ashleymari

This might be a completely stupid question, so bear with me here.

I upgraded from a 2009 ES 350 to my 2013 GS 350 recently. One huge difference I noticed is the sound of the car while in idle. My ES was so quiet that sometimes it was hard to tell if it was on or off when parked. My GS has an irritating vibration noise from the outside that is very noticeable when I'm parked. I can hear it when my windows are down and I'm sitting in the driver's seat. It's not loud, so to speak, just incredibly irritating to the point where the vibration hurts your ears. When I'm in my garage and the sound is a bit more isolated, it sounds the loudest from the driver-side mid-to-back section of the car. However, the car itself doesn't feel like it's vibrating.

I also noticed at times when I start my car, my engine gets loud and the RPM shoots up to a bit past 2 (while still idle), then quiets down and evens out.

Is this normal for this gen GS? The only reason I ask is because neither of things happened on my ES, so either I'm not used to it, or something is wrong.

Driving/ performance seems normal. I do understand this engine should be a bit noisier than my ES and I am enjoying the extra HP and AWD ;]

I have a full, unlimited mileage warranty so getting anything fixed won't be an issue. My main concern is wasting my time going all the way to the dealership and embarrassing myself if it's completely normal. I'm 25 years old and blonde, so that doesn't help my case at all and I don't want to be treated as if I'm "hearing things" that don't exist.

Thanks in advance!

2Squared

Sounds like the exhaust manifold to line flange may be loose or the gasket is bad.

shardul

I also noticed the GS is not that quite, you can hear the engine at idle

I drove a few before I bought mine and they all sounded the same

islandbeef

Looking at the big picture, you're more worried about your reputation than the health of your car. Uh....really?

Get it looked at.

The warranty repair is free.

Better safe than sorry.

Jeevz

This is normal, mine does it too.

The vibration/noise could be part of the exhaust system touching another part of the car and is definitely not normal.

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

Are you referring to a ticking sound coming from an engine while the car is idle? If that's the case, then it's perfectly normal.

However, if you're coffee or bottle of water is shaking in the cup holder while the car is idle, then it's a different story and the car should get checked by your dealer.

neilsarkar

I upgraded from '08 ES to '15 GS and I definitely hear more engine noise in the GS during idle. I think this is normal and by design. However, I do not feel any vibration inside the car. You might want to get that looked at.

LXGXSAM1

You're the first young man to complain about engine noise, especially from a Lexus. Anyways, noise and vibration at start-up or in idle, in any of my vehicles in the past meant it is time for an oil change. Use the best synthetic oil you could afford, those vibration noise, if your vehicle don't have major issues will disappear.

bclexus

Really?

Sevn86

My steering wheel vibrates when in drive stopped at a light. My bottle water shakes a bit too. When on the go or in park or neutral it doesn't vibrate as bad. It never use to do that when I bought the car. is that normal? Any of y'all experiencing anything similar?

ashleymari

Not even just my reputation... where I work now, unfortunately my dealership is way out of the way (45 miles east) and it's not exactly easy to drive there before or after work to get things checked out, especially if it's something completely normal. It's waste of a drive, my time, and the dealer's time, especially if they don't take me seriously or if this is normal.

ashleymari

The ticking noise I know is normal. Nothing in my car shakes, and it doesn't feel as if it's shaking, however the irritating, dull vibrating noise from the outside doesn't seem normal at all. As luck would have it my sales guy did a 45-day check up on me after I posted this and told me to bring it in.

ashleymari

There's no way I'd need a change within 45 days of owning the car.
P.S. I'm a lady and I am not complaining about standard engine noise, just the dull, irritating vibration coming from the side of my car when it's in idle. It doesn't even sound like it's coming from the engine itself. It's to the point where it's uncomfortable to sit in my car with the windows down in park because the dull noise vibration/pitch is irritating.


Yeah....

Good to know that's at least normal upon start up.

I'm not experiencing that on my GS. However, my ES towards the end had a subtle vibration you could hear while stopped at a stop light which also caused a light vibration in the dash/steering wheel. It would stop while driving or in park. I couldn't get it to replicate at the dealer so I never found out what caused that before I got rid of it. If you're under warranty still, definitely take it in, especially if you can easily get it to replicate the sound.

By the way, I appreciate all of the replies! Seems as my vibration problem isn't normal then. I am going to try to make it to the dealership today after work before the service department closes (if rush hour traffic works in my favor).

lamikela1

My '08 ES was quiet and smooth at idle. My '13 ES had a buzzing sound at idle that the dealer said was normal. it was very disturbing for me. My '16 GS once again is quiet and smooth at idle as well. It seems that from year to year this changes. I am not sure why. I am glad the GS doesn't exhibit this.

ashleymari

My '09 ES you could hear a pin drop when in idle. Such a quiet car!

That's my worry...to head all the way to the dealership for them to tell me the sound is "normal". Was the buzzing sound in your '13 more of a vibration coming from the exterior of the car? I cannot hear or feel it while I'm in the car itself with the windows up..BUT if I am sitting idle with the windows down, it's very noticeable. It's not incredibly loud, but the dull vibration sounds actually hurts your ears.