FishBike

I'm even more sure now that part of the reason this is noticeable is the car is so quiet otherwise. Now that the weather is a bit warmer, I don't hear the unpleasant engine noises when the air conditioning fan is running faster to cool the car down. And the fan is super-quiet in the 4GS compared to other cars I've had. Once it slows down to minimum speed (at which point the fan doesn't make any noise at all) is when I start to hear the engine sounds I don't want to hear.

Just4Me

OMG.!!.. Im a new 08 GS350 owner and i feel the EXACT same way.... I know this is an old post.., im going to read the rest of the threads but. YES.. my Saab 9-5 has 190,000 on it and i can barely hear it... Love the GS but dang !! (at idle).. i wasnt expecting it to be this loud. especially for a Lexus... my little sister drives an ES... after riding in her car, i feel like. I should of had a V8 .(juice commercial) ..... i wish there was a way to silence it... ps,.. i understand this is 4th gen.. im just commenting..

peteharvey

The 3GS was originally released in GS300 which was very quiet.
Later it was replaced by the bigger engined GS350 with no additional sound insulation, hence a bit louder.
However, if you think 3GS350 is loud at idle, wait until you test a 4GS350.

There isn't a lot you can really do with the 4GS, because President Akio took over the reigns of TMC back in 2009, and he stipulated "no more boring cars", and he wanted more inspired styling, and more inspired dynamics - such that my 4GS is deliberately & surprizingly loud at idle - I can even hear the belts & pulleys etc, and feel the much firmer suspension for pin sharp turn-in & terminal grip that is almost compact-car like.

The good thing about 4GS is that from about 20-30 mph, the engine, wind and tire noise totally conceal noise from the pulleys and belts etc, and then 4GS actually becomes quieter than my old 2IS, 3.5IS, 3.5GS and even the 6.5ES etc, but yes, the 4GS idle does sound a bit crude because the belts and pulleys are audible.

It's strange, because sometimes I can hear the direct injection tick, but other times I cannot; perhaps something to do with temperature etc?
I once considered buying aftermarket intakes to rid the intake piped noise, however the piped noise is smooth and of reasonable loudness, so I have not bothered to change the intake.

Maybe Pres Akio has overstepped the pedal producing cars that are "too" extreme in sportiness, as sales of IS, ES, GS, & LS decline, while the three German competitors march ahead with commanding market share using their more conservatively styled comfortable & quiet designs.
.

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

+1 It is the thing I like least about the car and my wife likes to tease me about it. Some guys will tell you it's just a side effect of having such a powerful and efficient V6, I say bologna. My 2005 Acura RL had the same size motor, same horsepower and same MPG...and was almost silent (even at idle). It baffles me that Lexus would want us to accept the noise as "normal". It detracts from an otherwise very good experience and will keep me from purchasing another one.

SW17LS

Your RL didn't have direct injection.

drgrant

Lol, RL probably didn't have direct injection, etc. I don't mind it at all, I also find it amusing that people buy these cars, then ***** about the noise.... did you not test drive the car? Did you not run it at the dealer before signing off on it? Did you think it was going to go away? lol.

This is a 2GR-thing, I guess I'm just desensitized to it because I've had the same thing (albeit less prominent) in the V6 Camry I owned for years. It's "normal" and it ain't going away. If it bothers you that much, then Toyota probably isn't the brand for you, because a lot of their motors make this noise, or some variation of it.

Although that said, I've heard Audis and other cars with similar noises, so if you're that sensitive to it, you might want to listen to every car you buy, before you buy it... or just buy a hybrid or something.

About the only noise my GS makes which is starting to get annoying is that stupid brake squealing issue... but even that... minor nit land.

-Mike

peteharvey

You misunderstand doctor.

Of course I test drove 4GS; many times too.
I also test drove rivals like E Class, 5 Series, A6 and even the then Hyundai Genesis.

I am aware of my GS's bland tail, bland dash, tightish rear compartment, idle noise & firm ride, but I still purchased because of the alround package.

They say that a car is the sum of its parts.

If Lexus had a number of issues fixed up, I'm sure 4GS sales could be even better.
Afterall, E & 5 selling better than ever, while A6 has actually come from behind the GS...
.

drgrant

Yet you still ended up with a GS, the ticking must not have been that bad, lol

I don't think any of it is bland. I like the styling. Hell I like the styling of even the 3rd Gen GS, too. Of course all that stuff is subjective.

The day after I bought my car a 6'3 individual sat in the back of my car and it was anything but "tight" for him. IMO a lot of cars get knocked for this, based on appearances but most of the knocking is done by people that don't actually sit there. (it's not just Lexus that gets derided as not having enough space, either. )

Also it's a performance car, or something trying to get in that realm... if you wanted an isolated, squishy roadfeel, an ES, an LS, or maybe one of the MBs with the $2400 shock absorbers would be a a better deal, lol. IMHO the only time the 4GS really feels like it rides too hard is when the roads are particularly horrendous.

What issues?

IMHO the only real huge issues with the 4GS is they needed to make an option with more juice (not enough power, car needs to break 5 sec 0-60 off the lot, and it doesn't ) and secondarily, maybe a little better fuel economy when loafing along. Infotainment needs work but I'll never really ding a car for geegaw stuff unless its so bad its unusable. (I'd say the typical lexus infotainment problem is just lacking in development rather than being unusable... )

As far as those other brands... "those are 100K and throw me away" marques, nice cars, but not for me- so they get the black cross out of the gate for that alone. (maintenance nightmare/horrible TCO). It's a shame most of Acura's new sedans are "meh" otherwise there could be real competition in this segment. (The TLX is a right idea, but still underpowered, and it seems kinda cheap-feeling inside compared to a GS). If you're going to put a Lexus in the "I throw my cars away when they hit 36K buyer club" it's not going to win very often. I wouldn't expect it to. The primary selling attribute of Lexus, IMHO, is long term reliability and lack of grief. The rest is gravy. If I was part of this setting cash on fire car leasing/buying rollover subset, I'd probably lease an Audi S (5, 6, something) every 3 years and just keep throwing them away as needed. MB, Audi, BMW are all reliable enough to last that long and the fac warranty will cover in the rare event something bad happens during that short period. (and trust me, it is short, like 36K on a lexus is just barely broken in, outside of tires and brakes...l) Problem is I drive too much to make this even a plausible idea. Even recreationally (eg, with this as a SECOND car) id blow past that 10K/year easily. I jonesed over cars like the S5, TTRS, or BMW M3, etc, but realized all of these are terrible for long term ownership.

I guess it all depends on ones "value proposition" or calculus WRT buying a car.... but then again I'm biased because I'm not into the frou frou stuff. I like the 4GS because in a lot of ways its the epitome of things I find lacking in a lot of other cars- namely reliability and consistent performance. Everyone has to pick and
choose whats most important to them.

Reminds me of a convo I had with a friend who has a Jag, a Bentley, and an RR.. we were talking about Lexus over the years and he said something like "Looks nice, but it's still "just a Toyota" I just said "That's kind of the whole point, if that's not a big deal to the buyer, then they probably should just get something else. "

I mean don't get me wrong, Lexus can always use improvement... but I'm not going to get bent over the motor ticking, lol.

ETA: One problem Lexus has (with people that aren't already toyota fanbois like myself) is that amongst the brands often deemed "conservative" EG, Acura, Infiniti, Volvo, it kinda stands by itself, which is a good and a bad thing, they manage to make cars not as boring, slow or cheap feeling as most of those (although at least Infiniti put a TTV6 in their new Q whatever car that hits 5 sec off the line) but they need to up the performance if they want to hang with the mid range AWD throwaway german sedans...

I think the other problem is someone at Lexus also knows, that people like myself... we're not going anywhere soon... because our alternative choices in this market... most of them are pretty scary. If owners like me are a minority among Lexus owners, its a pretty big one... I see more old Lexus sedans still on the road than most of the other lux brands... and theres a good reason for that. Lots of people out there don't throw these cars away until they actually wear the seats all the way out or get bored after a decade or whatever....

-Mike

peteharvey

I find that my 3.5GS & 4GS has more of a clatter than a tick, but more unrefined is the sound of pulleys & belts in 4GS, however by about 20 mph, the 3.5 is silly smooth and purring along, and by 60 mph, the 4GS is actually quieter than 3GS and much quieter than my friend's Mercedes E350 V6.

Doctor, we all know that there are a lot of differing opinions; its just like our own colleagues who use resorbable sutures, versus non-resorbable sutures, versus those who use staples.

Those differing opinions ultimately collectively determine the overall GS sales.

You and I or anyone else for that matter - who really cares what the GS sales figures are?
As long as we have the car with the set of pros & cons that best fit our needs, wants & tastes - who really cares about sales figures?

The only group that really care about sales figures are - is TMC themselves.
Last year, E Class sold 51k, 5 Series 40k, A6 16k, and GS just 7k.

Hence we all have our individual opinions as to how TMC can adjust for ourselves, and for TMC and their very own cause.

TMC will receive a lot of varying feedback which will be averaged to produce the guidelines for the one next generation of 5GS...
.

SW17LS

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

You miss the point. Most defend the noise (like it seems you are) because it has direct injection. So what? Why is direct injection required? Most would say for the power/efficiency, but I say otherwise. My RL did not have DI and still accomplished the same HP/MPG as the GS.

Look, I like the car it is just a shame that an otherwise luxury experience is lessened because of a noisy/rattley sound from under the hood.

SW17LS

I'm not defending anything, I'm just explaining. I no longer even own the car. Your statement that your RL accomplished the same HP and MPG as the GS is not true, in fact its a perfect example of why modern engines have DI. Your RL had 300 HP and 271 lb ft of torque. Your GS has 306 hp and 277 lb ft of torque, so essentially the same. However, if you compare the GS and the RL's fuel economy (comparing AWD GS to AWD RL since the RL only came AWD I believe), the GS gets 2MPH better city and highway. Thats ~ 10% better fuel economy despite having slightly more power, and a more robust (and efficiency robbing) AWD system. I assume since you are in TX yours is RWD and your mileage per the EPA is dramatically better than the RL.

The 3.5L is Lexus' first engine with DI, as they become more accustomed to it they will design out and hide the sound from the injectors.

highrev6

charley95

What's a C63?

highrev6