I have been wanting to get the new GS. My friend/coworker bought one a few months back and I have been going out to lunch with him many times over the past months. The only two things that kept me holding my breath forever are: (1) wood trim – my wife would NOT say yes to a car with wood trim in it! Don’t ask me why. And I don’t feel like ignoring wifey’s opinion. I can only tell her that if she wants a Lexus or a Benz, start getting used to wood ASAP (2) the new GS engine's idle noise seems to be a lot louder than any old GS and LS. Every time I get into my friend’s car, I hear this ringing noise. It’s actually louder than a lot of other Toyota-made or Honda-made cars. Of course once I get into the GS, I can’t hear no noise at all which is great. But on the outside, it sounds like a car that needs serious valve adjustments done.

I mentioned the noise to a Lexus dealer two months back when I test drove a GS. He said the noise is from the new direct fuel injection mechanism. So it is a side effect of a feature, not a bug. The noise sounds like a very fine high pitch valve tapping noise. Imagine tiny pieces of metal ringing somewhere in the wheel well. Gen 3 GS owners, can you confirm what I am hearing? Is that noise normal? Do the other non-Lexus fuel injection cars exhibit the same symptom?

Thanks!!

 

I found bits and pieces of the answer to my own question after searching with the right query string. The noise is from the high pressure fuel injection pump.

This is a great board!

Now I am considering the GS350 Hopefully it will have the direct injection pump problem fixed by then.

 

Get her a C230 sedan! I HATED having to get rid of mine. The metallic trim has a contemporary style.

I had a C240 before it and I must say that both of the Benz's had a more refined suspension than our new GS
And MB has GREATLY improved their reliability. My C230 didn't have a single issue while I had it. I can't say that for the previous C240 (or my new GS, which I've nick-named "Snap, Crackle & Pop" )

 

unfortunately lexus isnt the only victim of the diesel ticking noise...audi's FSI suffers the same...and theirs is worse since they dont go through the paces of trying to isolate the entire engine compartment. Look at the GS's engine compartment next time...it's sealed on all four sides.

 

Unfortunately this is a characteristic of Toyota's D4 Direct Injection system. The New IS250 and IS350 carry the same exact sounds at idle.

 

FooFighter, nice wheels!

I guess I might never hear people repeat "I walk by that idling Lexus without realizing the engine was running. It was SO quiet". Well, maybe the Hybrid solution just got here at the right time to save the grace...

 

i posted a theard as well on here last month on the ticking noise in the engine its kind of annoying it ticks loud people often ask me hey whens the last time you got your oil changed lol but they do say its from the new fuel injection, still its a little annoying

 

thanks!

as for the ticking they only time that it's truly noticable is when i step out of the car to get something while it's running. Or when i'm in the drive through and i'm against the wall...it's really noticable

 

Interestingly, when I go through a drivethru and there are cars q'ing up in front of me, I always end up getting my window all the way down, reving the engine a few times (not going over 3k RPM usually) to hear my engine noise - in case I can hear something interesting/bad. Anyone else developed this funny habit?

Of course I make sure I don't do the rev'ing near the cashier's window That would be annoying.

 

You are hearing the mechanical fuel pump at the back of the engine. You can see it at the back left edge of the engine cover. It steps up the fuel line pressure to over 1800 PSI. That is then channeled to the direct injectors inside cast metal to contain it. The injectors have two tiny holes the the fuel comes out of and it atomizes into a homogenous mixture right at the top of the cylinder. It gives the engine the ability to run lean and mean. It reduces emissions and improves the power range. There are cold start injectors up in the intake plenum but they are used only when necessary. This is next generation engine technology and you should be proud that you have it and all of those other cars don't.

Rock

 

Nice response!

 

Old thread with an update: My neighbor just bought a ES350 and I went out for a test drive in his car. I noticed that the ES350 engine does NOT have the ticking noise, but I am pretty sure the ES350 engine has direct injection. I couldn't hear the new ES engine ticking at all even in an enclosed space like the garage.

Does anyone if Lexus finally decided to seal up the pump? How about the GS350 engine? Does it tick like the GS300 engine still?

 

I don't hear the ticking on my GS350 - I thought I read here somewhere that they changed the injection for the new engine. But I can sure hear it every time I'm close to a GS300 on the street.

 

Actually when the direct injection engine noise is around the same for both Audi and Lexus. Audi goes through extensive processes to isolate the annoying engine noises from the rest of the car. Take a look for yourself at the engine bay of an A6, it's very well laid out and quite insulated.

 

I dont think the ES has DI, hence the lower power on nearly the same engine. I dont hear ticking on mine but then again I have Mark Levinson, I have to get outside to hear it