alexmeller

Confirmed, I am rattle free. And I am VERY picky when it comes to annoying noises. So at least in my case the rattle was definitely due to this vacuum check valve.
BTW, my apologies. There were two digits swapped in the part number in my earlier post. I corrected it. Again, the part number is 44730-60070. The part is available on the web, for instance. here:

http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/parts/l...730-60070.html

Good luck

alexmeller

Not all your symptoms really match the typical picture with the valve. The noise caused by the valve must happen when depressing the brake pedal and shortly (5 to 10 seconds) after. It is caused by the air sucked by the engine from the brake booster. The air causes the insides of the valve to vibrate and make rattling sound. If you are not braking and there is no significant vacuum leak in your system, there should be no noise. You can check your car like this: while in parking or neutral position, push and hold brake pedal. Release it. Listen under the steering wheel. If you notice correlation (the noise when you braking and shortly after, quiet at other times) then you might consider the valve replacement.

julieu22

I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna XLE and this buzzing noise has been occurring for a long time and drives me BATS! I cannot stand when Toyota acts like they don't hear it and they don't know of any other vehicles with this problem. As I google the noise, it was pretty easy for me to find out many do have this issue-like 10 minutes.
I am in the market for a 2010-2012 Lexus RX350 and test drove one last weekend. I thought I was going nuts about 1 minutes into the test drive when that all too familiar buzz rang in my ear. At first I thought I was hearing things and chuckled to myself thinking...wow...i swore I just heard that buzzing noise that my Sienna makes!
After a few more instances of hearing the noise and substantiating that I was NOT crazy, I told the salesman sitting next to me about the noise. He said he couldn't hear it. When we got back to the parking lot, we sat in the vehicle for a few minutes w/the car on. Every time the buzzing occurred, I said, "there...did you hear it?" When he said no, I said for us to sit quietly and wait. About 15 seconds later, he had no choice to say that he heard it since my 15 year old daughter in the back seat offered that she just heard it. I explained to the salesman that the whole reason I am buying a Lexus is because of their supposed quiet ride but I surely wouldn't be buying one unless someone could tell me what this noise was. (I didn't know if it just happened or if something was wrong)
Now, my family will tell you that I have the hearing of a dog, but obviously many others do too, since I was able to find the answer so quickly on the Internet.
So, now I'm faced w/multiple issues: 1. Do I trust the 3 individuals I spoke to that day at Lexus who didn't know of this reported noise? If the salesman really wanted my business, wouldn't he have tried to figure out this noise and get back to me-which he has not. I know I would, but that is my personality/work ethic. 2. Does anyone know if this valve that is making the noise is going to become more of a problem in the future-as in fail? 3. Why wouldn't Lexus, a LUXURY car maker (and Toyota), fix this problem that has been going on for over 4 years? 4. In my search for a used RX350, is there a better model year for me to consider out of the 2010, 2011 or 2012? I do know that 2010 was the first year of a re-design, so I have heard to stay away from these.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Esky

Purchased a brand new 2015 RX350. I noticed the Buzz which got worse after a month of ownership. The dealer diagnosed it as the Brake vacuum check valve assembly after the second service call. Just got the car back today (so far no noise).
In addition to this noise I also had a much louder squeak from the same area.
This was diagnosed and fixed on my first service call as a missing bolt on my gas pedal!

Very happy with my dealer service but quite disappointed that Lexus let a brand new vehicle out of the factory with two noticeable defects !

dleo

I have the same problem with my 2015 Lexus RX 350. I told them about it and they said they couldn't do anything about it once we drove a brand new one on the lot and it made the same sound only worse. I'm also in Ohio which has been extremely cold this year and it does seem to be louder when it is colder and not warmed up.... I'm going to tell them what needs to be replaced and see what they say. Has anyone tried to replace this part themselves, I'm pretty mechanical i want sure if it was something i could handle if the dealers blow me off....

drewcam888

iTrader: (1)

Mine is currently awaiting parts for this issues.

What1715

I just registered on this site to post this hearty "thank you!" to @AlexMeller in this thread. I bought a 2009 Lexus RX 350 with 91,000 miles on it back in October of 2016. It's in amazing condition...except for that dang buzzing noise coming from the lower left area of the instrument cluster! Searching the web for the source led me here. I bought the brake booster valve from the links in this thread, but could not figure out how to install it myself. I took it to my trusted mechanic (who swore up and down he had *never* heard of this issue) who charged me $60 to install it. Presto! No more buzzing!

I wish I had more info - I couldn't watch the repair as I had to drop the car off at the mechanic's before work. My mechanic said it was not very easy - stuff had to be taken apart to reach the area in question, and also said a novice would probably have a hard time attempting the repair themselves. But the new valve is working - no more buzzing for more than 5 days. I think the part ended up costing around $35 (with expedited shipping) and with the $60 installation charge, it only cost $95 to fix this very, very annoying problem.

alexmeller

I am very glad sharing my personal experience helped other folks. What1715, you are welcome!