Just took a long highway trip, and the winds were really blowing (up to 40 mph). Half way thru the trip I noticed a random rattling sound that was really hard to pinpoint. It seemed to be coming from underneath the rear seat, although it was hard to really pinpoint where. The noise seemed to pick up when a really strong cross wind was hitting me.

Since it is so darned cold and messy outside (New England) I have not been willing to crawl under the car to try to figure it out. Anyone have any experience with this? Is there some sort of heat shield or hose or something that can come loose and rattle under the middle of the car? Any likely places to look?

 

probably the fuel tank skid plate. it is a plastic sheild right on the front of the tank. modified ones have a foam strip on it so when it hits the body, no noise. to tell for sure look for rubbing marks, very evident. ask your lexus tech., we have seen a lot of these.

 

u beat me 2 it

 

Good idea! There's also been some discussion on the RX forums about various shields in the rear fender wells flapping under these conditions. You might try an advanced search to see a thread from back a couple of years ago - if my memory is still working. As wish and koolaid said, it's a relatively easy fix, you just have to look for signs of scraping of those shields. Maybe that's a job you can postpone until the weather warms up a bit - but by then the marks may have disappeared . . .

 

Thanks guys. I can rap on the front of the plastic gas tank shield and hear a rattling sound somewhere inside of the mess (who the heck designed this thing?! It is free to flap in the breeze at the front edge!). But after a couple of minutes my hands were frozen and I gave up trying to find it. Maybe this weekend.

At least I know it is a minor thing, and the tranny is not going to fall off!

 

Hi-My wife has been complaining about "The Noise" for some time now and I hadn't been able to find it although I have heard it and spent last week end under the car looking. I even took the plastic off of the left side of the car under the doors trying to trace it. When I put the plastic back on I noticed the plastic wind deflector in front of the gas tank was floppy, I put small towel between it and the undercarriage and the noise disappeared. I've since put foam tape on it and it seems a good fix. Then I found this post. It definitely worked for this rattle that I've spent way too much time trying to find. regards-Bill

 

I inspected mine as I bought it used and it had the foam on the gas tank shield. I am still getting a random howling type noise from the rear. I think it is exhaust related but the dealer could find no problems with exhaust or wheel bearings. If I could fix it I would have no issues at all!

 

Have you had an oil change at a non-lexus place recently. Sometimes they screw with the plastic shields underneath and do not reattach them properly.

 

Hence I do my oil. I check my work 2x. Ok, most of the time. I am also human and can make mistakes.

 

I drilled two holes about 6" apart at the leading edge of the shield. I took a piece of vacuum hose about 9" long and attached it with sheet metal screws through the holes going in to the ends of the hose. This creates a rubber loop that prevents the shield from vibrating.