2019 Lexus ES 300h - Rear speaker problem
12-29-18, 02:47 PM
#31
Driver School Candidate
I'm not here to argue with internet champions, just trying to help. If you're looking for a quick fix for 'imperceptible sound' from rear speakers, there isn't one. As I said before, working as designed. Scroll up to the graphic of the speaker size/location in the ES. There is a 3.5" speaker in each rear door and that's it. If you were wanting something louder for rear passengers, you won't get that from a little 3.5" speaker. The 'little brother' Toyota Avalon JBL system put 6" speakers in the rear instead of 3.5" speakers. Maybe that car could have been an option for you if more rear sound is that important.
Go ahead and make your video, hope that makes you feel better about your purchase.
Go ahead and make your video, hope that makes you feel better about your purchase.
My goal is to help raise awareness for an audio problem, and attenuate posts that may undermine it.
I will say that I do believe you are undermining the issue unintentionally because you are unaware or misunderstanding... and NOT because you are being malicious; however, you definitely are trying very hard to seek out a problem with the car owners rather than the car itself.
Let me clarify the part of your post highlighted in blue:
The 3.5" speaker in the back is plenty loud when the fader is set completely to the rear of the car, and volume raised to near maximum.
This indicates that the 3.5" speaker in the back is capable of producing adequate sound/volume, and this is not a limitation due to the size/diaphragm of the speaker.
This also provides evidence that the issue is indeed related to power distribution/software issues and something that Lexus can hopefully fix.
You are attempting to paint a picture where the members in this thread are seeking extremely loud volumes. The reality is that they are seeking out normal volume for the rear passengers, and for the cabin as a whole. Not 5% to 10% volume from the back which is clearly observed when the fader is slowly adjusted back and forth.
I hope this clears up why "car audio competitions" , "audiophile" , "speaker size" , "tacky owners wanting loud volume" etc. as you suggested are not applicable in this thread.
The following 4 users liked this post by SciGuy:
12-30-18, 08:57 AM
#32
The personal attack highlighted in red is irrelevant.
My goal is to help raise awareness for an audio problem, and attenuate posts that may undermine it.
I will say that I do believe you are undermining the issue unintentionally because you are unaware or misunderstanding... and NOT because you are being malicious; however, you definitely are trying very hard to seek out a problem with the car owners rather than the car itself.
Let me clarify the part of your post highlighted in blue:
The 3.5" speaker in the back is plenty loud when the fader is set completely to the rear of the car, and volume raised to near maximum.
This indicates that the 3.5" speaker in the back is capable of producing adequate sound/volume, and this is not a limitation due to the size/diaphragm of the speaker.
This also provides evidence that the issue is indeed related to power distribution/software issues and something that Lexus can hopefully fix.
You are attempting to paint a picture where the members in this thread are seeking extremely loud volumes. The reality is that they are seeking out normal volume for the rear passengers, and for the cabin as a whole. Not 5% to 10% volume from the back which is clearly observed when the fader is slowly adjusted back and forth.
I hope this clears up why "car audio competitions" , "audiophile" , "speaker size" , "tacky owners wanting loud volume" etc. as you suggested are not applicable in this thread.
My goal is to help raise awareness for an audio problem, and attenuate posts that may undermine it.
I will say that I do believe you are undermining the issue unintentionally because you are unaware or misunderstanding... and NOT because you are being malicious; however, you definitely are trying very hard to seek out a problem with the car owners rather than the car itself.
Let me clarify the part of your post highlighted in blue:
The 3.5" speaker in the back is plenty loud when the fader is set completely to the rear of the car, and volume raised to near maximum.
This indicates that the 3.5" speaker in the back is capable of producing adequate sound/volume, and this is not a limitation due to the size/diaphragm of the speaker.
This also provides evidence that the issue is indeed related to power distribution/software issues and something that Lexus can hopefully fix.
You are attempting to paint a picture where the members in this thread are seeking extremely loud volumes. The reality is that they are seeking out normal volume for the rear passengers, and for the cabin as a whole. Not 5% to 10% volume from the back which is clearly observed when the fader is slowly adjusted back and forth.
I hope this clears up why "car audio competitions" , "audiophile" , "speaker size" , "tacky owners wanting loud volume" etc. as you suggested are not applicable in this thread.
01-05-19, 08:00 AM
#33
Pole Position
My wife and I test drove a 2019 ES 300h yesterday. It was a base option. I think keygloves were the only option. So to my point, just the base audio system. After I drove it, I traded places with my wife and I sat in the rear seat. I put my ears right up against the speakers and there was literally no sound coming out of them. With factory adjustment, the rear speakers are strictly ornamental. We played with the audio settings and sent more audio to the rear speakers, and then adjusted the audio up to about 25 and then I was able to hear audio at a reasonable volume.
So the audio can definitely be adjusted to a fairly reasonable level to satisfy someone in their mid fifties with average hearing and no particular audiophile pretensions, but the factory adjustment is really strange. If I were to guess, the audio engineers designed the audio in this car with the assumption that it was a two seater car - so based on a factory adjustment and the base audio system, all the audio appears to come from the dash area.
Additional observations: The interior noise level seemed about the same as our 2015 so the stereo required roughly the same volume levels to be heard over the road noise.
The one difference that really struck me was how much more solid feeling the car was. Anyway, I digress as this thread is about the rear speaker observations so I wanted to share mine while they were fresh.
So the audio can definitely be adjusted to a fairly reasonable level to satisfy someone in their mid fifties with average hearing and no particular audiophile pretensions, but the factory adjustment is really strange. If I were to guess, the audio engineers designed the audio in this car with the assumption that it was a two seater car - so based on a factory adjustment and the base audio system, all the audio appears to come from the dash area.
Additional observations: The interior noise level seemed about the same as our 2015 so the stereo required roughly the same volume levels to be heard over the road noise.
The one difference that really struck me was how much more solid feeling the car was. Anyway, I digress as this thread is about the rear speaker observations so I wanted to share mine while they were fresh.
01-05-19, 02:51 PM
#34
Lexus Test Driver
My wife and I test drove a 2019 ES 300h yesterday. It was a base option. I think keygloves were the only option. So to my point, just the base audio system. After I drove it, I traded places with my wife and I sat in the rear seat. I put my ears right up against the speakers and there was literally no sound coming out of them. With factory adjustment, the rear speakers are strictly ornamental. We played with the audio settings and sent more audio to the rear speakers, and then adjusted the audio up to about 25 and then I was able to hear audio at a reasonable volume.
So the audio can definitely be adjusted to a fairly reasonable level to satisfy someone in their mid fifties with average hearing and no particular audiophile pretensions, but the factory adjustment is really strange. If I were to guess, the audio engineers designed the audio in this car with the assumption that it was a two seater car - so based on a factory adjustment and the base audio system, all the audio appears to come from the dash area.
Additional observations: The interior noise level seemed about the same as our 2015 so the stereo required roughly the same volume levels to be heard over the road noise.
The one difference that really struck me was how much more solid feeling the car was. Anyway, I digress as this thread is about the rear speaker observations so I wanted to share mine while they were fresh.
So the audio can definitely be adjusted to a fairly reasonable level to satisfy someone in their mid fifties with average hearing and no particular audiophile pretensions, but the factory adjustment is really strange. If I were to guess, the audio engineers designed the audio in this car with the assumption that it was a two seater car - so based on a factory adjustment and the base audio system, all the audio appears to come from the dash area.
Additional observations: The interior noise level seemed about the same as our 2015 so the stereo required roughly the same volume levels to be heard over the road noise.
The one difference that really struck me was how much more solid feeling the car was. Anyway, I digress as this thread is about the rear speaker observations so I wanted to share mine while they were fresh.
01-05-19, 03:02 PM
#35
I've heard the sound system complaints and I don't get it. I have listened to both the standard Pioneer system and the Mark Levinson system. I didn't read about the complaints about until after listening so I didn't listen from the backseat but the sound didn't seem anymore from the front than any other car I've driven. Plus, I won't be sitting in the back anyways.
As for XM the Mark Levinson sounds much better than the standard Pioneer system. That was actually convinced me to get the Mark Levinson system since I listen to XM a lot. XM on the Mark Levinson also sounds better than XM in my current Camry with the JBL system which is the premium sound system on that car. I can't wait until my car comes in probably in March.
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AnthonyMJ (01-05-19)
01-05-19, 03:11 PM
#36
Lexus Test Driver
I've heard the sound system complaints and I don't get it. I have listened to both the standard Pioneer system and the Mark Levinson system. I didn't read about the complaints about until after listening so I didn't listen from the backseat but the sound didn't seem anymore from the front than any other car I've driven. Plus, I won't be sitting in the back anyways.
As for XM the Mark Levinson sounds much better than the standard Pioneer system. That was actually convinced me to get the Mark Levinson system since I listen to XM a lot. XM on the Mark Levinson also sounds better than XM in my current Camry with the JBL system which is the premium sound system on that car. I can't wait until my car comes in probably in March.
As for XM the Mark Levinson sounds much better than the standard Pioneer system. That was actually convinced me to get the Mark Levinson system since I listen to XM a lot. XM on the Mark Levinson also sounds better than XM in my current Camry with the JBL system which is the premium sound system on that car. I can't wait until my car comes in probably in March.
01-05-19, 06:29 PM
#37
Pole Position
Just to clarify, I do carry passengers in my rear seat from time to time, so I would like the music to sound good for them too. I can adjust it to where it seems acceptable to me so no worries, but the factory adjustment is just plain odd. If we were talking about an RC, I wouldn’t feel that way, but for a sedan with a spacious rear seat, the factory adjustment level is simply illogical.
01-05-19, 07:29 PM
#38
I'm getting absolutely no sound from the speakers in the rear window when listening to XM radio, even with the sound faded all the way to the rear. I get sound from the door speakers, but not the rear window speakers. Is that normal? The Nav manual has precious little guidance when it comes to this expensive stereo system.
01-05-19, 07:40 PM
#39
I'm getting absolutely no sound from the speakers in the rear window when listening to XM radio, even with the sound faded all the way to the rear. I get sound from the door speakers, but not the rear window speakers. Is that normal? The Nav manual has precious little guidance when it comes to this expensive stereo system.
01-06-19, 12:13 AM
#40
I'm getting absolutely no sound from the speakers in the rear window when listening to XM radio, even with the sound faded all the way to the rear. I get sound from the door speakers, but not the rear window speakers. Is that normal? The Nav manual has precious little guidance when it comes to this expensive stereo system.
01-06-19, 03:51 PM
#41
Go to the Sound Options -> Surround -> Try turning on 2D or 3D (if this is an option on your car). If Surround is turned off you might just be getting sound out of the front speakers.
XM is stereo. If SURROUND is OFF then you most likely will not hear anything out of the rear speakers.
If you have a 5.1 or 7.1 source then the other speakers will also play, even if SURROUND is OFF. You will need to use a DVD or a USB drive that has multi channel audio on it in order to hear any sound out of the rear speakers when SURROUND is turned OFF.
XM is stereo. If SURROUND is OFF then you most likely will not hear anything out of the rear speakers.
If you have a 5.1 or 7.1 source then the other speakers will also play, even if SURROUND is OFF. You will need to use a DVD or a USB drive that has multi channel audio on it in order to hear any sound out of the rear speakers when SURROUND is turned OFF.
Last edited by nsaldanh; 01-06-19 at 03:56 PM.
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AnthonyMJ (01-06-19)
01-19-19, 01:16 PM
#42
Driver School Candidate
Glad I'm not the only one that feels the balance of the sound is lacking. I have the ML audio system. Just moving the fader to the rear doesn't help, because the rear speakers are so underpowered....and the front speakers have a lot more dynamic range that I'd not want to sacrifice using them.
Well, they sound better than my previous car (Avalon) sound system...but nothing beats what I had in my Fusion back in '08.
Well, they sound better than my previous car (Avalon) sound system...but nothing beats what I had in my Fusion back in '08.
02-11-19, 12:00 PM
#43
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: CA
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2019 ES 350 sound system
I purchased my car in November of 2018. Soon after purchasing the car, I noticed that there was little to no sound coming out of the rear speakers. Specifically, the only speakers that seem to be working are those in the dash. When I adjust the fader to the rear, and crank the volume way up, I can faintly hear the rear speakers. I took the car back to the dealer. After adjusting the fader, they agreed this was NOT normal. They asked me to make a service appointment. I dropped the car off with service. They too agreed this was not normal. They pulled an identical model off the lot and checked that car. Same problem. They wrote up a report and sent it off to Lexus for advice on how to fix the problem. They told me that this would likely be a recall issue, and the only thing to do now was to wait. I recently contacted the dealer for an update. Nothing yet. They are still waiting for Lexus to advise them on how to proceed.
02-11-19, 02:12 PM
#44
Driver School Candidate
2019 ES 350 rear sound issue
Between the "wind noise" coming from front driver side when going over 60 and the sound system problem, I am very disappointed at my first ever Lexus for the price. Wish I have an option to swap it.
02-11-19, 05:59 PM
#45