satxrx

As a brief background, I had a problem with a whistling noise seemingly coming from the back of my RX.

I took it into the dealership and they installed/replaced (I cannot recall which) a seal/gasket around the back hatch which supposedly resolved the problem. Well it did not - not entirely anyway.

So, the last couple of nights I did some testing to see exactly where the noise came from. Lo and behold, I figured it came from my "old" style front crossbars. Testing was the easy part: take off the bars - no whistling noise.

But I went a step further. I wanted to know why and how the crossbars were the noise culprits.

After doing some side by side comparisons of the older crossbar to the new crossbar (my other RX has the new ones), I then experimented by taping off certain openings on the older styled crossbars to see if that would stop the noise. No luck.

However, on a last attempt, I noticed the older crossbars were different in that the top of the crossbar had a rubber insert. The insert was just a hair loose - enough that you could push it side to side and even lift it up a bit. The insert is about 1-1/2 inches centered across the top of the crossbar. I placed tape horizontally over the insert and crossbar so that the top of the crossbar would be one smooth surface (or as close to it as possible).

Well, guess what? The noise went away. Went as fast as 80 mph and not a whistle of noise! To even confirm that was the problem, on my trip back home some of the tape came loose and the noise immediately returned. Taped it back up and NO MORE NOISE! Yes!

So, I know what causes the whistling noise but now I have to see if the dealership or Lexus might be willing to change out the older crossbars for the newer styled ones. BTW, I tested the newer styled ones on my RX that I reported the whistling noise and no problem whatsoever.

Lastly, if you happen to have a set of the older crossbars and also have the whistling noise, try what I did and see if that will help.

And if anyone out here has heard about Lexus changing out the older ones for new ones please let me know!

Hope this helps.

malhokc

Satxrx

Great detective work!! Enjoy the quiet ride

Francis

Good job!
How many RX do you have?

satxrx

I'm fortunate enough to own two certified pre-owned 1999 RX 300s.

Now, I'll have to see if I can convince the dealership to work out some sort of deal to get me new crossbars for the old defective one.

I know the crossbars are really merely for looks, but the RX sure looks "bald" without them!

Horta

Hello

Well I have the same whistle on my 99. The dealer did replace my cross bars for free but the whitsle is still there.

Any other suggestions??
thanks
Jerry