everton

Hi all.

This is my first post here. I bought a 2010 RX350 in September of last year. So far, I've had only about 1,000 miles on it. The reason is that whenever I drive it, there's always a faint clicking noise coming from the seat belt height adjuster. The noise is more frequent on uneven roads.

As mentioned, the noise is faint. However, because the seat belt height adjuster is closed to my left ear (and also because I have sensitive ears), I hear it all the time, and it's been driving me crazy. I took it to the dealer. The technician didn't hear it, but was kind enough to pretend to hear it. He replaced the height adjuster with a new one for me. But the problem still exists - to the point where I rarely drive it any more.

Does anyone else have this problem or has heard of this problem? Your comments would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

jskennedy

see my post here https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...esolution.html

noise is probably from you window shroud, use felt tape or a piece of foam/fabric/etc to remedy

everton

Thanks. I'll check it out tomorrow. The reason why I thought it came from the seat belt height adjuster is that I once drove with one hand pressing hard against it, and the noise went away. I'll post an update. Thanks again.

lmm2009

This was (is) a common problem. Please see my post

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...door-area.html

Good news is that the noise just went away on its own. From time to time I can still hear it, and I just roll down my side window and roll it back up, which always helped.

everton

Hi jskennedy...I think you are correct. Yesterday, I tried to see if my problem came from the same source. I drove with one hand pressing hard agains the trim, and the noise seemed to disappear.

Can you let me know if you've managed to get rid of it completely? Thanks.

jskennedy

i used a couple of felt stickers on the metal part of the door that contacts the ribs on the plastic shroud

you should be able to find some & hardware store or walmart

sunshne

i have the same problem but it goes away if i push on the b pillar cover so it cqnnot be the window dealer has not been able to fix it

sunshne

I think pushing on the pillar pushes on the window moulding where it was loose and inadvertently solved the problem fix the damn thing with double sided tape

sunshne

it is better to make the dealer replace the moulding the car is under warranty and that is what the dealer is supposed to do god forbid

everton

OK...an update. I took the car to the dealer earlier this week, and asked them to put felt stickers on the window trim. My impression after two days is that 80% of the noise is gone. I can still hear some noise under certain road conditions. Not sure if there's much else they can do (maybe apply more felts). I just hope that the felt didn't lose its effectiveness as time passes. I'm still not perfectly happy. Thanks for your help.

everton

New update after a month...The noise is still there, although it is less than before the fix. Still, on rough roads, it can drive you crazy. I'm starting to think that this is impossible to fix, as long as the window trim is made of that plastic thing. Is it possible to replace the whole window trim with one made of different materials?

By the way, I'm surprised that this problem is not experienced by more people. A problem like this can't be limited to only a few cars.

jskennedy

on the inside of the window trim are sections of little ribs

i placed my felt where these ribs where the ribs meet the metal door

if you do not already have felt there, try putting some there

if it is there, then try adhering the trim to the door w/ some acrylic caulk

this will create a moderate bond that can easily be broken in the future w/ a plastic putty knife

everton

jskennedy...Thanks for the reply. I believe the technician put felt in around the rib areas, but I'll ask them to check again. They must have been tired of me by now. With respect to putting caulk on, do you mean inside or outside the trim? One more question...Is the noise gone for good in your case? If so, Lexus should get you to write up the fix for this.

As a related matter, there's also noise from the steering column. I hear it at low speed. I have to ask them to look at this too.

This is my first Lexus. The car drives superbly. But the noise is maddening. Frankly, I didn't expect a car of this calibre to have basic problems like this. This whole thing has made me much more appreciative of my 12-year-old, lowly Nissan Altima - no noise (but road noise is another matter).

jskennedy

i was suggesting putting the caulk inside the trim, maybe a nice dime size dab on each of the rib sections

noise is gone from drivers side, i later started hearing sound from passenger side so i added felt there also

i've been hearing rattles from passenger side again the past couple of weeks

i need to get someone to drive me around so i can hone in on the source of the sound

during my 10k service & explained my fix to the diagnostic tech who worked the issue

he took a photo & said he'd send it to corporate

he also said best way for owner to help diagnose sound issue is to record a video

many cell phones now have built-in video recorders

he said corporate could determine the type of material making the noise by the sound pitch with software they had

everton

I forgot to say one thing. I've found that the noise is gone if I drive with one finger on the window trim. I don't even have to apply pressure. I think your idea of caulking it makes sense. Has it lost its adhesiveness after you opened and closed the window a few times? Thanks.

As for recording the noise, I don't think the microphone in a cell phone or a consumer camcorder is sensitive enough to capture the noise. The ambience noise will overwhelm it.