Just bought a brand new RX and felt the engine is very noisy when I accelerate the car. Actually it is even noisier than my 10 year old Sienna which has 3.0 v6 engine.

Is it because of the break-in period? After the break-in period, can it get quieter? Any comment is appreciated.

 

can you be more specific with the condition.
are all your windows down or up?
music ON or OFF?
what rpm are we talking about here?
are you coming from a red light?

Normally, it should be quiet.
my 2009 Toyota Camry makes more engine sound than my RX 350.

 

I believe your car has Direct Fuel Injection. That's why they are noisy. It's normal.

 

RX 350 or 450h?

 

It is 2012 RX 350.

 

Do you mean they gave me a special one? I bought it from a dealer like any other buys. I didn't ask a special one. How come they give me a direct duel injection model without telling me?

 

All window are up. Music is OFF. It happens when rpm move from 1000 to 3000. Once the car reaches a stable speed, it becomes quieter.

Since it is in the break-in period, i am wondering if it is related with the break-in. To be honest, I didn't expect it is so noisy when spent almost $50K on it.

 

The RX is NOT direct injection.

There is a good amount of engine/exhaust noise in the cabin. This has been discussed before... due to some difference in exhaust materials used for '11+. 2010 had a different and quieter setup.

At 16k miles now, and not any quieter...

 

You could go back to the dealer and ask to drive a similar model and compare the two.

If there is nothing mechanically wrong with yours it might just be a subjective thing that you'll have to adjust to.

 

Rpm of 1000 to 3000?
well Noise just like Pain is a subjective issue.
what's noisy to you maybe tolerable or negligible to some.

Let me give you my definition of noise.. relatively to the cars we own and have owned over the years.
Quiet : Toyota Prius running on EV mode ( purely electric) . You can expect the same with an RX 450h.
Average: Toyota Camry 2.4/2.5, Honda Civic, anything Honda etc
Loud: Dodge Challenger SRT8

Now, personally, i put the RX 350 quieter than the average.

 

Thanks Markrivers. I just tested again and found the engine is particularly noisy when rpm reaches 2000~2300 range. Below or above this range, the engine is much quieter.

Did you observe the same behavior?

 

John, are you talking about passing those RPM's with a heavy throttle or just steady cruise. If you're getting on it, you'll hear the engine at full song. If it's steady cruise, it should be like a church mouse. Someone else suggested you go by the dealer and drive another one just like yours. Listen and compare.

 

This issue has come up before, if you search this forum you can see how others described the issue. I have a 450h ... so I can't really comment.