Compared to .you 2019 ES350 my new ES350(2025) has very bad road and wind noise. To the extent I would not have bought it had i known. Buyers beware!!

 

I would go back to the dealer and find out why.

 

Out of curiosity, do you have the base model?

 

I took the car back to the dealer and service department. reported there were changes to the design of the seal around the door and that all of the es350's were like that. I attempted to register a complaint thru the Lexus site but they told me the same thing and disconnected my call. I am stuck.

 

Did you noticed the road noise during the test drive? Maybe they gave you a test drive on the Luxury or UL model with acoustic glass up front and possibly noise reduction tires; and those are quieter than the base trim; if it's the base the one you have.

 

What tires?

Back when we bought our 2015 ES350 UL (and maybe still now?) the tires it ended up with were a crapshoot - either Bridgestone Potenzas or Michelin Primacy. Our car got the Bridgestones and sounded and rode terrible.

Called my salesman with a "WTF" and he was able to swap them out with Michelins for me. They were much better in the grand scheme of things, but still not the best.

 

Hmmm... that seems strange. I don’t disbelieve your experience, but this smacks of the old story of dealers telling customers with complaints “that’s the way they’re designed” as an excuse to not fix anything on a car under warranty. Why would Lexus change the design of the door seals when nothing was wrong with the old ones and this is the last year of this model run away? I’m not sure where to verify that, but it just doesn’t sound right.

I’d be curious to see if the part numbers for the seals actually changed!

 

My factory Michelins made roaring noise and replaced them immediately with Michelin Primacy 4+.

 

Same observation with my 2025 ... wind noise seems excessive for a lux car at this price point.

 

I think too, some people tend to over-estimate/over-romanticize what they think a Lexus ES will sound like, especially as a new purchase. You know, based on tales of yesteryear. They don't realize though that most cars today have equalized in some categories, among their respective class, and that today computers largely build cars so there's not a whole lot of art left into "quietness" as computers/standardized build process/standardized tech etc more or less made it to where most cars are about the same in terms of quietness. Whereas in the 1990s, cars were hand designed, hand built, and Lexus led by far in terms of quietness due to their artisan approach. But by 2010s or around there, everyone had caught up w/ computer design & analysis largely dictating how a car sounds. Not to say there aren't differences today, but they're fewer and more far apart than you'd think.

Sometimes there are cost driven scale backs too, where manufacturers purposely make a car worse to save money. So don't rule that out. For example on the 22+ Hybrid ES, Lexus swapped out the super thick padded foam engine cover for a cover that is not only smaller, but also one with thinner and much less foam. That's just one thing i noticed. i don't know, what if anything else they did as i haven't really bothered to look.

 

I have a 25 es ultra luxury with factory michelins and there is minimal road noise and virtually no wind noise.

 

This price point? The ES is a bargain these days.

 

Our 2015 was a bargain compared to all other options back then.

Our (hopefully) 2025 is a bargain to compared to all other options right now.

 

I just looked up all the front door seals/weatherstrips for a '25 ES - none of the part numbers have changed from '19 on.

 

Looks like the OP is comparing the '19 vs '25 ES, which I find odd there are noticeable differences in cabin noise at the same trim level. Unless very different tires, misaligned sunroof, faulty door gaskets, or simply base vs. Lux/UL comparison. I also find the dealers claims of "changes to the design of the seal" very strange based on @Treasurecoast post of using the same part on the 7gen ('19- present). The ES uses double gasket at the doors to create a more effective seal.

Also, as @E46CT pointed out, most newer cars are just more quieter than they used to be. So compared to other vehicles, it’s not that the ES got noisier; it’s that the others caught up.

It’s not RR comparable, but the ES is still impressively quiet for its class.