rx300mm

.. until the engine warms up (which takes about 15min of driving).
My Rx300 2001, this is first winter driving with it and I think it does not like cold tempertures, there is a whining, high-pitched sound coming out behind the dash. .. only when it is driving and the noise is gone when you stop.
Could it be some sort of belt behind the dash that is working and in cold weather it is having a rough time . It will be coming off warranty very soon, so I need to understand and narrow down the problem for lexus garage to fix it.
Any help appreciated .

Lil4X

At -25C, I'd whine too! (Sorry, couldn't resist . . . )

Does the mysterious noise continue:

1. With the vehicle in motion, or only when stopped? (Driveline related?)
2. With the heater on or off? (Could it be a blower?)
3. At more reasonable outside temps? (Something, belt, boot, driver, etc. is just COLD?)
4. Long enough to demo for your dealer, or is it something that cannot be duplicated on the service drive like most annoying noises? (If it stops in 15 minutes, probably not!)

If you are running out of warranty, go ahead and visit your dealer and have this checked. This way you can at least establish that you brought the problem to their attention before the warranty expired.

Good luck!

rx300mm

Lilx4,
Thx for tips.
Come to think of it , does sound like boot noise. I drove for longer this morning and the noise did not go away and was coming from passengers side. I will test the heater. The RX300 is just under 50k miles. .. should the cv boot gone that soon..I wonder.
I will take it this week for service at Lexus.

Lexusfreak

Perhaps consider leaving the vehicle over night at the dealer (outside & hopefully is really cold out) so they can get an idea of the problem your experencing too.

HarrierAWD

C'mon, at minus 25 C, I think we all have too much expectation out of Lexus.

FWIW, my GM PoS had dash rattles all year round at all temperatures. Sounded like sledgehammer.

bizzy928

You are in Toronto?

During the past weekend of -25 (feeling like -40) degree celcius weather, our RX was acting up too. We park our RX outside so that makes things even worse. From my experience with cold weather and the RX is that what you experience is "normal."

The whining noise is upon acceleration, and it sounds like a wind up toy right? --- The same noise.

Its supposed to warm up on Monday to about a high of -4, I'm sure your whine will be gone by then.

What I suggest is that you warmup your vehicle for about 5-10mins before you start driving off. And drive conservatively for 15-20mins or until your engine warms up.

Booyah

Think about it does your body act the same at -25, I doubt it! The cold plays hell on ANY car at that temp......Tell me one car that is SILENT at -25 degrees. Just not going to happen with all the metals, plastic ect........no matter what you drive.

wing0

I also live in Toronto and my car is making all sorts of sound...lol...

This started about a month ago when the weather wasn't extremely cold. The belt closes to the grille makes whining noise when first starting. Even when it is pulling out of the driveway, i can still hear it. I dunno what's wrong with it.

There is a constant ticking noise inside the cabin with everything off. The noise is coming from the engine bay, even with ventilation on, i can still kinda hear it. A search shows that it could be injector noise? Never experienced the noise last winter at all.

The struts for the rear hatch stops midway, which happened during summer when i took it in for service, but they said it was fine. Now it just gets stuck at 45 degree angel and u have to push it all the way up. Does comprehensive warranty cover this?

This is all the problems on a 2001 RX300 with 20000 km on it. These problem got a lot worse during these days which i understand, but talking about a month ago when it wasn't that bad, i would expect there to have no whiny and ticking noise in the cabin. All regular maintenance have been done at Lexus with record. Will Lexus be able to fix these problems under warranty which is ending soon...

rx300mm

Lots of good suggestions, I am going book my suv for service at Richmind Hill Lexus this week,. Lexusfreak, I like the idea about leaving it outside their garage overnight.

bizzy928

Richmond Hill Lexus should have a "drop box" for overnight drop offs. You just go after hours, find the drop box, fill out a service request envelope, drop your key in the envelope and drop the envelope into the drop box. They will look at it usually first thing in the morning (6am) when there are no customers yet.

rx300mm

Bizzy928, that is a good idea.

Update: No -25 temp and no noise from the dash for last 3 days ... My RX likes warm temps !

bizzy928

Same here!

VVT-i

Second that. Heck, my bones will be rattle too at -25 degree celcius