really icy conditions. I also took the vehicle out to an empty parking lot to see if I can break the rear end lose, but again, the car corrected itself after the slip. Overall, I'm quite impressed.

lumbaga, I too am experience some dash noises("poping", "rattle"). Did Lexus of Bellevue note what they did to fix the problem and/or what TSIB's(if any) they referenced to fix the problem? I live in the southend and was hoping that Lexus of Fife might also be aware of the fix. Thanks, JL

I can't believe no one has heard this noise. There is another thread with 16 answers to the same question. Can anyone help?? I here something like what you get when the edge of 2 plastic sheets snap against each other....I guess something like what you get when a relay is tripped. The volume, and frequency of the "snap", "click" varies for me. My sound is imminating from the the middle of the dash, just under the windshield. I'm thinking its related to the "cowl" TSB?

The FX35/45 has HID highbeams. They both don't have daytime running lights.

"R&R" usually means "remove and replace". JL

We have an RX330 with 18" wheels with Michelin tires. When I brought the car in for the 1000 mile service, the service department gave me a loaner RX330 with Goodyear tires. I immediately noticed that the road noise from the Goodyears were much LOWER. Our Michelins are at 32 PSI. I didn't check tire pressure on the Goddyears.