sallydrive

I have a 2007 Lexus IS 250 with about 58,000 miles on it. I drive in 70/30 (Good/Bad) roads, as far as I know I drive and maintain my car properly.

I have been hearing this creaking noise while driving in speeds above 40MPH i hear it coming from where the driver door and dashboard meet, other people can also hear the noise, but they cannot pinpoint the noise. I have taken the car to Lexus and they said that cannot "Duplicate the Problem" because when they test drive it, there is too much ambient noise because of the bad roads and nearby highway. I know this because i have sat with a test drive with the shop foreman, and even i couldn't hear it then.

The noise is very irritating and i do not know what to do anymore to fix it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Side note: The car is still under CPO warentee, and everything has been checked out and no problems!

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

First off, even though your car's CPO, whatever the dealer may do to fix this issue won't be covered, because body and trim pieces (this means the dash pad and all interior trim pieces) are NOT covered by CPO.

I have a CPO car and have undergone some headaches with some rattles. There are two rattles I dealt with that might be related to yours.

Is it the gauge cluster bezel? https://www.clublexus.com/forums/6664048-post31.html. Try squeezing the part I mention together while driving and see if the noise goes away.

The other might just be a part of the infamous dash rattle: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ally-loud.html

sallydrive

Thanks for the quick and informative reply, I've already given it to Lexus for the dash rattle, they said they replaced the clips and insulated the dash. But even after that the same noise occurs.

I've also tried what you said to hold the plastic and the rubbery dash together and it didnt make the sound go away while driving.

Any other ideas?

Koolpep

If I press hard onto the lower bottom of the left air vent next to the dash it stops.

It's annoying. Only happens at certain temperatures though.

sallydrive

I contacted Lexus Corporate and they said to take it back to the dealer and they will take a 2nd look. I will take several threads i found online to them to show them what i'm actually talking about. Will let you guys know what happens.

slee18

iTrader: (1)

Just a heads up I had that dash rattle in the center channel speaker cover too. They replaced the dash and it came back a year later. Then I got the run around (corporate) saying that it was normal because the roads I drive were not normal roads (pot holes). If it made noise during smooth roads they would look at it again.

Mine was a 2007 as well and had the rear window creaking as well as a creaking sound coming from the driver seat belt area. Might want to check and see if it might be the driver seat as well.

Good luck!

Kirtap

I've been deciding what car to get next and right now I'm kinda hung up on the IS250. But then I start seeing these kinds of posts... This is exactly the opposite of what I thought owning a Lexus would be. Is there anyone who knows how common this problem is?

MBTC

I can only tell you that in my 2010 IS250 (17k miles, 1.5 years of ownership), I've never had a single rattle problem and it is the only car I've ever owned this long that I can say that about.

It could be that refinements in insulation in later years of the car model solved the problems. With most cars, the first two years of production are the buggiest, lots of design changes are made by the third or fourth year, that might be why I've had such good luck, but it's also not exclusive to Lexus (except that I think Lexus/Toyota is more committed to this refinement cycle than many car manufacturers. BMW seems to not give a fahrk about design flaws and arrogantly doesnt try hard enough to correct mistakes).

Kirtap

Thanks for your reply. It's good to hear that not every IS250 has this problem. Looks like I have to look at the newer models then! Just have to save bit longer, haha!

sallydrive

So far they have replaced the clips holding the dashboard and insulated the center A/C vent. So far the noise is still coming from the drivers door and not the seat or the window, that i can tell.

Any other ideas?

carlos3366

Lubricate the area where the door meets the dashboard. I use silicone spray (spray it on a rag) and then wipe the areas.

stanjohn12

I had the dash creaking noise which was fixed for me under warranty 1 and half months back and till date there is no noise coming from it. But I'm getting some noise from somewhere around the passenger door panel. It's not as bad as the creaking noise from the dash so I'm not taking it in to the dealer again. I guess our IS was never meant to be as silent as the LS so we could just turn on the ML system and ignore the other noises

sallydrive

I've tried placing a thick felt between the door jam and it didn't help at all. So i think it must be internal.

And when your paying for a car in the IS price range, i want a car that doesnt make noises that cheaper cars dont even make.

nosurprise

iTrader: (1)

haha, yes, don't know why there are so many noises coming from different places in the IS ...

stanjohn12

You're so right. we pay so much for our IS and it feels cheaper with these creaking and interior cabin noises. Trust me when I say this , much cheaper Chevrolet's and Mazda's are more silent than our's.

One Cadillac owner sat in the passenger seat and was like " I expected Lexus to be a lot more silent than this " A total embarrassment for me but I told him not to expect LS quality or features in a small car like IS.