lawmorrow

I located the cause and it was a snap. In my case, I had some "energy bars" in the pouch affixed to the back of the passenger seat. This causes the housing straps
to expand, as they should. Therein lay the rattle. Took out the four energy bars, and the rattle stopped. It was too easy once I found the cause. Of course, now I can't use that pouch for more than two energy bars neatly laid side to side.

rpgarrett

I just bought a 2014 ES 350. I also noticed a slight vibration in the passenger seat while unoccupied. The initial knocking noise was due to the metal portion of the seat belt hitting the plastic shell that the seat belt retracts into. After straightening out the seat belt that noise went away. However another rattling noise persisted. I traced the noise to the headrest. I never paid any attention to it on my 2008 ES 350 but the headrest can be adjusted up and down as well as forward and backward. The mechanism that locks it into place in the forward/backward position appears to be spring-loaded. When the headrest is sitting in the far back position it really is not "locked" into place. This appears to be because there is no spring tension holding it in place and any vibration was causing it to "rattle". What I did quite by accident was to move the headrest forward. As I moved it forward I could hear a "click" when the headrest got "locked" into one of the forward positions. As I continued to move the headrest forward additional "clicks" could be heard as the headrest got locked in to its new position. The spring tension got greater the farther I moved the headrest forward until it couldn't be moved any farther. At this point there was no more movement in the headrest due to the increased spring tension. In this position I heard no rattle at all. Moving the headrest forward one final time appears to disengage the spring locking mechanism and the headrest is returned to its original backward position . Again, in this position there is movement in the headrest because there is nothing "locking" it into place (i.e. you don't hear a "click".). Moving the headrest forward until you hear the first click will at least lock it into the first forward position. Perhaps it is just a poor headrest design. In my case locking the headrest into one of the forward positions (Note: adjusting the headrest to the farthest forward position provided the least movement in the headrest.) at least solved my rattle problem.

chriscoleo

While I do not have a solution for you, I am in the exact same situation and am dealing with Lexus Corporate now to resolve the issue. Just yesterday, I had a Lexus FTS (Field Technical Specialist) drive with me so he could hear the noise.

His response to me regarding the noise was rather disheartening when he said that even if they replaced the seat the noise may not go away. He further stated the the noise is not repairable. He went even further to say that ALL Lexus vehicles have the potential to make this noise and it cannot be fixed and that I would have to live with it.

What is also interesting to note, is that I have had two Lexus Technicians tell me that the CT is horribly put together and that this car is NOT up to Lexus standards.

About 6 weeks ago I initiated a lemon law buyback claim with Lexus regarding all the rattles I have had with the CT. I hope to receive and answer soon.

chriscoleo

After 7 plus weeks I have finally heard back from Lexus about the annoying seat rattle that many users are experiencing. The final word from Lexus is, they will not buy back my CT or offer any assistance in this matter as they feel that the noise is "normal" and the seat will not be fixed.

We have made the decision to drive luxury vehicles and I would think that out of the ordinary rattles and noises should not be considered "normal".

I can however, push this into arbitration, but really do not know if this is worth my time, effort, and energy. I have also considered a series of YouTube videos documenting all the noises and rattles. But once again, this comes down to time invested in beating a dead horse. And the overwhelming thought that it's just not worth it.

I have neatly placed a roll of fabric between the seat and center console, which has eliminated the noise. This fix will do in the interim until I find a new non-Lexus vehicle to own.