monacoDK

This past weekend I noticed the driver's side window on my wife's '13 RX350 was awfully loud while driving. If you've ever been in a car when it's really windy and seems like the window is being smashed hard by the crosswind - that's exactly what this was like. Except it wasn't windy at all. Almost as if the door frame above the window isn't sealing properly against the body of the car.

Wondering if anyone else has experienced this before or if this is something I should get checked out before the warranty is up at the end of December?
?

F250

Use your warranty and get it checked. Even if they tell you "nothing's wrong", you will have a documented complaint prior to warranty termination, and that can sometimes give you leverage for getting a fix covered even after the warranty is out.

ColAngus

^Like he said.
Also, I saw a brilliant fix for this on a British show called Wheeler Dealers awhile ago. Edd China fixed a similar issue by cutting a tiny slit in the door frame side of the sealing "gasket" and inserted a small length of black rubber tube (like vacuum hose) into it in order to stiffen the gasket and flex it outward to form a tighter seal with its mate on the door side. It worked like a charm and seemed like a simple fix.
Every day that I hear the excessive wind noise in my Mazda, I think "Gee... I should fix that. It would probably take less time than writing about how to fix it on a Lexus forum..." My 2005 Mazda remains unfixed... FAIL!!

F250

Yes, there are several solutions to this issue on worn door seals. Like ColAngus said, small diameter vacuum tubing is one option, another is small diameter tygon (vinyl) tubing, but the best one I've seen mentioned is small diameter closed cell foam backer rod. It's very cheap and is solid foam, but in a round "rod" type of shape. You can get it in 1/4" diameter, as shown in the Amazon link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Closed-Cell-B.../dp/B001OBTZ1E

The best method of installing any of the choices above is as follows:
1) Slit teh weatherstrip at the bottom of the door (ACROSS the diameter, and NOT lengthwise)
2) Use compressed air to "blow" a string through the entire door seal length, feeding the string slowly until the end comes back around to where you made the first slit.
3) Tape one end of the string to the filler material (vacuum tubing, vinyl tubing, backer rod, etc.)
4) Lubricate the outside of the filler material with a thin film of light oil (WD-40, or similar)
5) SLOWLY and gently pull the filler material through the seal until it comes back to the slit.
6) Trim as necessary.

NOTE... the slit needs to be made at the bottom of the door so any moisture can drain back out freely.

One last point about this solution... some door seal manufacturers actually have air blocks within the seal at multiple points, and if the Lexus seal has these blocks, it will be much more tedious to install a filler material because it will have to be done in sections.

This solution is potentially quite troublesome and tedious, so why is it done? The typical cost of a single automotive door seal is quite high, and these filler materials are quite cheap (Lexus list at $128, discounted at $98).