Lexus added extra noise insulation to the upgraded RX350 to reduce road & wind noise. I wonder if Lexus will do the same for the GS upgrade later in the year?
I've been hearing lots of complaints about the direct-injection ticking. By design and since the engine (V6) only has been on the market for just over a year, I doubt Lexus would make any technological change to the engine anytime soon.

 

The 450H has the same V6 engine as the 350, and the ticking sound is not nearly as loud as it is in the 300. There also seems to be a bit more sound damping in the car, allthough that may be specific to the 450H. On the downside, all the rattles I experienced the the 300 seem to be coming back in the 450 after only a few months; I now have rattles in all 4 doors and the dash. On the plus side, the windshield doesn't squeak yet.

 

that sucks!

 

I have a 300 and one of my bigger complaints is the ticking noise from the engine. It is inaudib;e from the interior, but from the outside, it sounds like a damn lawn mower....

 

lol, people complain about direct injection engines, and yet everyone wants to drive diesels :-).

 

mechanical fuel pump that is ticking. It takes the fuel line pressure from 60 lbs to 1800 lbs! If the exhaust was louder you wouldn't probably hear any complaints....The RX and ES350's have a new windshield that has two acoustic barrier layers in the laminate. It will probably be applied to any new designs. It originated in the RX400h.

The GS has had its share of body noises however. The front windshield, dash, doors and rear glass too. When a shudder goes through the body from a pothole there can be a resulting pop from any of the above sources. Since the GS450h is an '07 it is the latest version. The GS350's are in production now so I hope they are aware of these issues and are working on them....

Rock

 

hi, sorry i'm new to this forum. i just got a 2006 GS 300 - sure is quiet from the inside. but, i agree, from the outside, especially when i'm just in the garage with engine running, it's loud as heck. This is normal? if it is, oh well; but if it isn't then i was thinking of taking it to the dealer. any feedback or fixes would be appreciated. thanks.

 

Welcome to the forum!

The sound is normal, and it is "loud as heck" on the outside- especially if your within a closed space like a garage. Some fuel pumps may be louder than others, but I don't think you dealer can do anythng about it. Just to ease your worries, go up to your dealer one afternoon when it's not too busy and ask your sales person if you can listen to a few more GS 300's to compare the noise levels.

 

IMO, I think everyone should get an exhaust just to try to drown out some of the put-tick-put-ticking....

 

thank you for the feedback.. guess i'll only turn on the engine once my friends are already in the car (since i've boasted so much about how quiet it is)

 

I like Dakine's approach - get everybody in the car then press the starter button - it always impresses the passengers anyway...

I know this is completely unhelpful, but my GS300 has regular multi-port fuel injection instead of direct injection, and when heard from outside it sounds like a gentle whirr - and from inside it is completely silent. Of course I won't be bragging about having less torque, less power and less fuel economy than the DI version...

 

I owned a 2006 GS 300 but did not like the car. It did have lots of road noise so I am pleased they are improving this feature. I also had excessive tire noise and the dealer put on two sets of new tires to try and solve the problem. The car came with run flats which road really hard. I finally traded it out of frustration for a new 2006 ES 350 and what a difference. The ES drives wonderfully and is Lexus quite. We had previously had a 2005 GS 300 (second generation)which we loved but it was a little ugly. Thanks for informing us about the improvement.

 

I'm confused... Direct Inject vs. multi-port.... There were two motors for the 3GS300??? Excuse my ignorance, but please explain...

(I like Dakine's approach too... unless I take the silencers out of the exhaust... then I want them to be outside... sounds BEEFY..) (my silencers are utilised 95% of the time)

 

There sure are - there is an Asia Pacific version (3GR-FE), the only difference being that it uses regular multi-port injection.

See this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_GR_engine#3GR-FE

 

I see... thanks for clearing it up.. I didn't know they actually differed out of the states....