Droid13

At a certain temperature range (just below freezing, -10C to 0C) I was getting a rattle that sounded like I had a cup of dice on the top of my dash. Any slight movement would cause the dice to jostle about, in other words the rattle was constant, the slightest bump or ripple in the road, slight speed up/slow down, even relatively flat roads would cause noise. It would come and go as the temperature changed but this last week the outside temperature has been consistently in that range, so therefore while driving anywhere I had to first head towards a place called "nuts". I'm not due for any service for a while, but it was getting to the point where I was prepared to make the long drive to the dealer. First though, I tried to hunt it down myself.

Spent last night with my head under the dash looking for anything that could be that loose to make noise so easily. I noticed the TPMS reset button unit sat kind of loosely in the lower dash panel, I could make a noise shifting it about, but it was just too light and too low down to make the noise I was hearing. I did the usual reaching around applying pressure to various parts of the dash while driving. Trying to listen carefully, I decided the sound was coming from the windshield (or deflecting off of it from the dash). I tried applying pressure to it, I even put a pair of socks on the end of a yard stick to I could put some pressure at various points along the windshield / dash area. No difference.

Finally, got a bit of a hint. On the highway, passing 60mph the rattle started to abate, getting close to 75mph the rattle almost completely disappeared. Wind pressure? On inspecting the lower part of the windshield, wipers, etc. I notice that by shifting the plastic underneath the wiper arms it would make a noise. It doesn't feel very loose, it took some effort to slightly shift it, but it did make a noise. I took my "test socks" and jammed them under the hood directly in front of the wiper, creating some downward pressure on the plastic. Silence! Golden Silence!!

So now what? I'm not really thrilled with the idea of driving around with a thick pair of socks stuck there until next service. And by the time I'm due for a service call it will be warmer out and a good chance the noise will be gone anyway. What would be a better temporary (or even permanent solution)?

FamilyRX

On the edge of the hood closest to the wipers, is there a rubber strip? Or is there one on the cowl where the hood shuts? If so, that rubber strip may not be filling the gap between the hood and the cowl, causing the plastic to vibrate at speed.

caha14

I had a horrible dashboard rattle (or so I thought) on my 2007 GS350. This issue is well-documented, and Lexus issued a TSIB (for the GS and other vehicles) to remedy this rattle.

When I finally decided to bite the bullet and bring it in for the whole dashboard to be disassembled, a technician went for a drive with me. He heard the noise. When we came back to the service drive, he asked me to stay in the car while he played with the windshield cowl. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

Where am I going with this? It turns out that this was a known problem at the time, and a repair procedure existed (which included, among other things, some special silencing tape). Different car, but my sense is that your dealership will know what to do, especially since you've done all the troubleshooting for them already. I know you'd rather hold off, but you might as well strike while the iron is hot and the weather is cold, as your chances are good that they will fix it properly.

Droid13

Yes, the rubber strip is there and its pretty much as you describe, it might touch the plastic but does not put much pressure on it, or at least not close enough to the windshield. My fix socks are laid just behind the rubber strip on the plastic so they put just a bit more pressure down on the plastic over a wider area up to the back edge of the hood.

Droid13

Finally got around to having the dealer look at this rattle. They just replaced the plastic piece that runs in front of the windshield, was called a "louvre" on the paperwork. Seems to have done the trick, I am finally driving "sock free". Also decided to go ahead and upgrade my nav from V8 to V12.

Had an RX350 as loaner for a day and a half and spent a good 7 hrs behind the wheel in that time, it was my first chance to really compare my 450H to the 350. I had fun running the 350 around, ran it a bit hard for half the time to see what it would do, and then ran it soft to see how the FE compared with my 450H.

First thing, being used to a 450H in "Eco mode", wow, that gas pedal ever touchy on the 350 .Took a few starts before I stopped bunny hopping it. The steering wheel was smaller and it felt a bit more nimble around corners, but I was reminded why I prefer my "H". I found the power on the 350 started nicely, but flattened out quite noticeably before coming back hard when the RPMs got up there. My "H" is softer coming out, but the power is steady and smooth. The automatic was ok, never been a fan and didn't see anything here to change my mind. Most of the time it worked well, especially from a stop, nice and smooth through the gears. But it gets tripped up sometimes switching from slowing to accelerating. A couple of times putting my foot down on the gas, I swear I saw the Windows "wait cursor" come up on the dash. One time I nearly put my nose into the steering wheel because I prematurely anticipated the acceleration that didn't come for a second later while the tranny decided what gear to be in (ie typical Toyota-like tranny, my Sienna does the same thing once in a while). OK, slight exaggeration on the nose thing. The 350 is probably a bit more responsive "most" of the time, but the "H" is more consistent.

I then reset the fuel economy meter for a highway trip and took it nice and easy. It didn't quite get to what I typically see in my H but got really close. It was fairly windy that day, so hard to fully compare. Off the highway into stop and go city driving quickly sent it running in the other direction though. I did find it harder to take it easy though in city driving. I feel perfectly comfortably just chilling in my H, but in the 350 I couldn't help but want to "give it" a little bit more.

DunWkg

"Bunny Hopping" good description. I drive like that when getting into any car after driving an RXh. Often jerked back into my seat when getting a 350 loaner. The other difference, although I'm sure there are many, is braking. I don't use the brakes so much in the RXh. Love the sound of regeneration.

A bit off-topic, but thanks for the mini review.