NX300h Squeaking Tailgate???

Steve Oliver · May 4, 2022

Hi folks, what I believe to be the tailgate in my 2019 NX 300h has recently started squeaking. While traveling on rough roads all of a sudden I get this noise like two pieces of plastic rubbing together. If I stop and lift the tailgate and close it again the noise goes away for a few minutes then returns.

Anyone else had this? Any suggestions/solutions anyone please - it's starting to get really annoying!? 😡

Al D-Much · May 5, 2022

It's more than likely the rubber seal around the tailgate. Spray it with some silicone, that should cure it.

Steve Oliver · May 5, 2022

2 hours ago, Al D-Much said:

It's more than likely the rubber seal around the tailgate. Spray it with some silicone, that should cure it.

Thanks Alex, I'll definitely give this a go. Would be better than the suspension about to drop off... which is what it sounds like!! Cheers, I'll let you know.

malcolmw · May 5, 2022

The proverbial GummiPflege is what you need. This is a treatment for rubber seals.

Our NX tailgate occasionally squeaks when opening and closing but a bit of WD40 on the hinges fixes this.

rayaans · May 5, 2022

Gummiplege is OK but silicone spray on a rag wipes over the seals seems to last a lot longer and provide more lubrication between the seals in my opinion.

wharfhouse · May 5, 2022

GummiPflege is brilliant - did all my door seals just recently again (hadn't done it for over a year) and it's quite surprising how many little noises it eliminates that I hadn't realised had come back over time. Would definitely recommend that everyone treats them every so often to make sure your Lexus is as quiet as it was designed to be.

Steve Oliver · May 5, 2022

Thanks for all your replies folks. As currently in Outer Hebrides on holiday, my options were limited (!), but got hold of some silicon lubricant from a 'hardware store' (£8!!! but beggars can't....) so tomorrow morning is lubrication time!! ☺️☺️👍👍

DanD · May 6, 2022

Do you have a rubber tray in the boot? - I find that mine sometimes rubs against the tailgate.

Steve Oliver · May 23, 2022

So, just to conclude this, I siliconed everything and was suicidal when it was still squeaking. When I could I emptied the boot of everything and discovered the spare wheel wasn't quite clamped completely solidly, a few turns to tighten it has completely resolved the issue... getting silicon spray on North Uist was a challenge and cost me £8 😂 - oh well, sorted. Thanks all for your suggestions 👍👍👍

Steve Oliver · June 29, 2022

On 5/23/2022 at 9:08 AM, Steve Oliver said:

So, just to conclude this, I siliconed everything and was suicidal when it was still squeaking. When I could I emptied the boot of everything and discovered the spare wheel wasn't quite clamped completely solidly, a few turns to tighten it has completely resolved the issue... getting silicon spray on North Uist was a challenge and cost me £8 😂 - oh well, sorted. Thanks all for your suggestions 👍👍👍

So, there's more, for anyone interested! 😒

NOT resolved. I thought the spare wheel had fixed it but it hadn't. Before too long the creaking returned. Some investigation revealed that the black polystyrene insert in the spare wheel squeaks like billy-o if it's moved against - well, almost any other surface... so I fully insulated it from everything and still the creak/squeak continued. Usually it takes a bit of journey to get it going again, so it's really frustrating, you think you've fixed it, then.... 😡

So I called the dealership (Lexus Chester) and took it in to them yesterday (4 hr round trip). It was creaking happily as I drove it into the forecourt. We left them to it, they then phone me - they can't hear anything... I return, I go out with them, I can't hear it either... they've re-siliconed everything I had siliconed, they moved the locking wheel nuts out of the boot and shifted the black insert a bit, have they fixed it?? 🤔

I have to agree that there's no noise so I agree to try and record it if it happens again. We drive 15 miles and the noise starts up again... 😭😭😭😡🤬
I record it, so I have a recording (yay!) and having really had enough, I remove the black insert from the boot, and we drive home - with the creak happily creaking all the way home. (so it's not the black insert)...

I'm at the end of my tether. What else can this be? Suspension?? (the dealership did check everything was ok, but would they have been able to detect a squeak/creak from the suspension which doesn't happen all the time?) Does rear suspension creak on an NX? I live quite near the sea, could this be responsible for the problem? Why does it usually take a number of miles before the noise occurs?

Anyway, for your delectation, attached is the recording - taken by my phone in the boot, driving slowly round a car park a couple of times... second half of the recording is clearer.

Any ideas?? 🥴

Tel · June 30, 2022

Have you completely emptied your boot as the noise does seam to be foam based but you need to start from square one again .

Once empty get someone in there.

Tel

Steve Oliver · June 30, 2022

1 hour ago, Tel said:

Have you completely emptied your boot as the noise does seam to be foam based but you need to start from square one again .

Once empty get someone in there.

Tel

The only thing I haven't yet removed and tried again with, is the spare wheel. This is coming out imminently (the weather has stopped me trying again since I got back)... but I'm increasingly thinking it's not in the boot. Also I thought the recording sounded less like polystyrene than I'd originally thought...

Cheers, Tel 👍

TimNX300h · October 13, 2022

Your recording sounds pretty much the same as my NX300h 2016. I've had it for 3 weeks and love it...except for the creaking sounds in the back. Sounds mechanical and is sometimes sounding together with control arms over speed bumps. Primarily seems to happen from side to side warping of the car body. I feel it originates somewhere between hatch and tailgate. There are no signs of panels rubbing against eachother, i silicon sprayed the door rubbers. Moved all the clutter from the hidden storage hole (no spare tire, just a repair kit). Pushed and wiggled evere panel in the back, shook the car side tot side, pushed down on the tailgate....no creak, squeak or moan. I cut of the lip of the rubber floormat so it wouldn't touch the hatch trim, i screwed it down so it wouldnt slowly creap up against it during a drive. The mat has been excused as a suspect. cargo in the hidden storage too.

Still... every time; it might start to creak from the start, or when i drive back home from work. It doesn't seem to be temperature or humidity related.

I guess i am going to have to unscrew all of the trim and buy some felt tape. I can live with the occasional squeak and creak form the suspension when taking a speed bump too fast, but this creaking is too much for me. Kind of sounds like there's a huge amount of torsion in the tail gate and one or two body panels havent been welded together.

Steve Oliver · October 13, 2022

Hi Tim, your experience is almost identical to mine. Sounds the same and we've tried the same things.... However, I currently have it sorted by my dealership...

They identified the problem as being caused by the tailgate needing tightening against the striker. They also put some fabric tape around the striker, and, so far so good... not a creak in 2 months - including a long trip to Cornwall and back. I've declared it resolved, and at least have a very good idea where to go if it happens again.

Hope that helps you. Let me know!

TimNX300h · October 15, 2022

The striker, unfamiliar with that, I'm not a native speaker. Please elaborate.

Today I put some extra sound deadening and insulation in the doors and completely took apart the rear end and tailgate trim to do the same there. I put cloth tape (for wiring harnesses) between panels that touch eachother. Also gave me a chance to check hybrid cooling fans for dust build up, very clean after 6 years. The car was already quiet so not an enormous upgrade, but the creaking became less audible, but still there! #%^^$$!

If by the striker you mean the latch and metal ring it closes around. I did nothing to them. How do they tighten it? And did they just put that fabric tape around the metal catch ring? Worth a try.

ColinBarber · October 15, 2022

24 minutes ago, TimNX300h said:

If by the striker you mean the latch and metal ring it closes around

striker is the metal ring:

TimNX300h · October 15, 2022

Oh man! I'm so happy! I just put fabric tape on the striker....and ..the sound,....it's....GONE!

Last nuisance was the rear cup holder. When opened, no problem, when closed; rattle.

Removed rubber cap above philips head screws at the bottom of the cup holder. Unscrewed and removed cup holder.

If you look at the back, you'll see that the chrome release button makes another plastic part pivot just a little to release the lid. That part is loose, I wedged a little fabric tape on both sides and also put some front and rear of the chrome button. Now that too is silenced.

I will sleep like a baby tonight

Dippo · October 15, 2022

1 hour ago, TimNX300h said:

I will sleep like a baby tonight

I thought babies kept people awake at night!

Steve Oliver · October 16, 2022

22 hours ago, TimNX300h said:

Oh man! I'm so happy! I just put fabric tape on the striker....and ..the sound,....it's....GONE!

I will sleep like a baby tonight

I am so pleased that's sorted it for you. Interesting to me too that you didn't have to adjust the striker's position (I DID wonder how the dealership did it, because I couldn't see a way to do it either - perhaps they didn't!!) - fabric tape appears to be the fix. Annoying though. 👍

ColinBarber · October 16, 2022

1 hour ago, Steve Oliver said:

I am so pleased that's sorted it for you. Interesting to me too that you didn't have to adjust the striker's position (I DID wonder how the dealership did it, because I couldn't see a way to do it either - perhaps they didn't!!) - fabric tape appears to be the fix. Annoying though. 👍

The striker will move, just won't easily after you loosen the bolts - you have to hit it and the plate behind it will move:

andrew-amazing · February 3

On 10/15/2022 at 8:10 PM, ColinBarber said:

striker is the metal ring:

I’ve the same exact problem / noise, where is this striker located?

Sorry but I’m not native English speaker and my local dealership proposed to change the entire pneumatic arms of the tailgate to solve the noise issue but by reading this post I believe we can solve it out easily.

Let me know please, thanks guys!

andrew-amazing · February 3

On 10/15/2022 at 8:59 PM, TimNX300h said:

Oh man! I'm so happy! I just put fabric tape on the striker....and ..the sound,....it's....GONE!

Last nuisance was the rear cup holder. When opened, no problem, when closed; rattle.

Removed rubber cap above philips head screws at the bottom of the cup holder. Unscrewed and removed cup holder.

If you look at the back, you'll see that the chrome release button makes another plastic part pivot just a little to release the lid. That part is loose, I wedged a little fabric tape on both sides and also put some front and rear of the chrome button. Now that too is silenced.

I will sleep like a baby tonight

How did you apply the fabric tape to the striker? I’ve exactly the same problem you experienced

Steve Oliver · February 3

Folks, get some strong tape like Gorilla tape or something and cut off about 3cm of it. Then wrap it around the striker that is in the centre of the bottom boot lip when the hatch is open. Wrap it around the outermost part of the loop only. One or two turns maximum will do the trick. More than that may stop the hatch locking when you close it.