Creaky Centre Dash Plastic

[LordByronUK]

I'm starting to get quite a lot of creaks from the plastic around the centre dash. In particular the silver plastic at the sides, the plastic around the HVAC controls and leather padded leg/knee support. It's starting to really irritate as I can hear creaks every time I go over bumps and when cornering as my leg presses against the padded dash support. If I wobble it myself by hand it all creaks quite a lot, and is quite nasty, not really what you'd expect from a 2 year old Lexus 😞

Anyone else experienced this and any possible solutions? Thanks!

[200h]

yes i have creaks aswell ,when i can be bothered i am going to take the centre console apart

and cover any touching plastic pieces with self adhesive felt ,i'm then going to spray all parts

with a silicone spray as it will lubricate the plastic and hopefully stop the noises.

[LordByronUK]

Does seem like an obvious design flaw, given the amount of testing these cars go through, I'm kinda shocked they don't put measures in place to prevent this. It wouldn't really cost them anything. There does seem to be a few build quality issues with the latest IS. My partner's NX does seem to be better built inside this regard, very solid inside and no creaks.

I'll take it back to the dealership first and see what they can do, and if no joy then I might do as you suggest. Thanks for the info. 

[200h]

its about 5 - 10 minutes work to strip down the centre console into its components.

 

[rayaans]

Mine is a late 2013 - no creaks to date. Its dead quiet inside now, especially with the new Goodyear tyres

[F.A.]

19 hours ago, LordByronUK said:

Does seem like an obvious design flaw, given the amount of testing these cars go through, I'm kinda shocked they don't put measures in place to prevent this. It wouldn't really cost them anything. There does seem to be a few build quality issues with the latest IS. My partner's NX does seem to be better built inside this regard, very solid inside and no creaks.

I'll take it back to the dealership first and see what they can do, and if no joy then I might do as you suggest. Thanks for the info. 

Unfortunately creaks and rattles are no longer covered by the warranty after the first year. So you may need to rely on some goodwill from your dealer to get these fixed for free. 

[LordByronUK]

Good to know as my warranty is about to expire, I'll be hammering the dealership next week!

[200h]

i have just finished removing the centre console on my IS the only part that may catch you out is a hidden screw on the drivers side

once the side panels have been removed under the selector window there is a philips screw this needs to be removed before you can go any further.

on all contact points and all slots that have a clip fitted i covered them in a felt / wiring tape i've made a quick sketch showing how i covered the slots

i then silicone sprayed the clips and refitted everything

so far so good i have tried by hand to move the console and it feels quiet solid far better than before.

[TwoLexi]

This is simple to correct. The padded side panels are easily removed with a pry tool. You then remove the silver side strakes by unscrewing a few simple Philips-head screws (no stupid Torx screws on Lexi). If you want to then remove the main centre console, you pull up the Remote Touch and cupholder assembly (it just clips in). You then undo a hidden Philips screw on the drivers side underneath the transmission selector and unclip the console with a pry tool.

You will notice some felt padding from the factory. To improve it, all you need to do is buy some felt tape from amazon then cover every clip and all areas where parts touch each other. When you reassemble, you should see a marked improvement.

The great thing with the Lexus interior is that the fundamental build is nice and tight, simplistic and solid. So when you do this kind of work, it pays off because the basic quality is good. I once tried to do this on a Jaguar XF and it was nigh on impossible to get it solid because the design was overcomplex and the parts used where flimsy. 

[LordByronUK]

I video of all this work would be awesome :)

[LordByronUK]

Just what I was looking for, 

 

[200h]

at 4min 22 sec to the left of the multi plug with the coloured wires you can see a cross head screw

he should of removed this before lifting out the centre console panel

[darrude]

Wait till your car is 4 years old.... I've never owned a car as bad for rattles. I keep thinking about getting off the car purely for this reason.

[LordByronUK]

The only slight rattle I have is the driver side door mirror control buttons when playing loud bass music at certain frequencies, apart from that no other rattles, probably going to try and get that fixed at the next service...

The plastic creaks from the centre console are really bad though, and this has been quite disappointing (heard it's better in RC, definitely better in NX). So I'm going to try and fix it myself using the great help from all of you here. Felt tape and silicone grease at the ready!

[200h]

Hi david

i didnt use silicone grease just a silicone spray on the clips

[LordByronUK]

Yes was going to that and wanted to apply the grease to any contact points between the plastic dash trim, just to make sure. I find sprays just goed everywhere

[200h]

with all the panels being unclipped you can spray (mist them) them on the underside 

once they have been taken outside of the car so there isnt any mess or over spray

on interior panels.

over a week now since i removed my centre console and its been 99.9% creek free

just the odd creek when gong over some uneven ground.