I have a 2020 RX 350 F Sport (~30k miles) that has developed a ticking noise coming from front driver and passenger side when standing outside of the vehicle. I'm unsure if it's related to the cold temperature, but it only occurs when driving the car after it has warmed up. I do not hear anything unusual after a cold start.

I've gone to the dealer twice now and they're reported everything looks fine and that it's no different than any other RX, but I haven't heard another RX that exhibits the same noise.


Has anyone else experienced anything similar? The car drives fine, oil was replaced ~3k miles ago, and there are no warning lights appearing.

 

I have the exact same noise on my 07 ES. It started about 7 years ago and I was concerned as well, but other than being an annoyance, I haven't had any engine problems. I guess this is what some 2GR's do although I'm surprised you have it on relatively newer model with low miles.

 

Wife's RX engine has a ticking noise that I've noticed when in a drive thru lane and being close to the building wall and the window is down. The noise is not as loud/noticeable when car is idling away from any structures.

 

Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s the direct fuel injectors. The 4th Gen RX engine has both direct and port injection and it switches between the two depending on the engine demand so sometimes you won’t hear it.

 

Did it ever get better or worse with the weather? I feel like this just started occurring one day. I don't expect it to be silent, but it just seems a little excessive for what I consider to be still like a new car.

 

No, the weather has no effect on the noise, but in similar fashion, it starts after the car warms up, no ticking on cold start. It used to bother me, but I just blast some music and forget about it.

 

I believe you are correct. In my case though, it never stops and is fairly noisy. Once the car is warmed up it will always tick. I've had friends/co-workers point it out so I'm a bit stunned Lexus hasn't resolved this issue.

 

Lexus doesn't care anymore about the never ending problems that show up. All they say is "it's performing as intended" or " can't duplicate the issue".

 

Any vehicle with GDI is gonna make some kind of noise when it is in operation. Some will be quieter than others.

 

this seems to have come out of the blue. Wouldn’t this have been some what noticeable from the beginning?

 

Because the GDI high pressure fuel pump comes on at times when the PCM commands it to. It does not come on all the time.

And you would need to be paying attention to it to hear it as it is quite quiet on these vehicle.

It is usually louder in the mornings due to higher rpms.

 

Update for anyone who ventures to this post in the future. I told Lexus to do an early oil change and the issue went away. Maybe it was bad oil, but glad it didn't require any other work.