Any idea what this noise could be?
 

New 2015 IS 350 F-sport owner here, noticed this noise soon after purchasing. A couple people told me it sounded like a bad wheel bearing, it seemed like it may be worse on the driver's side so I replaced that wheel bearing and it made no difference. Then I thought it might be tire noise since it was still on the original tires (~60k miles) and they had a lot of inner wear and some cupping on the fronts. I replaced all 4 tires and it still did not make a difference. Any thoughts? The noise I'm referring to is the vibrating whine-like noise most noticeable around 40-60 MPH. I appreciate any help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M77a...ature=youtu.be

WOW....that is a weird noise!! I have never heard such a noise before...Is your AWD or RWD? A drive shaft?

It's AWD. I showed it to my buddy who's a mechanic...he was stumped haha

I must admit it is very uncharacteristic of a Lexus who is renowned for quietness - You may need to have it checked at a dealer as very few will be able to diagnose it from a video but please keep us posted... :)

The noise definitely sounds like a wheel bearing.
The car has a wheel bearing at every wheel...you said you replaced the drivers side one...which one would that be?

When the noise is occurring, if you sway the car, whichever way you sway it and the noise stops, that's the side the bad bearing is on.
Alternately, whichever way you sway it and the noise gets louder, the bad bearing is on the opposite side.

Example, if the left front wheel bearing was bad...if you sway the vehicle to the left, the noise will get quieter or stop, and if you sway it to the right, the noise would get louder.

I agree, it sounds like a bad wheel bearing to me as well.

For one to be that noisy at 60K miles it must have taken a good impact at some point.

I replaced the front driver's side...it seemed maybe noisier on that side and that was also the side that took an impact supposedly (before I owned it) so I tried that one first. I also have a new front passenger side bearing but I haven't installed it, I wanted to be more sure before I try that since the other side didn't help. I have tried swaying while driving but I didn't think it got worse while turning either way unfortunately.

The swaying has to be done specifically to either enhance or reduce the noise.
First you have to be going fast enough for the noise to occur and then while maintaining a constant speed, sway the vehicle side to side.
You have to have it swaying in one direction long enough to note the change.

The only other possibility is that you have 2 bearing gone on the same axle.
Since you replaced the left front bearing, then that would mean both rear are gone...which i find unlikely.

The other option is to put the vehicle up on a hoist and drive it to the speed where the bearing makes noise.
Then listen to the back of the knuckle where each bearing is bolted to with a stethoscope and you should find your bad bearing.

I'm running out of ideas of how to check the bearing, but I'd bet money the noise is a bad bearing.

Good to know, I wasn't that in depth when checking it. I'll give that a shot thanks for the advice!

I don’t think it’s a wheel bearing, it sounds like an airplane taking off, the whine seems to accelerate and pitch higher with speed.? To me, and mind you, I’m no trained mechanic, but have a bit of experience in the auto field, it sounds like it’s a differential making the noise. Why exactly it would be sounding like that I couldn’t tell ya, but that’s what I’d say it is. So I’d inspect the diffs for damage. You said the front had an impact, so I’d venture to say the front diff, rear diff, and/or center are the safest places to start. Keep us posted.

^^ You sort of suggested the same thing as me. I had an Acura TL SH-AWD and they were known to have propeller haft problems and these sounded very similar but again, hard to give an accurate diagnostic over a youtube video :)

Some valid points that it could be a driveline noise...like a shaft or diff.
However, in the case of the TL, they were known to have this issue, whereas the IS driveline has been around too long (13+ years) and has not been known to have such issues. I would agree that someone has to be the first one to have this issue, however after soooo many years, I doubt it.
Also, diff. noises are much easier to eliminate. When the noise is occurring at a steady speed in a straight line, simply releasing the gas pedal will have a dramatic impact on the noise, and then applying the gas again should have another dramatic impact on the noise.
In the case of diff's, it is either being driven by the transmission via propeller shaft (when you're on the gas), or driven by the wheels via the driveshafts (when you're off the gas).
As the most likely noise you will get from the diff will be from a worn pinion bearing, simply treating the gas pedal like an on/off switch you can make the diff noise come and go. There's no need to floor it either, just simply pressing and releasing the gas pedal when at speed, in a straight line, will make the noise go and come.

Do this but be very careful. Put it on a lift and get it in the air (shake test so its solid on the lift).
Let it idle in drive. (stay in the car when it goes in the air. You might have to hit the gas to make the noise louder).


And also heres the way a mechanic should check for a bad wheel bearing..
Get the wheel thats suspected to be bad (when its in the air. Leave the tire bolted up) grab the tire at 12 o clock and 6 o clock.
With a firm grip try to wiggle the tire from 6- 12 back and forth. If you feel the slightest amount of play, thats a bad bearing.
You can have somebody look at the other side to verify.

If its bad it will look like the rotor is moving with the wheel. And you will notice the hub isnt moving.

Well it turns out it was the front right wheel bearing. Replaced it last night and the sound is gone! I was worried that wouldn't solve it, there was no play in the wheel and even when taking the bearing off the car it seemed to spin smoothly. It was also difficult to make it louder/softer with maneuvers and it was pretty subtle when it did. But it's fixed, so I'm stoked it's not something more serious. Thanks for the help everyone.

Glad to hear it was resolved and we have another point of reference for the future. Good job.