gjarboe1

First, I will make a long story short: If you ever have a strange soft clunk coming from the front of your Lexus (mine is a 2013 ES350), especially at low speed when the wheels are turned, check the bolts that hold that panel that spans the rear of the engine compartment forming the windshield wiper well (three 8mm bolts on each end). A plastic panel, ahead of the windshield snaps into this metal panel to cover the wiper well .

Now the long story. I recently bought a 2013 ES350 with about 50K. I was completely happy with the car except for an annoying noise – described as something between a creak and a clunk. I would hear it every time I backed out of the driveway (wheels turned to the right) and often when hitting a small bump making a right turn. I would never hear it when cruising above 30 mph and rarely with the wheels straight or turned to the left. It seemed to come from the vicinity of the firewall. It was not loud but still clearly audible. It was irritating and embarrassing when a passenger was riding with me (What was that?), since the car was otherwise flawless.

I considered taking the car to the dealer. However, after reading everything I could find on the forum, I realized that (a) dealers hate dealing with these kinds of problems and (b) they often require several trips to the dealer to no avail and (c) my car is out of factory warranty.

So, I checked everything I could think of in the front suspension as well as the engine mounts. I even replaced the sway bar links. No matter where I looked, I could not find anything loose or detached. At my wits end, I purchased a device called a Steelman Mini-EAR Electronic Stethoscope (about $ 50 on ebay). It comes with an alligator clamp that can be attached to various parts. I tried it on at least 5 different places on each side of the suspension. Although I could audibly hear the noise, I could not detect anything in the earpiece of the engine EAR. Finally, I attached the clamp to the plastic panel that covers the windshield wiper well. Wallah! There was the noise. When I attached the clamp to the metal panel to which the plastic attaches, the sound was even more readily apparent.

So, hoping that I didn’t have a broken spot weld, I removed the wiper blades and the plastic panel. The plastic just has tabs that snap into the metal panel (the tabs are easily located and squeezed from underneath the metal panel). This turned out to be unnecessary, as the three offending bolts on each end are easily accessible. The metal panel is held to the chassis by ten small bolts (three on each end and four inside the wiper well). With a 10 mm socket, I could tighten each bolt a little bit. Most of them took about one eighth additional turn except for the three on the drivers end which took another one quarter turn. The three bolts are seen in the attached photo (not the ones for the strut mount). One is just under the black plastic cover but would still be accessible without removing the cover.

And that was it. The problem is fixed. Although I use to hear the noise every time I backed out of the driveway, I have now not heard it in over two weeks. I assume that there was enough body flex for the panel to shift slightly, side to side, beneath the bolt heads.

If you are trying to track down noises, I highly recommend the stethoscope tool. It also works well for listening to fuel injectors or noisy valves (as in my old classic Jaguars). Without it I would probably still be looking for the problem and swearing every time I backed out of the driveway.

pab12

I have a '13 with ~12K miles that I bought CPO last October, with 9K miles, and I've been hearing a "clunk" coming from the front when hitting small bumps while traveling slowly.

Thanks for this pointer, I'll apply the 10mm wrench tonight and see what happens. But, the three on each side are accessible, but what about the four in the middle?
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My karma just ran over your dogma
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '08 Jaguar S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 whp / 259.67 torque)

gjarboe1

You would have to remove the wipers and the plastic panel to get to the four in the middle. They attach the metal panel to the chassis. But I don't think they are as important as the three on each end.

jmycheck1

I know it's been awhile, but I started having this weird clunking noise coming from the front passenger side of my 2015 ES300H. Just hit 30K miles. The dealer had it for three days and they couldn't pinpoint where the sound was coming from. I had high hopes after reading your entry about tightening up the firewall bolts. I was able to tighten all six quite a bit so I was hopeful, however, the sound was still the same. I guess the next step would be to dismantle like you did the entire strip to get to the center bolts. Hopefully that'll make a difference, but knowing my luck it won't. Did the noises ever come back for you?

ES350mark

JMHO, but your Lexus is still under warranty. I would not begin to start tightening bolts without the correct torque rating. Better left to the dealer.

jmycheck1

Thanks for the reply ES350mark. The dealer did have the car for three days. I even called my service manager when the car was there and told him about this post and tightening up the firewall bolts. He said the sounds are not coming from there. Other than take it to another dealer, what other options do I have than to try and fix it myself, especially when it's just to tighten a few bolts. I'll attach a video with the sound in a couple of minutes.

jmycheck1

Here is the video with the sound of the noise. I took off from a stop and maybe got up to 20mph before turning into the driveway. It seems to be getting worse, meaning there are more sounds now, not just when backing up, slowing down, or turning.

jmycheck1

Let's try this again. Hopefully you can play the attached video now.

jmycheck1

Now figure this out for me. After driving in heavy rain, the next day, the noise was gone. This was about a week ago. Now the noise is steadily coming back. So today, I drove through one of those automatic car washes, and the noises are gone again. My mechanic has looked at the car, the dealer had it for a few days. No one knows where the noises are coming from, but when the car gets wet, it's nice and quiet at least for a couple of days. Any thoughts?

tarm

maybe its a clean my car alarm? LOL A good way to force you to wash it every week.

It sounds like the water is likely acting as a lube and preventing the friction from gripping and then releasing whatever is moving and thus making the noise. Just a guess based on the conditions.

tarm

gjarboe1,

I have not had to change hte spark plugs in my ES yet but I know in a few of my Toyota's like the highlander you have to remove the entire wiper and cowl to get to the rear bank of its 3.5 6cyl. Not sure of your mileage and service but could that be how yours got loose? They did not fully re-tighten after doing spark plugs? Or do these ES not have that as part of the shop manuals steps to get at the rear plug bank?

ilkinandr

He only had 30k miles, no way he would need to do spark-plugs that early.

ilkinandr

Well, by the sound of what your saying it sounds like bushing. I had similar issues with my ES, would go away with rain or get better after driving car for while, and get worse when its cold out. Cheap solution - replace stabilizer bar bushing with OEM, More expensive solution - replace strut mounts with OEM.

Rafadog

Yeah, that would drive me crazy! The water has to be lubricating whatever is rubbing. The only noise that gets to me is the passenger seat rattle when I hit bumpy roads which, here in CT., are every freaking road!

jmycheck1

Had the car washed again on Friday. Going on the third day and no noises. There's very little chance that it'll stay this way. I am due for an oil change soon, so I'll take it to an independent Lexus/Toyota guy. Hopefully he can pinpoint the noise.