DannyBoys

I had the cam gears on my 2009 RX350 replaced and after the replacement I noticed that the engine noise is louder. It's louder after a cold start and idle. And it's louder when driving. Even the transmission sounds like it's struggling - it's taking much longer to shift into higher gear and occasionally it makes a whining sound when it shifts. Also, I'm hearing whining sounds when I steer the wheel (which was diagnosed as potentially caused by a faulty power steering pump, which by the way did not cause any noise prior to the work done). The replacement was done by a reputable Lexus dealer.

The Lexus dealership claims that the engine noise level is within acceptable limits even though it is much louder than before the cam gears were replaced. They deny that the replacement cam gears could be defective or that the replacement itself could have gone wrong. They have acknowledged the noise coming from the transmission and have offered to replace it (still under warranty so no cost to me). Now what is strange to me about all this is that prior to having the cam gears replaced, the engine noise was very quiet. The only occasional noise came from the cam gears on cold starts but lasted a second or two.

Now I don't know for sure that replacing the transmission will fix the noise issue. And it is so strange that the transmission seemed fine prior to the work done. Can anyone provide a plausible scenario of what's happening here given the facts? Could replacing the cam gears somehow damage the transmission? Is there any interaction between cam gears and transmission. Aside from the transmission, what could explain the much higher engine noise (when not shifting so transmission not a factor) after the cam gears were replaced?

Thank you in advance.

HtownBlue

Why on earth would you replace the cam pulley gears? Are you certain this is what they replaced? I've never heard of a "cam gear" going bad per say. They VVT mechanisms might be able to go faulty, but the gears themselves would normally take thousands of miles to wear enough to go bad.

I'm really curious as to what on God's green earth caused your "cam gears" to go bad.????

DannyBoys

According to the Lexus mechanics, the cam gears were responsible for making the rattling noise upon engine start. Apparently, the cam gears on the RX350 '09 model are known to have issues that caused that rattling sound. Yes, I'm certain they said they replaced the cam gears.

kiwi

its weird because there is nothing with a cam gear that makes a rattle noise.

i would personally return the vehicle and tell them it is not as quiet as before and they need to fix it.

or call lexus customer care

DannyBoys

I have taken it back to them a couple of times and they acknowledge that the engine is loud but claim it's within an acceptable limit. As I said, they are going to replace the transmission now but if I want to have the vehicle fixed for the noise caused by the cam gears replacement, I'll have to go around the Lexus dealer that did the work since, as I stated, they claim their work is fine. Not sure what course of action contacting customer care would bring. And since my warranty expires in May, I'm leaning strongly towards having the transmission replaced. For some reason, I am putting my trust in them still. They are one of the top Lexus dealerships around. If I don't trust their work, I'm not sure there is anyone else I can trust more.

RX330inFL

Whatever they did they have now affected the value of the vehicle and its possible trade-in value in the future. I would ask for someone from Lexus Corporate to inspect the vehicle and talk with you before any additional work commences.

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

This is a common issue and a recall now - VVTi cam gear noise that is. My GS350 has been under the knife twice. Second time for updated parts. Search the IS and GS forums and you'll find a lot more info than you will hear. It is basically an issue of oil leak down from both intake cam gears

At the end of the day, it shouldn't be louder.

kiwi

i worked at chrysler for 2 years and acura for 5. i have never seen a rating / volume for an engine / vehicle.

i would ask to see the documentation as well as the instrument used to measure the decibel reading from the noise.

i am guessing they are using that tactic to get rid of you, there is no rating, they just make it up.

yennit

Ha! Did they also replace the headlight fluid and put in new Fallopian tubes?

DannyBoys

I have spoken with the general Lexus customer helpline and they are recommending to work out the issue with the dealer. If things don't resolve then they are going to look into the ase.

Thanks. Yes, it shouldn't be louder and that's what I've been telling the Lexus dealer. But they insist it's within acceptable limits, which of course they have not quantified yet.

I'm confused. Lexus didn't give me a rating/volume for the engine. They didn't use any instrument ot measure the noise. They just say the noise is within acceptable limits, according to the mechanic who test drove my car to diagnose my complaint.

Now to be fair to them, they are not trying to get rid of me. As I said, they've offered to do a job at no cost to me, that is quite expensive and seemingly offers no financial gain for them (transmission replacement). I think if they thought the cam gears replacement was faulty, they would have offered to redo the work.

kiwi

actually, there is financial gain for the shop. winter is usually a slow time, so if they can justify work to the warranty guys, they will do it. Lexus USA/canada will pay the dealer for the part and labour.

if there is nothing wrong with your transmission, i wouldn't replace it. they wont put a brand new one in, they will install a factory refurbished unit, which could hypothetically have issues. make sure if you do get it replaced you understand what kind of warranty it covers.

HtownBlue

Danny, I'd bet that your original noise wasn't from the VVT gears. I bet they did not diagnose the issue right to begin with. If you had VVTI issues, it wood cause more than noise at startup. Google cam pulley images. You will see why we all think that is not the issue.

DannyBoys

Thanks, good to know.
I'm not qualified to judge if something is wrong with the transmission or not but I do notice a difference in how gears shift (used to shift a smoother, now it takes longer to go into higher gear) and occasionally I hear a whining sound as the car shifts into lower gear. Interestingly, this wasn't happening prior to the work done to replace the cam gears. I can take the car to have a 2nd opinion, which would make my decision more informed. The warranty on major engine repair expires in May. I will ask how many years they'll offer for the replaced transmission should I decide to go ahead. What is the standard? Two years? More?

DannyBoys

You could be right. But the rattling noise has not appeared since they replaced the cam gears, although it did only happen in warmer weather so I may have to wait for spring before I know for sure.

HtownBlue

My guess is that something in the valve train or in the oil or timing systems was somewhat ascu. No telling without more details but I it was the VVT system you would have slight timing issues nearly all the time. Just my 2 cents. Hope they get it back to normal.