Tires can make a difference as mentioned.....Have you driven a couple others to give you a idea? One of my buddies has a '15 GLS, which to me feels a little more solid feeling...I do find the rx's really fairly quiet compared to many other vehicles thou. Really sounds like you need to kick up the volume & listen to Van Halen.

 

Just prior to buying our '19 RX, I had an identical one as a loaner from the dealer. It had Bridgestone tires that howled at 11,000 miles. The new one we bought is equipped with Michelins that make no such noise. While not as quiet as my 600, it is very satisfactory.

 

I don't think it's totally a tire issue. These vehicles are mechanically assembled and then delivered by truck, ship or whatever so it could be an issue there.
If it was me I would compare on a loaner during a service call.

 

Any non-entry level MB/BMW vehicle (5 series, X5, E Class, GLE, etc) is almost always quieter than the Lexus counterparts. The LS and LX are the 2 most quiet for Lexus. Lexus used to be known for a quiet ride but back then, others were mediocre. Almost all manufacturers have stepped up their game ever since. And car journalists keep criticizing Lexus for building "sofa couches". So we get new Lexuses with big tires and firmer suspensions which carry more noise. Drive a 2000 RX300 and a 2020 RX350 back to back, there is a huge difference. I would pick a modern RX300 any day of the week. If I wanted a sporty/luxury ride, I'd buy German cars.

To sum up, the MB GLE and BMW X5 are quieter than the RX350. That is expected.

 

I have to disagree with you hadokenuh. I traded in a 2000 RX300 with about 120,000 miles that I bought new for a new 2018 RX350. My 2018 is much better riding, and much much more quiet than the 2000! More pickup, more powerful engine. To me there is no comparison between the two.

 

Sorry I should have been more clear on the RX300 vs RX350. The comparison is for the "sofa couch" complain that Lexus keeps getting. I prefer the Lexus's old couches. If I wanted sporty/luxury ride, I'd buy Germans.

 

Okay, agree with you 100%. I would love to have the soft ride of the old Lexus. Do you recall when the LS400 first came out, people complained about the car being too quiet, can you believe that!! The quieter, the better for me.

 

The LS400 was before my time, but I've read that comment. I also read that being too quiet can cause nausea to some people though.

My 1st impression with my uncle's LS430 was WOW, literally felt like my couch at home except it could move.

 

+1 on the Borla. Had mine for over 2 years and I still love how it sounds. No drone at all while cruising but get at 2500+ rpm you get that nice growly growl. Also have an HPS short ram intake pipe using an AFE filter in the stock box. No heat soak. Liking this setup better than when I had the Takeda intake installed.

 

"Personally for me, only the ES and LS hold up that reputation for a quiet ride these days. Everything else in the lineup is rather middle of the road when it comes to "quietness" and remember, it's quite a subjective thing too.
I will say though, the 4RX is much quieter than the 3RX, but it's not as quiet as some of the rivals. If you have an RX F-Sport, you may find the sound generator to be annoying after a while too."

exactly... exactly my opinion. I had a GS, LS and now the third RX (4Th Gen.)

 

We went on a trip of 5 hours one way. I discovered that the worst offender for noise is road noise. It is very dependent on the pavement on which I am driving. On the best pavement, the car is very quiet. However, on some sections of road, the noise is so bad that my wife and I have to speak louder to be heard. We never had this problem with our 2017 Mercedes GLE 350 regardless of pavement. So, it seems that our Lexus does not do a very good job of mitigating noise from the pavement. Our tires are Michelin LTX Premier. The car and tires have only 3200 miles on them. The car was very comfortable on our trip, but the NOISE!

 

Can't imagine that problem, had a 2017 RX with the same tires (17"), and it was very quiet. More so on some roads than others, but never a problem.
On a related note, I had occasion last week to ride in the passenger seat of a 2018 Mercedes S560 and was surprised to feel some harsh bumps and rattles when going over pavement joints. Only had 8000 miles on it.
Never road in a car that expensive!

 

My wife's daily driver is a 17 RX. I've driven it many highway miles and never experienced what you describe. My boss has the biggest Benz SUV whatever that model is and its no quieter than our RX. My ES is in fact quieter than both😀 but apples and oranges.

 

My experience is about the same. Pavement matters a lot. It's not awful, but certainly nothing special, either. Thanks for mentioning the tires. I was considering new tires to try to help, but the LTX has a very good reputation for low noise.

 

also the 20 inch tires make more noise than 18inch ones just so you know...