"How was your experience with removing and reinstalling the door cards? That is the one point that makes me hesitate, the removal of all the clips (without breaking them) and getting it all back together." Agreed. I thought I would try the dealer 1st. Especially since it appears to be 1 door..

 

Let us know if they’ll do that.

 

Removing and reinstalling the door panels is very easy

 

Very, very easy. The first time you do it might take you 10 minutes. After you've done it a couple times, more like 3 minutes. The clips here are very sturdy

 

Did you guys first buy one of those automotive panel remover tools from Amazon or some other source? It seems like those would be a safer bet than trying to use a screw driver...

 

Yes, very helpful. Get an assortment pack, different shapes & sizes for different applications. Just like any tool, one size does not fit all

 

Removing the door was very easy. The only time you would "need" specific tools is to remove the switch panel, handle cover and catch all garbage pocket (whatever you call it). Honestly, you can just use an old credit card to jiggle it in and pry it up. Use a screwdriver to unscrew the 3 screws. To remove the door itself, there's a small gab on the bottom corner (by the hinge) where you can fit your hand in and just work around the edges.

The panel is clipped in with these types of clips. These clips don't break. The gap between the 2 wide round, top part slides into the door panel. The bottom long part is what slides and connects into the door itself. The amount of force you need is a slight tug to pop them out.

If you pop it straight out, you literally can't break anything because there's nothing to break. But note that there are several cables and such that are still connected so slowly pull the panel back and see what cables you need to remove after you pop off the panel.

This is the video that I followed in case you're not following my poor description

 

After 2 calls to the dealer and 2 to Lexus looks like they are going to repair mine. The service manager said the door skin comes loose from the impact Bar. They know exactly what is happening here. He said they would either reattach or put in sound deadning material. I will keep you all updated.

 

Quick update:

I got the car back today. It is better but still not where it should be in my opinion. Spoke with the service manager and he will reach out to Lexus and let me know what can be done. They used adhesive on the crash bar and put some sound deadening in. Possibly not enough deadening material? Opinions? Thank you

 

Thanks for the update. For this very reason, I’ve decided not to have anyone mess with my door. I’m afraid little to no improvement would happen while risking damage to the door panel, clips and/or moisture barrier.

 

I fixed this problem on my 2008 GS rear doors lately by using butyl tape inside the door. you need to apply it over and around the bar inside the door, basically you need to wrap it and close any gap between this bar and the door behind it (its like 0.3 inch only but make the door sound like an empty barrel because of age and heat /cold this bar reshape).
I also tried to not remove the door panel entirely, just loose the two screws that holding the door panel and pop the panel only from the bottom to make some room for you to slide your hand, now by using a short screw driver remove the speaker entirely and from speaker hole to reach the bar, you can apply the butyl adhesive tape. some people use paste like material to seal this bar.
Try it, it is 100% worth the work, the doors now is solid with nice tight sound when you close it. just how a Lexus door should sound.