Bought a new 2021 ES 350. Regular sound system. In setting radio, I chose “Surround” setting and expected impressive surround sound. Not really any different though from regular. Is something wrong with the car or were my expectations too high?

Unfortunately that's the way it's meant to be, surround is just digital manipulation, virtual surround if you will. The system is front heavy.

I take “virtual surround” to mean “actually makes no difference!”☺️

There's a slight difference to my ears, just not more surround. I prefer to leave it off lol

Here's my subwoofer DIY including wiring pinout for standard and ML audio (to add a sub)DIY Add a sub to 7th Gen ES Stock System

As far as surround.. I found in some instances it sounds better off, and in others on. So since it doesn't sound amazing either way, i just leave it on.

This was extremely helpful.....THANK YOU. Any chance you know the size of the other speakers? Going to swap them all out......

You're welcome. Please give my post a like if you enjoyed it =)

Here's the official specs for the 10-speaker standard audio:

Front dash speakers: 3.5", 4OHM, 20W
Front center channel, 3.5", 4OHM, 20W (essentially the same as the dash speakers)
Front doors, 7.1", 4OHM, 20W -- The mounting holes are 16x19cm equally spaced. Note these are midwoofers. The factory amp has a filter internally so this speaker will only receive midrange tones. I tried hooking up a co-axial speaker here and nothing came out of the built in tweeter. So you'll need midrange speakers in this location if you are using the factory amp.
Rear Speakers (inside the door panels) 3.5", 4OHM, 20W
Rear Subwoofer, 9.8", 2.5OHM, 32W.

The front door woofers are the tricky upgrade here. Yes there are plenty of midrange speakers but no adapting plates other than the Tacotunes plates for the 18+ camry. These MAY work and look like they will, but I have not confirmed. Or you'll need custom MDF adapters. if you make a set, i'll buy from you =)

This is all great information. As a former GS350 F-sport owner with M/L sound, I continued to have issues with rattling and/or excess vibration coming from the door panel where the switches for windows, locks, mirrors, etc were. I brought it into the local Lexus dealership and asked them to address it under warranty. The initial reaction is that they have no idea what I am talking about and that they will take a look at it in a nonchalant manner. I shared specific music they could try to recreate the issue. It was also in for an oil change too. When I pick up the vehicle they say they tried to listen for the vibration but could not hear anything. So I went into the car, in the garage of the dealership and turned up the music and had the service advisor listen. It was obvious it was there. He heard it. But made a comment that I don't listen to "that type of music" and that I must have my bass all the way up. Yes, the bass was elevated, but not all the way up. And the vibration that was causing the noise in the door was not bass, it was treble. To my surprise, they took it back, and insulated the door. It was really great after that for about 2-3 months and then the sound came back. They basically told me that there was nothing else they could do. It got so bad that I eventually just sold the car which is really a shame because it was overall a really great vehicle. That was 2017.

Fast forward to February of 2021. I purchase a used 2019 ES350 F-Sport w M/L. Wishing and hoping that a newly designed M/L system will have resolved any vibration and sound issues. Unfortunately, as we all are well aware, the amp issue is one piece and from what I can tell what most of you are focused on. But I am still having excess vibration issues in the drivers side door (almost the same exact location as my former GS) and also from the rear deck behind the passenger headrests. I brought it in to Lexus...new service people, new car, fresh start. Before I even brought it in I spoke with the service advisor about my former challenges and asked if anyone on their service team was a specialist with sound. Service advisor told me that their master mechanics are very capable. I'll cut to the chase after three visits, this is where I stand. They replaced the amp under warranty. It does sound better, less of the sound feeling like it's coming in through my nose and now sounds like it's spaced out a little more. Also, the vibration in the door has been insulated but the same vibration is still there and not any better. I did not ask them to address the rear deck as I did not want their head to explode. I'm at a loss for words. I had to have a mechanic once again sit in my car, agree that it was a problem. When I asked if they tested it, they said yes. Say that it's operating "normally" and "as designed" but it's either not working normally or the design is terrible. I was told by the service advisor that he has a 2020 model with M/L and has no issue. I emphatically said, "Great, then we know mine has an issue." He didn't seem to like that response. He also stated that no other customer has mentioned anything. He continues to share that my vehicle is past the initial 12mo/12k part of the warranty where "squeaks and rattles" are covered but he had it covered anyway.

I'm thankful the amp has been replaced. I'm actually appreciative that the Lexus team did make an attempt to remedy the vibration in the door. I think it is a matter of just not knowing how to deal with these issues. At the end of the day, they are specialists on operational and mechanical systems, not really sound. So my next thought was to reach out to Lexus support and see if that yields any results. Has anyone done this? Anyone else experiencing the same vibration issues as I am? As an FYI, my sound is +1 to the rear, bass and treble are up 75% of the way, and sound is at 40 or less when reproducing the vibration.

My apologies for the long post. I felt it required context and detail. Thanks for reading!

I'm a specialist on sound. =) see my other threads where I corrected 5 areas of the ES interior rattle squeaks.

i discovered a new annoying metallic sound when pressing my back against the rear seat backrest. kind of like a metallic twang/pop as you lean back. I just kind of tweaked/pushed on the seat a little in a certain spot and the noise went away. im thinking where the seat clicks/latches into place. thankfully did not have to remove the rear seat to investigate.

I think the build quality has probably went down a bit, possibly due to being built in kentucky. All minor things which I fixed myself but still annoying.

All in all, my car (2021) rides quietly now.

my Avalon (same platform as es) had rattling in the drivers door with the jbl speakers (same parent company as ML). Same issues. Only appeared on certain audio. Tried having Toyota look at it. They were less willing to entertain the idea of it being an issue than your dealer.

Ended up taking it to a local audio shop called car toys and had them take a look. They installed dynomat throughout the door and even cut little pieces up and installed a lot of those around the window button area.

they did an awesome job.

shame that Toyota/Harmon Kardon can’t seem to figure it out when others can.

I'm sure it's a matter of cost, not knowledge. :bigthumbu

^Yep. All those little pieces would cost HUGE money and time on the assembly line. To a car company making hundreds of thousands of cars, that's a HUUUUUGE cost. Massive. But yes it shouldn't rattle to begin with.

FWIW my doors do not rattle (but other parts of my car have and i fixed them)

Also I doubt the "dynamat" actually did the fix. It could've been that something they disassembled and reassembled inadvertently did the fix, moved a cable in such a way etc. Kind of like successfully troubleshooting a problem while wearing a blue shirt and thus you think wearing a blue shirt is the fix for everything. You just happened to be wearing a blue shirt. this is just based on knowing how those butyl mats work. It's more for resonance and harmonics and not for rattles. It could inadvertently stop a rattle in theory, but not its primary purpose. an odd choice for rattles and 99% of people overdo it with the stuff. but of course a shop will be happy to take your money and charge you for materials when its possible the guy in the back just reoriented a wire harness or some other part to stop the noise.

There is one simple way to avoid the door rattle from speakers and works for me:

Buy the base stereo system. It doesn't have power or speakers to make proper sound, let alone rattle the door panel....

According to the tech docs (which I have access to), the standard audio system front woofers have a rated input power of 20W and the 17-speaker ML has a rated input power of 4.2W. Weird but that's what it says. The stock woofers in the 10-speaker though are 7" and you can definitely feel them thump the doors bass wise, enough that if there was something loose, it would be more than enough "power" to rattle.

I have a subwoofer setup in the trunk anyway and when it fires, the doors make zero sounds.

Dissappointed
 

We had previously purchased a 2014 ES 300H, it was time to upgrade. Because of Covid we took the 2021 ES 300H out for a test ride by ourselves. We were concerned with vibrations, steering, road noise etc. We came back with this test model and drove two others. That's when we decided to purchase the last one. The salesman told us that all the cars came with the bumper guards to keep small rocks from pecking at the paint. On the drive home, we noticed the speakers in the back were not working. Instead of turning around right then and there, we drove home and were going to wait until we needed to bring it in for other work. We finally brought the car in about 4 months later and were told they would look into it. Turns out the stereos were changed in 2020. Our 2014 model was perfect, we thought it was the same for the 2021. No one told us different. Now we are stuck with a car that sounds like the stereo is broken but turns out they are the same on all the newer models. Honestly, I would have looked at other cars if I had known this stereo sounded broken. They are not going to fix it nor will they put on an amplifier and if we put one on ourselves, it will void the warranty. We are stuck and do not recommend buying this model or year from 2020 on. We test drove other cars and would have been just as satisfied if not more. I'm VERY dissappointed!