Ok, I recently picked up a 2012 RX350 with roughly 65,000 miles. The car drives excellent and was extremely well taken care of, however I have 1 annoying issue that I would like to fix.

I am trying to diagnose what the creaking noise could be. The noise is typically heard when beginning to take off from a dead stop. The creaking can also be heard periodically when shifting from park to drive or into reverse. I have tried lubricating suspension components and even some of the brake components, however I am starting to think the noise could be related to a transmission or engine mount. I have tried searching on here as well as other forums, however I can't seem to find anyone with this issue. Any help is appreciated.

 

Our 2012 has 83k that we bought with 75k and have not heard a sound like that.
Maybe it's low on trans fluid, which is not easy to check because the dipstick is deleted.
With 65k it's probably time to do a quick drain and fill anyway.
If you drain the trans fluid from the pan and do not get the normal 2+ qts (not sure of exact amount) out of it you would know it's low.
The previous owner of ours did a drain and fill just before we bought it.
If it's an engine/trans mount watch the mounts while someone else torques up the engine by giving it some gas in drive & reverse with the brakes on.
A broken or loose mount should be visible

 

That actually sounds more like a grinding than a creek. Unfortunately the sound over the internet is not that accurate. Does it only occur when you are moving? On the video it looks like that sound occurs when you shift before the tires move. If it's front-wheel drive, you can just jack up the front end and of course observe all safety precautions, but have someone do the shifting and listen with mechanic stethoscope over the transmission and other various components to see where it's coming from. If all wheel drive, you need to put up all four corners on jack stands and do the same. That's what I would do. Hopefully it's just a mount, engine transmission or otherwise.

 

I will try to check the Tranny Fluid level, however the sound is definitely more of a creak then grinding. I demonstrated the noise in a small space, so the shifting was necessary to replicate, however the noise occurs whenever the car is about to move. So it's not necessarily shifting related, it also occurs anytime you begin to leave from a stop sign or traffic light as well.

 

I have the same noise that you're experiencing. Also only when the car initially starts to move in a direction. I'm guessing it might be the motor mount but let me know if you are able to find out what the exact cause is. I can only hear it with the music off when I'm inside the car.

 

Looks like the exhaust is moving quite a bit as well. May want to get that looked at.

It almost sounds to me like brakes. Our RX makes a similar noise as you lightly let off the brakes and start to go.

 

Yeah, I saw the exhaust moving a lot, but I agree it has always seemed like it was a brake issue. I will see if I can find time to disassemble each brake and lube all parts.

 

It is possibly a motor mount or transmission mount. Your exhaust moves a lot in the video when you shift it into gear. That may indicate excessive engine and transmission movement due to failing mounts.

I doubt it is your brakes unless you always use your parking brake and that sound then may be parking brake springs and shoes creaking as you release the parking brake.

Parking brakes can be cleaned and lubricated, but it is a pain. You have to remove the rear rotors as the parking brake shoes are inside the rotor cap.

 

Sounds like a brake pad crunch noise to me.
Can you pin point where the noise is coming from?

Try releasing the brake pedal faster and see if it does it.

 

Did you ever figure out what was making this noise? I changed control arms and struts awhile ago and now I am getting the exact same noise that you described and showed in your video. I've taken the wheel off several times and lubricated, etc. and still can't find the cause.

 

My guess would be one or more worn-out engine mounts. How many miles on the vehicle?

 

I agree that it sounds like worn motor mounts. Did the noise begin after you installed new struts and control arms? Did you replace the strut mount bearings or mounts?
FYI GJohnson has not posted on CL in almost 4 years.

 

It began after I installed the new struts and control arms, but maybe 3-4 months later after we had a bunch of rain in CA over last winter. When I installed new struts, I also changed the part at the top that has the bearing. The noise doesn't necessarily happen when I turn or put the car in gear. It happens whenever I put forward or reverse pressure on the tire/control arm by pulling forward, reversing, or braking. I thought it was coming from the front bushing of the control arm, but I put some grease on it and didn't notice a difference. Also thought it was the tie rod end, but have ruled that out. If I take some weight off the vehicle by jacking it up slightly, I can make the noise by pushing on the 12 o clock position of the tire. Maybe there is a loose bolt on the subframe part that the control arm is bolted to? I would think the engine mount would make noise that is more in sequence with engine movement. I'll try to take a video. I posted on this thread thinking the user may receive an email when I posted.

 

I figured out the issue.. thought it would be good to post in case someone else finds this in the future and recognizes the noise.

There are three bolts connecting the lower control arm to the ball joint. The bolts were way too loose and I’m fairly certain the noise I was hearing was from shifting between the ball joint and the control arm. The noise was identical to the video from the original poster. I ended up replacing the control arm with ball joint again as part of this.. I didn’t realize those bolts were loose until I started removing them.

Lesson learned.. if you buy a control arm that comes with the ball joint, make sure the bolts are tight. I checked the left side and must not have checked the right side when I did both control arms a year ago.

 

Thanks for sharing.

I recently encountered a similar creaking noise but only when turning the steering wheel from side to side. After retorquing the suspension, the mechanic torqued the steering rack which turned out to be the culprit. All is well again.

(2013 with 50 k miles, redid the entire suspension earlier this year)