jkaloz

I recently started to notice that when I am driving my ES 300h at about 57MPH there is a droning noise that can be heard. I don't think that it has always done this and brought it up when I took it into the dealer for its 15k checkup. They kept it overnight and checked it out and could not identify where the noise was coming from and chalked it up to normal hybrid drive noise. They did not have an available 300h to compare too and told me to bring it back if it got louder or worse. Has anyone else noticed this? Anyone else in a 300h willing to take there car to ~57mph and listen for on odd droning/pulsating noise? I would much appreciate it. I don't think this is normal but don't have anyone I know with this car.

Thanks!

SLH

Sorry, I can't help you. By far the loudest noise I hear at 57 mph around here is, the other cars on the highway passing me every couple of seconds. Some are blowing their horns as they go past.

jkaloz

Ha! Thanks for the response. I think there is something going wrong then with mine.

SLH

Seriously, the thing to do is to get someone else to drive the car, while you move around the cabin and figure out where the noise is coming from. Look in that part of the car for loose pieces - especially the plastic covers that they put underneath and in the wheel wells. A loose piece of plastic can vibrate in the wind. They use plastic rivets to hold those covers in place. Sometimes one of those rivets falls out...

After you figure out what is vibrating, stopping it is usually not difficult.

jim256

+1, and if you can't find anything inside, look around the cowl vent, under the hood, etc. Sometimes blocking off an area with painters tape temporarily can change the airflow around windows, wipers, and the hood area, and you can find the offending piece.

lesz

It isn't clear to me from the OP whether the sound that is being heard seems to be something like a rattle or whether it sounds like something coming from a mechanical component of the car.

Arty101

About a couple of months ago, I was getting a droning noise that happened only on the freeway at speeds over 50 mph. For a week, I tried listening to where the drone was coming from. I thought there was something stuck in the front flapping or under the wheel well. Notta.

Then, I remembered that I recently filled and topped the air pressure on all four tires up to about 38 psi, cold. On a hunch, I reduced it to 35 psi, and problem (drone) was solved. So... check the tire pressure! As you drive, the tire temp further increases which makes the tires stiffer. Could be as simple as that. Good luck.

jkaloz

I took it back to the dealer as the sound started happening around 45MPH too. turned out it was a bad rear wheel bearing. they replaced it and all is quiet now. Thanks for everyone's responses.

atoyota

Thanks for coming back and letting us know what the problem/solution was.

Madonna99

Hi, I noticed this too. I just got mine last Sunday. Are you driving in the Eco Mode? It seems to pull more in Eco Mode or EV mode. Put it in Normal by depressing the round button and then go up to 57mph or more and see if that noise is still there. It could be that it is hard on the battery and you don't have it on the right mode. Hope this helps?