skylermao

Hello,
I am a 2010 RX450h owner. About 3 months ago, my vehicle's rear seats had some rattling problems, so I went back to Dealer for a repair and I believe they replaced the rack for the left seat.
The good news is, the rattling problem is better now. Not all good, but quieter than before.
But the bad news is, I now notice that, when I drive my vehicle on the road, I can see my left rear seat vibrating, even on a freeway. The right rear seat(the larger one) tend to be vibrating when driving on poor condition roads. And when that happens, I can hear and see that the middle rear seat's seat belt is kind of flying around...

Currently my car has been sent back to the dealer, and they tend to claim that it is "NORMAL" for the seats to be vibrating and having some noise as they have adjusted recline/declines. But I remember how quiet my car was when I first got it... And the loaner RX I got from the dealer does not have the seats jumping around like its alive... How should I solve this problem? Thanks

Gribble

wedge some bath towels behind the back seats and the rattle will go away. I used about three bath towels and folded them up and wedged them behind the back seats and that solved the problem Hope it helps for you.

User 41924

Go back and make them fix it! You shouldn't have to wedge towels in the back seats of a $50K car to make them stop rattling. This is my least favorite attribute of working with a Lexus dealer. It seems like their default answer is always "operating as designed", "normal", or "couldn't reproduce". It's shameful. That said, the only rattle our 2010 RX had was the cargo cover, which I simply removed.

If it comes down to it, call Lexus Customer Satisfaction, and ask them if their 3 year old premium luxury vehicle is supposed to rattle like a '56 Chevy. They spend a lot of effort, money, and time creating a normally quiet cabin, and I suspect they might have an issue with having to stuff towels into cracks to make it .

UCSB

On my quest to remove all interior sounds from my 450h, I noticed that the upper part of the seat sections clip together when they are up in the normal position. They do this with a round bar extending from one seat section that is clamped into the seat section next to it. These attachment mechanisms can be seen from the backside of the seats on the upper portion of the seat backs. I covered these connection bars in tape so that there would be zero metal to metal contact. It was easy to fix. As to the ultimate stability of the entire back seat, I think the fact that it can be divide into three sections, can recline and has an extensive center console built-in will limit its integrity.

AZJoe

I have a 2013 RX350 and am overly sensitive to any noises (especially if I don't take my OCD meds). I've had a rattle noise in rear seats when driving over rough road that causes vibration. The rattle was not noticeable going over bumps. After reading this post, I renew my search and eliminate mission. I finally found the rattle coming from the handle that is on the side of each rear seat to lower the seat back. This handle had a plastic cap over the attachment screws. The cap on one of the handles was vibrating on rough roads. Easily found by hitting the side of the seat, and listening. Cap easily pries off - noise gone.

Whitigir

Thank you so much AZJoe. I have the same problem, and I am going to do what you did. I appreciate

skylermao

Hello AZJoe~
Thanks for that info~ I check that handle too~
But how about the vibrating seatbacks? My rear seat seat backs are like "Alive" lol~
They tend to be vibrating when I drive on the freeway in California~ (Not very smooth but I should say it is the normal road in California).



Here is what happened when I was at the dealer (Longo Lexus in LA).
I test drove with a technician first and he saw the vibration, and a gap between my two rear seats that was not there until after a repair at that dealership due to rattling problem about 3 months ago. He said that the gap was really kind of big, and might be the cause of the vibration as the two seats might be too far apart, and said that he would talk to his supervisor.

When the senior or supervisor of technician named Albert came up to me, he was talking to me in a bad attitude, claiming that the vibrating on the rear seats is normal because the seats were designed to have decline, recline, and all those movements that other LSUVs do not have. He tested drove with me, but he was the one whose driving... (How can you see the vibration then?) He then said that each seats is different, and therefore caused that gap between my two rear seats, and cannot be adjustable. (Why didn't you inform me before the repair?) and if it is a correct statement that all components are different (official components from Lexus), why should we go back to dealer to do repair? Lastly, he said that I should just leave it along... We purchased a 50~60 gram luxury SUV and this is not an acceptable answer...@@


So right now, I have an appointment with Longo again. They are saying that a technician of Lexus North America will come to the dealership and will test drive with me to see if the vibration and rattling can be resolved.

EMSLEXUSRX

I have had these same issues on and off with my '10 RX, since I've driven it back in July of 2010. What I usually do is when I see either the vibrating rear seats or hear the rattling, I pull off into a parking lot or such, and readjust the folding of the rear seats and that usually makes the problem go away.

skylermao

Here is a video of my seat backs vibrating when driving on California 60 Freeway.

Droid13

Wow, that is quite a big gap!

Mine is quite snug, 0 gap, it takes a firm pull to get the center armrest to pull out from between the two seats.

AZJoe

That gap should not be considered "normal" with the Lexus standard of fit and finish.

A tighter fit could probably reduce vibration or could cause other seat to vibrate a little more. I have the vibration on rough road, but mine seems to be more on the passenger side. I move the seat up and back and set the seat in steepest recline position. That seems to reduce the vibration. I don't know how the front and rear seats differ in construction or attachment to floor , but I don't have vibration in front passenger seat. The rear seats are just in front of the rear axel, maybe that increases the force when you go over bumps.

The video is great idea and should help your case.

Good Luck

Hallettoil

You are spot on but to spend £40K on a car then stuff it with towells??? I'm rather disgusted!!

Hallettoil

I've tried it here in Wolverhampton, they really don't want to know, but you get to read today's paper and drink as much coffee as you like!!

skylermao

The problem was resolved by Longo Lexus in El Monte after fileing s claim with Lexus North America.
Lexus official first sent a technician from Lexus North America instead of just having the technician from Longo Lexus to take care of the problem.
After examiming the rear seats, the seats were readjusted and I kinda forgot if they replaced the seat rack or something.
The gap was gone and now they are stable as rocks

CapeDave

Well done! I am glad that got resolved for you.