My LS 500 has done 14,000 miles, and I notice a high pitched whine between 1000 and 2000 RPM when driving slowly (below 30 mph).
It is most noticable as I gently accelerate from a stop, or as I am slowing down to stop.
The car is silent at idle. Under hard acceleration, I do not hear the whine, probably because of the louder engine noise.
I do not notice it when driving faster, even at low revs.
Is this normal with the LS500?
Is it the twin turbos?
Is it the transmission?
Can it be fixed ?

I feel it detracts from the refinement of the Lexus flagship.
Please advise

 

Do you have audio?

 

Prolly cupping or uneven wear in your tires. It’s about time for you to change your tires anyway. I would recommend a non runflat. And do not forget to align tires. Very important for the Ls500

 

Change tires at 14k? come on,,,, I'm finding more reasons to be sorry to have bought the car. But I do find that on some roads, the noise is really bad. By the way, The first 5000 mile checkup did include an alignment check, and no that is NO oil change. Said they wanted to filter out the metal flakes first? I've never heard of that before. Still only have 6700 miles on it, and it's under a year old.

 

Do you still have warranty? Let the dealer figure it out. Mine does not do that.

 

Definately not the tires. The pitch of the whine changes as RPM changes up or down .

 

I took it to the dealer who determined that the idler pulley bearing was bad. Replaced under warranty. Car has done 15,000 miles.

 

Same here brought mine in and just got it back, which they replaced the idler pulley, I think very early for it to go. I have just hit 20k

 

Hello I also have a 2018lexus ls500. The mileage is 30,000 miles. A few months ago I started to hear a similar sound from the engine side as you said. Now it is very loud. I'm out of warranty and have the same concerns as you, wondering if it's a turbo issue or if it's the engine or transmission. I was wondering if you have solved the problem with your Lexus now. If you have solved it, please let me know how you did it. Thanks.


Hello I also have a 2018lexus ls500. The mileage is 30,000 miles. A few months ago I started to hear a similar sound from the engine side as you said. Now it is very loud. I'm out of warranty and have the same concerns as you, wondering if it's a turbo issue or if it's the engine or transmission. I was wondering if you have solved the problem with your Lexus now. If you have solved it, please let me know how you did it. Thanks.

 

There are (2) posts above yours with the answers to your question. Replacing bad idler pulleys resolved the problem.

 

The posts your asking are 4 years old.
Please share your experience going forward. Perhaps what the cost of the repair might be. Thank you......

 

Could an idler pulley chirp?

Brand new 2024 that chirps under acceleration. Most noticeable at about 1500rpm and slower speeds. Silent at idle or when just revving engine. Dealer can't figure out the problem. Been in 3-4 times. Car has something like 3000 miles on it.