waynedog

I have a 2007 with significant wind noise (after the McRaney fix). I am planning to upgrade to a new model (2010 or earlier). Since many available cars are 3+ hours from where I live, I don't want to drive that far and find out the car I am interested in also has the same wind noise. What are the odds that a 2010 or new LS also will have the wind noise? It seems from reading this forum for a while that newer models are better but it also seems some newer models also have the problem.

Could the owners of 2010 models or newer let me know if their car has/had the wind noise probelm?

Thanks

RandyV

Seems to depend on the model year.

GXAlan

All LS's have some wind noise.

The early years did not have laminated glass for the front windows.
The LWB have laminated glass for the rear windows.

Theoretically the 2013+ will have less wind noise with the optimized rear light fins.

The McRaney fix + 2013 fins will reduce wind noise by 7 dB or so in my experience.

The cross wind noise seems to be persistent.

CJITTY

Another wind noise thread....

GregoryNP

My 2007 has loud wind noise on windy days while driving on highway. I would think Lexus would have tested this in a wind tunnel.Why wouldn't they correct it? I guess they figured it was OK to let this world class luxury car be produced without thicker glass and/or more insulation.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Agree 100%. They do wind tunnel testing to reduce drag (in the interests of CAFE). I guess nobody actually sits in the cars and listens. Even my wife was checking the doors and playing with the windows, when she first drive it, because of the wind noise (and she drives a 4 cylinder Prius - not the quietest of cars by a long margin).

The original 1990 LS400 had a wind noise problem because of the cellphone antenna - they were all over that back then....... when they needed customers...........

WhitBaby

Looks like about 78.336%

;->

Seriously, there doesn't seem to be any consistency to be conclusive.
Find one you like and take it out and drive it...

waynedog

CJITTY - thank you for your suggestion regarding searching for previous posts on this subject. I have been a member of this forum for 5 years and have read all posts about wind noise for all these years and have seached several dozen previous threads. I found a lot of different comments regarding wind noise in newer models but could not determine to what degree the problem had been resolved. That is why I posted this question. Hopefully with all the owners of newer models in this forum they could post a quick reply so I could get a better feel.

LexFather

Its something I'm weird about. I've read tons of threads about it so I find myself sometimes listening for wind noise. I'm not sure if there is just some regular noise or I'm paranoid. No one else has commented on wind noise and it is the quietest car I have owned. People have even asked is it a hybrid.

I usually just crank up the ML system anyway

sarantis

The noise is on 100% of the cars of people who read that there's wind noise in their cars. Seriously I didn't notice it until I read about it on this forum. Thanks a lot.

GXAlan

The 2007 LS is already quieter than a Tesla Model S on the highway.

That said, it's the library-phenomenon. You can hear a pin drop in a library because everything else is so quiet. That same pin drop in a noisier environment is "silent."

When you're driving with the audio off, you can definitely hear wind noise. The reality is that it's quiet -- it's just that it's the most noticeable audio. In a car with "less" wind noise, you'll see that you're actually speaking louder and the road and engine noise is drowning out the wind noise.

That also explains why the wind noise disappears once you turn on the radio/CD/Sat/iPod/USB. Once you have the music going, the library-phenomenon disappears.

All that said, the JMCRANEY modification and putting 2013+ fins on the 2012 and earlier will decrease wind noise (even with the library phenomenon).

The LS vehicles that did NOT have laminated glass transmit more noise into the cabin, so the 07 can be improve on... but again, even the 07 is quieter than a Model S on the highway.

(I'm surprised no one has mentioned the direct-injection ticking... )

pmiller

I notice wind noise on my 2010. I made the JMCRANEY modification and it definitely improved it. I notice it more now when my drives. That may be because when I'm driving by myself, the stereo is cranked up. I agree with others. The noise is there, but compare it to other cars. I give my wife a hard time when we ride in her Yukon. Talk about wind and road noise. So, yeah it as quiet as sitting in a library when I'm cruising at 75, but it's pretty good. Hopefully, this is the only reason you're planning to upgrade.
Where are you in SC that you have to drive 3 hours to test drive an LS? I'm sure there are some in Columbia, Charleston, or Charlotte. Just throwing that out there.

travislee

If you close your window all the way and then tap the window switch down as fast as you can it really makes a difference in wind noise almost gone on my car when i do that just tap it down real fast and you will notice a huge difference

Greezy

This made me crack up out loud at my desk. I can relate.

jmcraney

Sir,

You are not well informed on this issue.

Many of the '07 original owners were very satisfied with their cars as regards wind noise. And, many others were very dissatisfied because their cars had major wind noise problems. There is an extensive discussion of this issue in this forum. Check here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...d-threads.html

The wind noise was also discussed in several other Internet forums with many reports from countries outside North America.

Lexus understood that there was a problem and they replaced the glass in the front doors of thousands of '07 LS460s in an attempt to resolve this problem and that glass change didn't resolve the wind noise in the majority of the cases.

The "wind noise" continued to be an issue in '07, '08, '09 and '10 LS460s, LS460Ls and LS600Hs although there were fewer reports with each newer model year.

Lexus had to buyback many cars, likely considerably more than a thousand, in state Lemon Law actions. These buybacks were the result of independent arbitration so to claim that the problem was subjective or imaginary seems shortsighted. This was not a "goodwill/customer-satisfaciton" action on Lexus' part - they had to refund the full purchase price including taxes and fees. We have documented some of these buybacks for model years '07, '08 and '09 in this forum, including both LS460s and LS460Ls. Check here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...iscussion.html

Lexus tried many fixes, including door gasket replacement, window gasket replacement, mirror replacement, adding foam inside the doors, replacing the front door glass on all '07 LS460s and some early '08 LS460s, adding deflectors on the side of the windshield. Nothing that Lexus did in this regard proved unequivocally effective. Lexus eventually took the position that all cars "met specifications" as to wind noise and no resolution was ever provided from Lexus and Lexus dealers.

Many owners have found relief with a DIY repair that is presented in this forum. Check here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...noise-fix.html

I can assure you, from personal experience, that there is nothing missing on the cars that have a wind noise problem. It's just the trim at the corner of the window in the front door that is loose. There are several reports from owners who say that they did the trim repair and that it didn't help. For those that have had that kind of experience I would suggest that you redo you trim repair. There are lots of possibilities why you might not have gotten good results ranging from poor technique to improper or defective materials. There is just not much else to consider, that you can't see, other than the trim.

There is a faction in our forum who believes very strongly that the newly designed trim with a vortex generator (some people refer to this as "stabilizer fins") on it that came on the '13 and '14 models solves all problems regarding wind noise. I can assure you that you can solve the wind noise problem with duct tape very effectively although it lacks a pristine appearance. There is nothing about the new trim part that provides any advantage as regards wind noise.

When all is well with these cars they are exceptionally quiet and I don't think anyone would even wonder if they have a wind noise problem. If you are wondering if your car has a wind noise problem, then it probably does.