RX400H droning sound at motorway speed.

Glover · October 6, 2018

I've got the Cross Climates and I find them very quiet. Had them for over 2 years and approx. 20,000 miles. They had 6mm on the fronts and 6.5mm on the rears after 18,000 miles. I would definitely recommend spending the most you can afford on quality tyres after all they are the only thing between the car and the road! Chinese tyres and indeed most budget brands get very poor reviews from Which and other testers; the difference in braking distance between a quality tyre and a budget brand can be over a couple of car lengths and that's when they are new and in the dry!!!!

olliesgrandad · October 8, 2018

My car has similar droning noises at certain speeds and when I bought it from Lexus Derby it had a pair of brand new Azura tyres on the front (what a surprise). Original Dunlops on rear. I am convinced that it's tyre noise. I'm changing to set of Michelin Cross Climates in the next few weeks so will report back when they are on.

olliesgrandad · October 8, 2018

My car was serviced today and they commented the rear Dunlops tread had a stepped wear pattern. The comment was that this could sound like worn wheelbearings at certain speeds. I ordered a set of Cross Climates today which are due in at the end of the month. In the meantime my dealer is approaching Lexus to see if they will make an out of warranty contribution to replace /refurbish all my wheels as there are signs of corrosion around the centre caps on all of them.

welland · October 9, 2018

On 10/8/2018 at 8:51 PM, olliesgrandad said:

My car was serviced today and they commented the rear Dunlops tread had a stepped wear pattern. The comment was that this could sound like worn wheelbearings at certain speeds.

That's interesting. One of my rear tyres has a weird stepped feel when rubbing a hand over the surface. However, all the noise seems to be at the front.

olliesgrandad · October 10, 2018

A thought. Which wheel is the Azura on.?

welland · October 10, 2018

1 hour ago, olliesgrandad said:

A thought. Which wheel is the Azura on.?

Wife's gone to work in the car now, so can't check. Will look later. It could be on the rear, and it could be the one with the funny bumpy wear pattern. WHat are you thinking?

olliesgrandad · October 11, 2018

Well I know my rear Dunlops are stepped but the rumble on my car is difficult to locate. Could be the front Azuras but won't know until my cross's climates are fitted.

welland · October 11, 2018

My Azura is a pace model. It is fitted on the right rear. (My memory isn't too bad after all 😉).

Are you having four new tyres fitted? Don't suppose you could get the fronts done first, then go for a spin before getting the rears changed?

Rutlandlex · October 11, 2018

Noises like this tend to reverberate around the cabin making it very difficult to identify where exactly they are coming from.

olliesgrandad · October 11, 2018

I'm pretty sure that the rears are noisy and the fronts are clearly of suspect quality so shall get them all changed at same time and tracking done

olliesgrandad · October 22, 2018

4 Michelin Cross climates fitted today at cost of £700. got the Michelin refund deal and as the tyres are 19 inch that means a preloaded Visa Card with £100 credit.

Car is totally transformed and all rumbling has disappeared so clearly was a tyre issue.

Will report further on their performance when i've done a few miles on them.

welland · October 22, 2018

On 10/11/2018 at 9:29 PM, olliesgrandad said:

I'm pretty sure that the rears are noisy and the fronts are clearly of suspect quality so shall get them all changed at same time and tracking done

Did the noise change on different road surfaces, at different speeds or when going around corners?

olliesgrandad · October 22, 2018

Different road surfaces made a difference, but as I piled the miles on the noise became more pronounced. Motorway speeds made the noise more pronounced.