jaysonb

I read how the Mark Levinson stereo in the SC430 "vibrates" the paneling of the doors.

Has the 2004 been fixed of this problem?

FWCruiser

Early 2004's still had the door buzz. Mine did. I believe JC heard that they fixed later ones and the subject has not come up lately so I think this is true. David

martini3

you're not alone......I, too, noticed the rattling from the side panels since day one as I tested the "bass" capability of the ML system.

I read something about some kind of material or padding that you can get from the sound audio installers that might fix that.

Certain music w/ longer "bass" tunes seem ok, but quick and short "bass" notes, they seem to rattle the side panels. Music w/ guitar ballards such as ballards, flamenco, chords, melody tunes provide exceptional all -around sound quality just like you're sitting in the front row at in a concert hall.

Any faster hip hop, R&B, top 40 or heavy "bass" tunes somehow doesn't provide that clear and crisp "bass" hit that accomodates the entire features of the ML system.

There's a CL member, "Phu" that added a bass unit between the back seats and that seems to work out for him. I forgot the thread, but look for it in the audio forum.

I want the "bass" from my SC430 but not alot, just enough to kick it another notch w/out interferring or diminishing the superb ML system..

With the top down, there's probably less than a foot of spcace between convertible hood and the trunk floor. I wonder if there's a "bass" unit that is flat rather than a typical vertically square/rectangular "bass" boom box unit on the market. That way, when the top comes down into the trunk, there's still plenty of clearance to come down w/out hitting anything.

Ho Humm......what to do?

anyone else have any ideas, pls let share your knowledge and input..

teeman3

Dozer42

My 2003 certainly has the buzz from the door panels, I plan to have the Lexus dealer fix it.

FWCruiser

I should have mentioned that the dealership took care of it. There is a service bulletin out on this problem. I do not have this problem at all any more.

MarsB007

My 04 still has the problem... even after the dealer looked at it 4 months ago. I have been too busy/lazy to take it in for another look. If they can't solve it... I'll apply a small strip of Dynamat to the inside of the panels. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Anyone tried applying the Dynamat yet? (Just to the strip., since that's vibrating.. not the whole door)

JCtx

Jason, if you do a search, you can find an extensive tread about this issue.
My '04 still had the problem, with a build date of Sep '03 (it says on your door). Cars built in Oct '03 and thereafter had the problem corrected (that was the official line, anyway).
Problem is the TSB is a poor fix, according to the master tech who worked on my car. The kit contains several lengths of material to 'sandwich' the wood piece inside the door panel, but it's supposed to be applied just around the fasteners. This guy applied the whole kit to cover the entire length of wood.
Unfortunately, I wasn't around th see the fix, but I believed him. I advise you to get involved in the fix, and see for yourself what's the problem and fix once the panels are off. Don't let them give you the insurance crap you can't be inside the shop; tell them where to sign a waiver if they insist on that crap. Suggest to install the rest of the kit to minimize the chance of noise, rather than throwing the extra material to the trash (it's your kit!).
Keep in mind that very high volumes will rattle no matter what; there's only so much you can do on a convertible after all
Good luck, and keep us posted. I was very upset to see my new baby have surgery when brand new, but dealer did a very good job. The noise was very annoying, so I'm glad I got it fixed. I had another very annoying rattle, but I traced it to a plastic cap inside the trunk that covers the pivoting joint below the rear window. It sounded around the rear seat, but was being transmitted from the trunk area thru the seats; no way I'd let a tech put his dirty boots all over my car to find it .
Good evening.

slayergtr

i own a LS430, 04 model, and i personally dun think the system is that strong... i have a friend who owns a corola and her bass sounds a sheitload stronger than mine. Although i would have 2 say, mine sounds a lot clearer. =\

No vibration/rattlin problems 4 me unless i crank it up to like past 35-40