merssal

may i try to add the glue without removing the trim to see the effect of the reduction of the that noise ??

what you think guys, does it deserve the try ????

Silverpaws

That is a good question and hopefully JMcRaney will offer his opinion. Can it be done without appearing somewhat messy? Along these same lines, my 08 LS appears to be an exception or either I am hearing impaired. My car came with factory Lamisafe front windows and after noticing concerns of others on this forum, I have been especially interested in whether the wind noise defect is present for my car. I have concluded that it is not and recently drove in 35 mph winds without any excessive noise. Are there other owners with early LS460s who have experienced little or no wind noise? I only have 22k miles so can I expect this problem to surface after more use?

Mikey100

I think you need to read Jeff's CLEAR instructions carefully. Attempting to repair this with a "quick fix" is similar to the approach Lexus took and has taken. Unless you understand the CAUSE of the problem, you cannot actually FIX the problem. Jeff does understand ... Lexus does not. Merssal: Your approach request is like putting a bandaid (ok .... Maybe duct tape ..... LOL !) on a leaking water pipe.

Silverpaws: I have a "later build" 2008 with 32,000 miles. With Lamisafe windows. Drivers side - Whisper quiet. Passenger side: Yes, some. To be repaired as soon as my "fixed foot" is all healed. So yes ...... You can expect the POSSIBILITY that as glue dries/ages, you might hear/learn of this problem. The good news is it's not really a "problem" as much as an (generally small) annoyance.

In the meantime, let us all sit back and be grateful for all that we have in this world. Like the ability to Bass Fish. Take Care, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

Silverpaws

Thanks Mikey for your response but no fishing for me. Here is my passion or rather addiction:

marky2mark

I have one of the early '08s with the Temperlite windows. I never really noticed excessive wind noise but I did the JMc fix anyway. The car is very quiet now....I do notice a slight wind noise when it's very windy outside (like 30-40 mph winds) but that is to be expected. I was contemplating asking the dealer to switch out the Temperlite windows for Lamisafe when I did my 35000 service but decided not to. I don't trust them to take all the doors apart and switch out the windows without messing something up.

I had to take my LS back to the dealer a couple times to get the rear seat belts repaired, one time they gave me an RX for a loaner and the second time they gave me an ES. Compared to those cars, the LS sounds like a sealed tomb. Everyone who rides in my LS comments on how quiet it is.

I8ABMR

I had the JM Craney fix done a while back and it helps but there is still going to be some noise at times. I have just gotten used to it. My SA drove my car a while back and said it was the quietest LS he has ever driven

jmcraney

merssal,

I don’t think you will be able to do anything on the outside that will reduce the noise and still allow a pristine appearance. Of course there are things that can be done without removing the trim that will work, like several layers of very heavy tape, such as duct tape (if you try that and remove the tape your trim will likely come off with the tape). Several people have told us about adding a thin line of sealant around the trim and others have told us about taping the edges with painters tape and without exception, there was no improvement.

Although many seem to view this issue as an air intrusion problem, and thus the misnomer “wind noise”, it is really a noise isolation problem. There are some whistling sounds under certain conditions but the thing that really irritates is the sense that noises outside the car are in the car with you. The noise isolation problem is slight to severe on cars depending on the degree of detachment of the trim.

I understand your apparent reluctance to remove the trim. The DIY trim repair is low risk and reversible. If you are unable to do DIY repairs, a possible solution would be to get your dealer to replace the trim with new parts – that could make things worse or give an improvement that only last a few days but it could help move your thinking along toward a solution.


Silverpaws,

There were many of the 2008s that were regarded by their owners as without any wind noise. The trim detachment was not a universal problem although it did affect perhaps 30% or 40% of the cars. As for the windows, there were many of the 2007s that were, by their owner’s view, unaffected by the wind noise problem too. I have no doubt that the thicker windows provide some noise reduction. I just know that Lexus would not have replaced the windows in 30,000 or so cars without some solid engineering data that showed that it was effective. If the trim problem had not emerged I don’t think the window replacement would have evolved. Things were so chaotic over this issue back in 2007 that, even though it damaged their reputation - the replacement of the windows, something had to be done. When the problems continued they apparently wrongly concluded it was not a problem with the cars, but a problem with the customers, and that is where we are today.

There are several reports in this forum of cars developing the detached trim problem as they age.

For you, I would tell you to get the replacement windows. But get it done at a large dealership where they have experience doing this. If they want to add the TSIB for “Crosswind Turbulence Noise” you should decline that. And I would tell you that after you get the windows changed you should do the DIY repair. I believe that there is some improvement to be had even if the trim is not detached. There is little downside risk and I think you will be dazzled by the improvement even though you are happy now.


Marky2mark,

I understand your concern about getting your windows replaced. I don’t recall seeing a single complaint of problems regarding this repair. Getting it done at a large dealership seems pretty safe. And I am confident that it provides an improvement in the noise isolation. You might have to redo your DIY repair if you get the windows replaced.

I, too, have some slight wind noise in extreme wind conditions such as 50 MPH gust at certain wind attack angles. But I regard that as normal. I am undecided about the source – seems to be on the right side but not at the window, perhaps under the dash. I think that you have to understand that cars have to “breathe” – four people in a car cabin on a 6 hour trip could probably deplete the Oxygen in a car that was completely sealed. So, air has to get in somewhere, by design. Cars are designed so that the wind effects are minimized when the wind angle of attack is head-on. When you have gust or vortices like you might encounter when driving among large vehicles or extreme weather you have to expect and accept some effects.

Silverpaws

Thanks Jeff for your input. I most likely will be a candidate for your fix in the future and truly appreciate your investment in helping we LS owners enjoy our cars for all of the reasons for which we acquired them.

I8ABMR

Jeff I just wanted to take the time out and thank you for your time and effort in this matter. Its depressing when you drive a 72k car that has wind noise issues that a Chevy Cobalt wouldnt have. I also thank you for personally sending me the metal pieces for the fix. You are a man among men and an asset to the Club Lexus community

DrComputer

Well, per my previous post I initially did the driver's door wind noise fix on my LS600hL and it made a noticeable difference so I did the fix on the passenger's door too last week. This past weekend I drove to Vegas for CES and could definitely hear a noticeable difference. Although at high speeds on the freeway with bad cross winds there still is a bit of wind noise, it is definitely less than before the fix. So once again thank you Jim for coming up with a simple fix to an annoying problem... even if people don't think they have the problem. It's well worth the $5 in parts and 20 minutes of time to do the "wind noise fix".

mafitch

I have a 2010 that doesn't seem overly loud at freeway speed, but also doesn't seem to represent the tomb-like quiet associated with the LS460. How does one know if they have THE wind noise problem?

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

it's really noticeable if you have it -- if you're not sure you have it, then you don't have it. my car is starting to develop it. when i first bought the car, i had no noise at all, but it started to make noise on big crosswinds, but now it's starting to do it in moderate winds too. sigh.

jmcraney

cheez80,

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Several years ago I said that many of the LS460s and LS600s would develop the wind noise problem as they aged and your post above helps others be aware of this possibility.

As you indicated, the cars that have the more extreme trim detachment problem have very noticeable noise. The trim can be detached to varying degrees and thus the noise can range from slight to severe. Because of the Japanese rigid quality we come to expect problems to fit into narrow categories and be exactly the same in every instance but the wind noise problem is not like that. We see owners telling us that their wind noise is extreme and others tell us that theirs is slight and we, and apparently Lexus have wrongly equated that difference to subjectivity. I always tell people who ask how to determine if their car has a problem, that if they are not absolutely certain the car doesn't have a problem then it probably does as the cars are so exceptionally quiet, when all is well, no reasonable person would suspect that there is a problem. Reality is probably somewhere between your view and my view.

It's interesting to go back and read what was going on in early 2007 regarding wind noise - crazy stuff: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...d-threads.html

Several years ago I tried to write something that would help owners decide if their car had a wind noise problem and I think that it is still good information for people who are unsure. Here is a link to that post: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/3543756-post130.html

Wind noise in cars seems to be a problem for all makes and models to some extent. You see some radical attempts to fix the wind such as modifying the window and door gaskets but there are few reports of success, except with the DIY fix in the LS460/600. Dealers and car companies don't usually provide any help. Doing a Google search produces lots of hits, but the LS460s and LS600s seem to have more problems than most. You can see lots of evidence of this in CarFax reports with notations like "checked windows" multiple times. I have a 2011 Toyota Sienna and I noticed that it had a wind noise problem on the passenger side. I was able to fix that easily but not exactly like my LS460. The improvement was very noticeable and my wife, who doesn't usually notice things like that, sensed right off that there was an improvement even though she didn't know what I was doing to the vehicle. I fixed the driver's side too and got an additional improvement.

09LS460

I have an 09 and haven't had any wind noise issues, but was getting my windows tinted when the installer pointed out my 2 front windows were yellowing from the inside where the 2 laminated pieces of glass were put together.

Took the car over to the dealership and they are going to be replacing both front windows and then I'll see if anything changes with the noise issue...but so far been in the clear.

Zammer

That is the best description of a DIY I've ever seen. My 2011 LS 460 is noisier than m '94 LS 400. I think it's partly the fault of the Dunlop "Sport" tires that came with it. I also perceive more engine noise than the '94. As I still have both cars (the 2011 was purchased with 13k miles) it's relatively easy to make comparisons. Has anyone found the wind noise in a 2011 LS 460?