Lexus Silence

[cadman2k]

I've owned a number of Lexus hybrids now and consider them to be a quiet driving experience.

That said I am not sure if sometimes the quiet experience has you picking up on any noises that may end up being an irritation. 

One thing I have just noticed on my 300H (and appreciate if other members can confirm) is that when changing from drive to reverse and that you hear the click of a relay from around the glove box area. It's the same latching relay sound that you get when turning your lights to main beam. I have noted that you don't get the same relay sound as you do on other cars when switching to high/full beam which I find quite nice. 

With the focus from lexus on a quiet driving experience would it be great if some of these general noises could be irradicated once and for all. 

Appreciate that some noises just cannot be got rid of and wonder at times if lexus ownership has made these noises magnified for me when they should just be expected. 

[NemesisUK]

The loudest noise in my RC is my tinnitus 🥺

[paulrnx]

2 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

The loudest noise in my RC is my tinnitus 🥺

+1 in an NX 🤣

[Arnett]

I personally hate the silence especially of the hybrid, the wifes NX drives me crazy just lacks the nice engine burble that makes my groin fizz.

One of the reasons I am hoping for a Hydrogen fuel cell car to pick up over electric is this very reason. Engine sound. 

 

[NemesisUK]

7 hours ago, Arnett said:

One of the reasons I am hoping for a Hydrogen fuel cell car to pick up over electric is this very reason. Engine sound.

Really? I thought the hydrogen fuel cell simply provided electricity for the electric motor(s), so would be as silent, perhaps even more so as there is no ICE unlike in the NX.

[Arnett]

1 hour ago, NemesisUK said:

Really? I thought the hydrogen fuel cell simply provided electricity for the electric motor(s), so would be as silent, perhaps even more so as there is no ICE unlike in the NX.

I find the NX so whiney even when I put my foot down tbh.  My mention of the hydrogen engine isnt that in preference over the NX its more in reference to the future of engines. 

 

But id rather that than just pure silence like a fully electric car.  

 

[Rabbers]

Lest they be considered malfunctions, Lexus provides a list of "Sounds and vibrations specific to a hybrid vehicle" in its owners' manuals (see, for example, pp.64-5, Hybrid system features, of the 2019 English-language RC300h manual).  The only sound I immediately recognised from the list and still find vaguely disturbing when I remain in the car or its vicinity after switching off is what Lexus calls "a soft clunk from the hybrid Battery under the rear seats".  As for the others, I have either so thoroughly assimilated them as to no longer notice or maybe never heard them in the first place.  As far as I am concerned, silence is one of the main virtues of a Lexus, so much so that I unselfishly share my bliss with third parties (not that they know it) by going into EV stealth mode in order not to disturb their slumber in the night or early morning, or offend their auditory sensibilities in underground car-parks.  On the other hand, my admiration is somewhat lessened by Lexus' manifest belief that excessive silence either dangerously anaesthetises the driver or generally makes for too tame a driving experience.  That Lexus should consequently seek to remedy these perceived shortcomings by equipping cars with a piece of acoustic bling like the ASC is, in my view, something of a let-down.  Fortunately, though, it can be turned off.

[NemesisUK]

Nicely put Renato.

The NX loaner I had recently came with pedestrian warning which as far as I could ascertain, can not be switched off. I always use EV mode on leaving and returning home and on this NX this warning was disturbingly loud, especially when reversing. If I were to move on to the new NX450+ I would have to find a way to stop this noise.

[Cegifer]

have you tried the ASC?

[Jayw13702]

I love the silence of the IS, when pulling away all I can here is the whine of the transmission.

I find the silence quite relaxing, in comparison to my wife's BMW diesel which I feel is a rattly noisy tank.

I love the sound of a nice exhaust note, my weekend toy is (in imho) the best sounding V6 engine in the world and is a total contrast to the IS