GS 450h The Dreaded Rattle

claytow · March 2, 2019

Hi Guys,

Have a 62 plate 450h Premier and I have a dreaded rattle. Its not something I wanted or expected with my Lexus and it wasnt there when I bought it. I drive it alone usually and all I can ascertain from driving it is that it seems to be coming from somewhere in the centre of the dash and obviously is loud enough for me to hear and is annoying..

I'm trying to get someone to drive with me to see where it is but just wondering if theres anything I can look at or if any of you have any experience of a rattle around the middle dash area?

Thanks

Shahpor · March 3, 2019

Hi Wayne,

Sorry for being dense, but which rattle specifically are we talking about here?

Thanks.

claytow · March 3, 2019

Thats the point...

I cant find it so am asking if anyone else has come across a rattle somewhere around the centre of the dash.. sounds like its coming from inside it but just asking really..

Shahpor · March 4, 2019

Oh, I see. Sorry, from the way you described it as 'the' dreaded rattle I thought you were talking about a known issue.

I occasionally have a 'buzzing' sound from the centre of my dash (like a vibration), but nothing that I would consider a rattle.

genius149 · March 4, 2019

Could it be something as simple as a leaf finding its way into the air vent system? Admittedly very unlikely given the pollen filters etc but not impossible. I know I've had that with some older cars. I've currently got an old parking ticket on the passenger side corner of the windscreen that I keep forgetting to move and sometimes that makes a racket if the blower catches it. Could be something like that maybe?

mrfunex · March 4, 2019

Be interesting to see if it disappears when the weather warms up a bit.

My old GS450 used to rattle a bit from the lower windscreen when the temperature was less than 7C. That was, until I used a spatula to wedge some black felt into the gap between the dash and the windscreen!

The hybrids are so quiet, you probably wouldn’t notice the noise in anything else!

claytow · March 4, 2019

Thanks Guys, definitely sounds like something inside, not something light or in the vents, its going into Lexus in a couple of weeks for the MOT, I have an issue with one of the healdlight washers I want them to look at so I may get them to see if they can help with the rattle too.

claytow · March 9, 2019

As an update, had a friend today have a listen while I drove and he says its coming from passengers side dashboard up near the windscreen but sounds like its coming from inside the dash as no amount of pressure on the outside seemed to stop it. Not the glove box either so have no idea if it could be something under the bonnet doing it? or if there's something actually in the dash around there that could be. The left hand speaker grill in the dash was loose but that wasn't making the noise.

Its into Lexus next week for its MOT so all I can do is ask I guess see if they can help as it has me stumped

Vlady · March 10, 2019

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 2:14 PM, Shahpor said:

Oh, I see. Sorry, from the way you described it as 'the' dreaded rattle I thought you were talking about a known issue.

I occasionally have a 'buzzing' sound from the centre of my dash (like a vibration), but nothing that I would consider a rattle.

I have it too, on particular road surface or speed you can hear it from the center of the dashboard but I could not pinpoint the location of it, very annoying.

Vlady · March 10, 2019

11 hours ago, claytow said:

As an update, had a friend today have a listen while I drove and he says its coming from passengers side dashboard up near the windscreen but sounds like its coming from inside the dash as no amount of pressure on the outside seemed to stop it. Not the glove box either so have no idea if it could be something under the bonnet doing it? or if there's something actually in the dash around there that could be. The left hand speaker grill in the dash was loose but that wasn't making the noise.

Its into Lexus next week for its MOT so all I can do is ask I guess see if they can help as it has me stumped

Keep us updated and good luck.

From my experience garages usually say - sorry, we couldn't find anything and did not hear anything. They just can't be bothered to look into it, so I hope they will sort your noise out.

Shahpor · March 10, 2019

3 hours ago, Vlady said:

I have it too, on particular road surface or speed you can hear it from the center of the dashboard but I could not pinpoint the location of it, very annoying.

Mine happens when I am standing still! I have discovered that it only does it when it is cold outside and then for only the first minute or so. It isn't the fan though since it is still there if I turn it off.

claytow · March 12, 2019

Well,

Car went in today, the rattle was there and the master tech came out with me... It seems jamming your fingers between the windscreen and the dash stops it , but as to what it actually is nobody knows, he hasnt come across it before. He has sprayed the area with silicone although not sure what that will do, it still seems to make noise but other than remove the dash they cant help. It seems very similar to the old 450 rattle I had in the dash and that was only cured by shoving felt near the windscreen.

Oh well, hope nobody else has this.

Other than that sailed through the MOT and a nice small bill.

Vlady · March 13, 2019

Thanks for update Wayne.

This rattle almost drove me nuts yesterday morning! I tried to push air deflectors, clock etc but nothing worked, I was really hoping for Lexus to sort you out! I thought they would say, that to find out the rattle we need to take apart the dashboard!

Let us know if you find a solution to this. In a meantime I will empty my glove box and door pockets to eliminate noise (if any) coming from rubbish in them!

claytow · April 1, 2019

So, today forced some foam down the dash using a kitchen spatula and voila, no more rattle, its pretty invisible too so am happy with the cheap result..

However its exactly the same problem I had on my 2008 450h, wasnt expecting the same issue on a 2012....

The-Acre · April 1, 2019

10 hours ago, claytow said:

So, today forced some foam down the dash using a kitchen spatula and voila, no more rattle, its pretty invisible too so am happy with the cheap result..

However its exactly the same problem I had on my 2008 450h, wasnt expecting the same issue on a 2012....

It's a shame, and not what you would expect. My GS had some terrible creaks but were all sorted using various bits of padding. The worse being between the dash and windscreen. I ended up putting some black rubber used in double glazing in the gap, it wasn't visible and stopped the creak!

Vlady · April 2, 2019

Is there a particular location where to put the rubber or the foam? Did you have to disassemble your dashboard?

The-Acre · April 2, 2019

2 hours ago, Vlady said:

Is there a particular location where to put the rubber or the foam? Did you have to disassemble your dashboard?

On my GS the worst creak was where the dash met the windscreen. I simply put some of this down between the two and it solved the problem. No need to dismantle anything. A bit of spray silicone helps to wedge it in. Look on eBay for double glazing rubber. It's only cheap so maybe get a couple of different sizes. I think I used 4mm. Because it's black and the top is rounded and smooth it didn't even notice.