Johnhav430

Almost 31 mos. of ownership, third problem.

Subwoofer! It's uncanny, I think that all of us will experience the common issues list. That actually means Toyota Motor manufactures consistently imho. 13 y.o. car, not a big deal.

I don't think I'm ready to go the replacement route and remove the seat and C pillar trim and hunt for the 12 ohm etc. What I'm planning on doing is to apply as little as possible, of RTV silicone. I don't know how little can come out of the tube. It would be ideal to get some inside and in-between, but I'm envisioning that it would be hard. If only on the outside, I could see it failing again in the future. But too much and then the paper cone is deflected ever so slightly. I'm not treating it as a big deal and when Home Depot texts that my order is ready, we'll try it.

p.s. check engine hasn't come back in 650 miles, that was problem #2!

edit saw someone use a toothpick on YouTube, not a bad idea as opposed to squeezing it from the tube...


note the separation is 180 degrees facing the trunk--sun?


inside of grille

Trilkb

Most people use a razor knife and stay inside the indentation left by the grill cover and cut the hole out big enough to remove the sub. I'm running a kicker 8" 4ohm dvc wired to 8 ohm. It's been fine for a year. I just used self tapping screws and screwed it in. Bass is back and that's all I cared about.

The difficulty of your repair is you need the cone centered. But they do make specialty glue for speaker repair

Johnhav430

Seems like the key is for an adhesive to remain flexible, and RTV silicone should do it.....my thing is the possibility is always there to simply replace....I've seen posts where problem came back, or where it did not....but seems to be a temp fix.....it is amazing to me how a small tear in foam creates a discernible for lack of a better word buzz or rattle...

edit p.s. what's the deal if factory was 12 ohm and 8 ohm is used instead, amp works harder? More current will be flowing...since the impedance is lower (8 ohm v 12 ohm)

Bocatrip

The silicone method might work temporarily, but is not a permanent fix. Refoaming is the next option. I did all of them and ended up replacing with an OEM speaker which although expensive was reasonable at the time from a Lexus dealership. With non OEM replacement woofers there is always the risk of damaging the amp. Good luck.

Jabberwock

Spreading adhesive goop on any speaker surround and cone increases suspended weight, adds mass, and definitely will affect how it performs.

vredniykot

I replaced my sub with an aftermarket one.
Taking the back seat out is not that huge of a deal, i just watched a couple of videos on it to see where the bolts are and it didn't take long to get it all apart. Longest part was tinkering with the bracket and soldering/bridging the replacement sub.
It took me about 4-5 hours, with beer breaks, on a weekend

Johnhav430

Now I understand what's going on, it was not what I initially thought.

For those who want the long story short: If you want instant gratification, and want to spend under $4, the silicone RTV fixes the symptom, back in business, no more buzzing, probably good for the near future. It does not address the root cause, which is basically mummified foam that disintegrates when touched--this is the foam closest to the speaker, i.e. the inside of the ring. Mine was separated about 180 degrees, but upon being touched, 360.

I would respectfully disagree with those who say the sound is affected, and wonder if they know this firsthand, have heard it would, or are speaking theoretically. We are talking about low frequency.

Is it temporary, I think so, because once repaired, the foam will likely tear where it was not repaired, further from the cone. Then, I doubt silicone can repair it.

What does the silicone do? It rejoins the foam to the paper, and it was not what I thought where a toothpick would be effective. A LOT more silicone needs to be spread!

The paper travels up and down and the foam is its suspension. A hair from my head landed on the speaker. When the speaker was in action, the hair bounced up and down, that's how much travel there is. When my index finger so much as grazed the speaker? It made the annoying buzzing sound. I'm not talking about being pressed, I'm talking incidental contact. So that's what's happenening when there is a tear.

Would I want to repair my B&W speakers at home with silicone? Of course not, but then again, all speakers I installed as a hs kid in my friends' parents' cars were poly, not paper and foam. I would not want to spend $500 for the genuine speaker either, knowing its construction. But then there is the issue of it being 12 ohms. I remember enough of hs physics to know v=ir, so go to 8 ohms and current goes up.

My over under? I say it's 24 mos. So for me, I'd rather put this problem off rather than replace the speaker.

Johnhav430

Thanks, replacement is the right way, but then of course time and money. I can't let go of the 12 ohm v. 8 ohm. V=ir. impedance should be matched. If I were installing an aftermarket stereo, I would not put an 8 ohm speaker in if the amp is designed for 12. But my hunch is maybe the amp is ok with it. Just don't like the idea...for now it sounds like before so I'll roll with it. I think it will last 24 mos.....naysayers place your bets!

Johnhav430

I think I would be willing to cut the rear deck. Or, maybe by the time I need to replace the rear shocks need replacement and it's a 2 for 1....

jonathanz

iTrader: (2)

thanks for the tips OP, i'll do the same.. by the way, the speaker cover just pull up and pop out right?

2KHarrier

Easiest beginner repair you can do, John... Use Trilkb's suggestion and mark an area inside the periphery of the grill cover and cut the material out with a good, sharp blade. You can access the hardware for the original sub, remove it and install a replacement, all within a couple hours. Best part is you don't have to open up the rear shelf area at all.

Then do what I did and repair the original sub correctly (with a foam repair kit) and sell it on eBay to recoup the investment on the DVC sub you purchased. I purchased the Polk Audio db840DVC (about 50 bucks on Amazon) and it performed flawlessly until I sold the car (over 3 years of service)

Johnhav430

Thanks, I remember seeing the bolt at least for the rear left corner already. I am not sure that it can be refoamed anymore once the silicone is applied, I would think not? Because as we all know silicone is very difficult to get off of anything. So probably, anybody who wants to do this fix, BUT, repair the old as well, might want to leave the old alone and simply remove it. But again I could be wrong. On one DIY I saw a repair like mine only the material was black, not clear. The person said if his Polk didn't work he'd put this one back in....$50 is the nice price, though!!

Johnhav430

Yep, the grille pulls straight up to expose the subwoofer....

2KHarrier

Well, after spending a few minutes searching, it appears that the db840DVC is NLA.... You may have to do a little research to find an alternate 8 inch DVC sub, but it should still be within the 50-60 dollar range.

2KHarrier

Yup, my DVC running 8 ohms lasted the whole time I owned the car and never had any distortion, clipping, cutting or failures.
Also, when I bought the car, I did the silicone repair and it lasted maybe 4 months. Maybe...

Band Aides are always temporary...