Does your ES have a lot of steering wheel vibration at idle?
11-24-17, 12:09 PM
#46
My 2016 ES 350 has developed a vibration that is not only shaking the wheel but letting off a resonating engine minor roar. It aggravates me when stopped even with music as I can hear the constant resonating sound over the music most of the time. It seems to occur the most at 750 RPM. Holding the brake and giving more gas to go to higher RPM's make it worse. This occurs the worst when the AC is on and the car is in gear.
When not in gear or the AC is off, the vibration and sound drop considerably. When both AC off and out of gear, it's almost gone. The RPM drops to to 650-700 when that occurs (no vibration).
I had a package of flowers in the car today and could see the plastic wrap vibrating pretty hard with the AC on and in gear (I made sure there was no air blowing on the plastic wrap). I turned off AC and put in neutral and the plastic top of the wrapping almost stopped vibrating (and noise went away).
I'm going to take a shot with the dealer but am afraid I'll get the dreaded 'it's within operating specs' reply.
Oh, and car has 5,700 miles on it. Not sure when it started as wife put 3,000+ miles on road trips this summer and I don't recall it doing this before she went.
And as for the argument that this is a lower end Lexus, etc. I have a 15 year old Dodge Intrepid that runs baby smooth (2.7L V6). The previous Intrepid (1996 model) that I had before that was so smooth that I could not tell a difference between in and out of gear. The ES350, from what I can tell, has always been touted as a smooth, supremely quiet car and when I bought it, that was the case. The vibration and sound have now turned that opinion, at least until it's corrected (if possible).
When not in gear or the AC is off, the vibration and sound drop considerably. When both AC off and out of gear, it's almost gone. The RPM drops to to 650-700 when that occurs (no vibration).
I had a package of flowers in the car today and could see the plastic wrap vibrating pretty hard with the AC on and in gear (I made sure there was no air blowing on the plastic wrap). I turned off AC and put in neutral and the plastic top of the wrapping almost stopped vibrating (and noise went away).
I'm going to take a shot with the dealer but am afraid I'll get the dreaded 'it's within operating specs' reply.
Oh, and car has 5,700 miles on it. Not sure when it started as wife put 3,000+ miles on road trips this summer and I don't recall it doing this before she went.
And as for the argument that this is a lower end Lexus, etc. I have a 15 year old Dodge Intrepid that runs baby smooth (2.7L V6). The previous Intrepid (1996 model) that I had before that was so smooth that I could not tell a difference between in and out of gear. The ES350, from what I can tell, has always been touted as a smooth, supremely quiet car and when I bought it, that was the case. The vibration and sound have now turned that opinion, at least until it's corrected (if possible).
At times, when sitting idle with the AC on, car sounds like a diesel (warmed up or not).
11-24-17, 12:38 PM
#47
Lexus Test Driver
I took my car into the dealer to let them listen to and feel it before making an appointment and the service rep said that these direct injection / high pressure fuel system cars do this (before even turning my car on). I proceeded to tell him that the ES350 doesn't have direct injection or high pressure fuel delivery. He argued with me that it did. Anyway, after sitting in the car, he said it was normal. We then sat in another ES350 and it was much quieter than mine. He said that the factory rep would be there this week and would call me to come in and have him/her listen to it.
At times, when sitting idle with the AC on, car sounds like a diesel (warmed up or not).
At times, when sitting idle with the AC on, car sounds like a diesel (warmed up or not).
11-24-17, 12:40 PM
#48
Oh, I know but I couldn't believe the service adviser was arguing that it did and that's the reason for the sound (again, before even stepping foot in my car). Hopefully, the factory rep will be more competent.
11-25-17, 07:13 AM
#51
Lexus Fanatic
has a feeling it was a mistype but wanted to be sure lol
11-25-17, 04:12 PM
#52
11-27-17, 07:53 PM
#53
My 2016 ES 350 has developed a vibration that is not only shaking the wheel but letting off a resonating engine minor roar. It aggravates me when stopped even with music as I can hear the constant resonating sound over the music most of the time. It seems to occur the most at 750 RPM. Holding the brake and giving more gas to go to higher RPM's make it worse. This occurs the worst when the AC is on and the car is in gear.
When not in gear or the AC is off, the vibration and sound drop considerably. When both AC off and out of gear, it's almost gone. The RPM drops to to 650-700 when that occurs (no vibration).
I had a package of flowers in the car today and could see the plastic wrap vibrating pretty hard with the AC on and in gear (I made sure there was no air blowing on the plastic wrap). I turned off AC and put in neutral and the plastic top of the wrapping almost stopped vibrating (and noise went away).
I'm going to take a shot with the dealer but am afraid I'll get the dreaded 'it's within operating specs' reply.
Oh, and car has 5,700 miles on it. Not sure when it started as wife put 3,000+ miles on road trips this summer and I don't recall it doing this before she went.
And as for the argument that this is a lower end Lexus, etc. I have a 15 year old Dodge Intrepid that runs baby smooth (2.7L V6). The previous Intrepid (1996 model) that I had before that was so smooth that I could not tell a difference between in and out of gear. The ES350, from what I can tell, has always been touted as a smooth, supremely quiet car and when I bought it, that was the case. The vibration and sound have now turned that opinion, at least until it's corrected (if possible).
When not in gear or the AC is off, the vibration and sound drop considerably. When both AC off and out of gear, it's almost gone. The RPM drops to to 650-700 when that occurs (no vibration).
I had a package of flowers in the car today and could see the plastic wrap vibrating pretty hard with the AC on and in gear (I made sure there was no air blowing on the plastic wrap). I turned off AC and put in neutral and the plastic top of the wrapping almost stopped vibrating (and noise went away).
I'm going to take a shot with the dealer but am afraid I'll get the dreaded 'it's within operating specs' reply.
Oh, and car has 5,700 miles on it. Not sure when it started as wife put 3,000+ miles on road trips this summer and I don't recall it doing this before she went.
And as for the argument that this is a lower end Lexus, etc. I have a 15 year old Dodge Intrepid that runs baby smooth (2.7L V6). The previous Intrepid (1996 model) that I had before that was so smooth that I could not tell a difference between in and out of gear. The ES350, from what I can tell, has always been touted as a smooth, supremely quiet car and when I bought it, that was the case. The vibration and sound have now turned that opinion, at least until it's corrected (if possible).
Seems like there is an issue with the AC compressor
11-28-17, 03:13 AM
#54
Driver School Candidate
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Have you considered that you a/c compressor pulley, or other pulleys in the system my not be properly balanced? The pulleys, as well as most parts, are made in mass quantities, and could have passed through QC unnoticed; or just as easily taken a hit from a wrench while being serviced and is now improperly balanced, causing a harmonic imbalance with your system while at the specified RPM range.
I have a ‘13 ES 350 with 60,500 miles and have no issues with abnormal shaking or vibrations.
I have a ‘13 ES 350 with 60,500 miles and have no issues with abnormal shaking or vibrations.
11-29-17, 12:25 PM
#55
As expected, the Lexus technician and the factory rep. said that the car sounded normal. I'm not sure that they even tested it correctly to replicate the sound (in drive, sitting still with AC on) at maximum level. I'm also not sure how anyone could come out of that car and say that it sounds like all the others (unless they didn't test it the way it's normally driven).
What's my next step? Contact Lexus customer service or am I wasting my time?
What's my next step? Contact Lexus customer service or am I wasting my time?
12-30-17, 04:45 PM
#56
As expected, the Lexus technician and the factory rep. said that the car sounded normal. I'm not sure that they even tested it correctly to replicate the sound (in drive, sitting still with AC on) at maximum level. I'm also not sure how anyone could come out of that car and say that it sounds like all the others (unless they didn't test it the way it's normally driven).
What's my next step? Contact Lexus customer service or am I wasting my time?
What's my next step? Contact Lexus customer service or am I wasting my time?
Happy New Year all.
12-31-17, 02:42 PM
#57
Just think, guys. ES350 is a front wheel drive car. This means that the engine is physically connected to the front wheels through the transaxle. Even though the engine is well balanced, it IS a reciprocating piston engine and has piston masses moving back and forth. It is also a V6, so it inherently has an off axis vibration mode (unlike a straight six, which does not have this mode). So it is IMPOSSIBLE for the engine to not vibrate when it is running. If the engine is vibrating then some of the motion is transmitted to the driveshafts and back to the steering linkages. Toyota has done a great job isolating these out but getting them down to zero is a theoretical impossibility. Now it is possible that some weird harmonic is excited in some cars, and perhaps some drivers are more sensitive to vibrations than others, but in a front wheel drive car it is impossible to have zero vibrations. BTW, this is also the case for the 4WD flagship LS even though it has a better balanced V8 motor, but that is still connected to the front wheels. See SW15LS's posts.
if you want zero vibrations during idle, you need to get a rear wheel drive car or a hybrid in which the engine shuts off. There is no other option. Of course one last option is to get a Tesla. Electric motors don't run at idle and are perfectly balanced.
One other thing you can do is to get the dealer to bump up the idle rpm slightly if possible. This will move the engine excitation away from any natural frequencies in the steering linkage or suspension and quiet down the steering wheel. Even 50 rpm shift will make a difference. I suspect this is happening between different cars and people here.
if you want zero vibrations during idle, you need to get a rear wheel drive car or a hybrid in which the engine shuts off. There is no other option. Of course one last option is to get a Tesla. Electric motors don't run at idle and are perfectly balanced.
One other thing you can do is to get the dealer to bump up the idle rpm slightly if possible. This will move the engine excitation away from any natural frequencies in the steering linkage or suspension and quiet down the steering wheel. Even 50 rpm shift will make a difference. I suspect this is happening between different cars and people here.
Last edited by zes; 12-31-17 at 02:49 PM.
12-31-17, 03:43 PM
#58
Like I said, there is a resonating sound that's very "bassy" like a diesel. My 15 year old Dodge Intrepid is front wheel drive and I feel nearly nothing when stopped at idle with the AC running and it certainly isn't resonating an irritating sound. My wife's 2017 Explorer is FWD and it has nearly zero vibration but more important, it has nearly no noise when at idle.
This ES350 wasn't this way when I bought it but convincing Lexus of that is a difficult and different story. When moving, it's quiet (not as quiet as the Explorer surprisingly)....when stopped in gear, especially with AC on, it's irritating. This isn't Lexus first go around with irritating noise (Drone?)...just look at the latest generation RX for that.
This ES350 wasn't this way when I bought it but convincing Lexus of that is a difficult and different story. When moving, it's quiet (not as quiet as the Explorer surprisingly)....when stopped in gear, especially with AC on, it's irritating. This isn't Lexus first go around with irritating noise (Drone?)...just look at the latest generation RX for that.
Last edited by UKEE; 12-31-17 at 03:46 PM.
01-01-18, 06:10 PM
#60
It takes about 200 above to tone it down. However, it does tone down quite a bit when dropping about 50 below normal idle. Looks like it's on the bottom end of the resonance frequency based on that.
They wouldn't even listen to me on that through.
They wouldn't even listen to me on that through.