richbutler

by the way, my loaner es350 also has the same injector noise when the car is cold.

dshahs420

Call Lexus Corporate about the issue and tell them to send out a lexus rep to look at it and that the dealer told you that if there is a tsb then they can fix it. Dont take no for an answer and the dealer should fix it if they say there is a fix.

Gumball

I'm not sure this applies here but I am trading in a BMW 545i for a ES 350 because my Beamer has been a big headache. It only has 4500 mile but has had its computer system reprogramed about 7 times and has had its engine removed and new headers and fuel injectors installed at BMW's insistence. After my last service call, the service rep showed me a BMW bulliten stating that the engine clatter and 'eccentric motion of engine parts' was finally found to be due to the US premium high octane formulation (93) fuel and that using intermediate grade premium would solve the problen. They were right. I bought my car new in 2004 and the bullitin was issued in May 06. I haven't quite figured out who to put a voodoo hex on as yet.

I guess what I'm saying you might try intermediate premium if you haven't already.

tstead

I went grocery shopping with my wife and she asked that I start the car and cool it down. As she was loading groceries in the trunk, I started the car and went around the trunk to help her. While I was helping her put groceries in the trunk, she looked at me and, loking a bit perturbed, again asked that I please start the car so it will cool down.

No noise here.

richbutler

When idling, I don't hear the injector noise either. I only hear the noise for the first few miles when I'm inside the car, the stereo is off, the HVAC is on low, the car has sat overnight, and I'm accelerating from a stop.

ES350Bob

Rich....the engine noise I'm having, as well as others, is a diesel engine sound, I call it a kocking/tapping noise, that does not just happen when accelerating from a stop after just cold starting it, it also happens when driving period, as in slightly slowing down, then accelerating and it continues until the temp. reaches hot when it's volume diminishes.

richbutler

yes, mine happens for at least several miles....long after the engine has warmed up on the temp gauge (the temp needle is in the center). here in CA, the temp gauge shows it is warm after a block of driving! it goes away after about 5 miles of driving...i guess when the injectors are warmed up? when at idle...i don't hear it. i really hear it when i accelarate from a stop. at steady speeds above 35-40 mph...i don't hear it..probably because other noises drown out the engine noise.

also...after the 5 miles....the engine is quiet again.

ES350Bob

Ok Rich, that is the same noise, though mine can still be heard at idle and when it reaches hot, though it is hard to hear it then it is still there and it seems the engine in general is noisier when hot.
I don't believe it's an injector at all, it's a problem with compressable matter present interfering with the valves. You cannot compress oil, so when it is operating right, it is quiet, when not you hear all that diesel sound.
Look up hydraulic lifters and see if you don't find when they have a problem they make a sound described like yours and mine.
then there is: Why didn't the cold started demonstrator do it, why none of them in road test magazine articles did it and so many owners on here saying their's doesn't do it.

Pheonix

I'm surprized yall are still playing around & not doing anything constructive after 3 pages. Come on guys...
Look, it would take a $2 mechanic's sethascope & find exactly what's causing your pain. LoL!

And I'm not sure if I believe the direct injection system is involved for 2 primary reasons:
1) In the Toyota trianing manual I read on the 2gr-fse, the direct injection is NOT used during warm-up. Port injection is.

2) Guys... What are yall thinking!? The 2gr-fe doesn't use direction injection, the 2gr-fse does. All of the Camry platform has the 2gr-fe, which is port injection only.





Change your oil & change the gas. Otherwise, I'm guessing if it's valvetrain noise, the valves are a hair too tight. Drive the freaking **** out of it so the shims wear in alittle bit.

wanderer99

OK then - does anyone have a quiet engine when they first start their car when it's cold? I'm talking about no clicking, tapping or other engine sounds.

amf1932

My car when starting cold or hot or anything in between doesn't make any noise whatsoever!
In fact, I have been listening very hard for any engine noises or transmission glitches, but so far everything is completely terrific. BTW: My car was manufactured 3/06

wanderer99

I've said it before - Alan deserves a perfect car this time around.

I get the clicking\tapping sound from the engine. Its not really loud, but you can hear it inside the cabin. Although that sound is lessened by the window shims a bit. I think others here have a louder problem than this though from what they are saying.

Alan, would you say that your ES350 engine is quieter\same\noisier than your ES300 engine? I drove the ES330 recently and that engine was very quiet, certainly quieter than the ES350. Power.... well, that is another story.

amf1932

I would say that the engine noise is about the same as my '03 ES.
Geez......I feel sorta guilty that I'm having NO problems, so far, especially that some other new owners are having all kinds of hassles. I did start a thread about wind noise awhile back, but I corrected this myself when I noticed the rubber stripping along the top of the driver side window was kinda squashed. All it took was a little manipulation of this strip and the noise was gone. The passenger door was always completely quiet. Please believe me, I'm not bragging 'cause I'm a little superstitious and I might be punished if I do. LOL
P.S. The exhaust sound is slightly louder when you really push the accelerator.....but it's a nice kind of sound.

PsychDoc

There's simply no question that the new engine is louder than either the 3.0 or the 3.3 that preceded it.

And, sadly, the sound is not a nice "throaty" growl. It's a harsh, clattering kind of sound. The word "sonorous" does not come to mind when listening to the new engine. Definitely NOT up to typical Lexus standards IMO.

However the HP output per liter of displacement and torque is just awesome. Power delivery is smooth and definitely moves the car along in a manner entirely consistent with a 6.2 0-60 time.

Add to the mix the simply amazing mpg this engine/transmission returns in real world conditions and the excessive noise from the engine bay really doesn't seem like that big a deal.

wanderer99

It sounds like some ES350 engines may have different characteristics than others. The other ES350 I have driven (sales demo) had a slightly noisier engine sound than my car, IMO.

Interestingly the RX350 I drove was dead silent. No engine clatter type noise at all. I think this is the same engine as the ES350.