Creaks and rattles

[Richolf]

My new NX has suffered a number of rattles since new.  most of these have now been resolved however there are still about 2 that are not there on every drive and have not been there on visit to the dealer and I have been unable to pinpoint where they are coming from.

I am also getting a lot of creaking which seems to be coming from the passenger side and one from the dashboard, the dashboard one is not loud but I can hear it.  Car has been back 4 or 5 times since new in October for these and other issues and whilst improved far from ideal

Very disappointed this is the worse car I have ever owned for creaks and rattles, even when previous cars have been a number of years old.  This car is far from refined.

Any ideas or similar issues ?

[Alan Thompson]

I've had an intermittent rattle/noise form the passenger side and it only appears on random occasions.

I worked out that when there is no one in the passenger seat, the seat belt buckle, if it hasn't retracted flat to the trim rattles against the trim. I lean across and move it, issue solved - until next time.

[RXtoNX]

For the passenger seatbelt knocking, I resolved that by moving the shoulder height adjustment to its lowest position. Seems to have at least minimised the knocking so far.

Other than that ours remains rattle/creak free 🤞🤞🤞

[Richolf]

I have had the seatbelt rattle when left at an angle but still sometimes have a rattle there when sitting correctly

[Ken R]

Other than the already mentioned seat belt buckle being "twisted " I haven't heard any random rattles/creaks and car now at 17k + miles.

 

[Starlight]

11,000 plus miles and no rattles or creaks. Had brake/damper noise less than 500 miles but all resolved. It seems every production batch have just that one that just requires final fine tuning before rolling off but did not get it. I thought mine was that for the first 500 miles.

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

14 hours ago, Richolf said:

My new NX has suffered a number of rattles since new.  most of these have now been resolved however there are still about 2 that are not there on every drive and have not been there on visit to the dealer and I have been unable to pinpoint where they are coming from.

I am also getting a lot of creaking which seems to be coming from the passenger side and one from the dashboard, the dashboard one is not loud but I can hear it.  Car has been back 4 or 5 times since new in October for these and other issues and whilst improved far from ideal

Very disappointed this is the worse car I have ever owned for creaks and rattles, even when previous cars have been a number of years old.  This car is far from refined.

Any ideas or similar issues ?

David.. You Have The most Wonderfull car But Just out of Sheer Curiosity Was Your car Built in Japan Or Canada ? This Might Have No Relevance Whatsoever But I did watch a video Recently which Suggested that Lexus cars built in Canada were not so Maticulously Built As Opposed to the Cars rolling of the Production line In Japan ..That of course does Not mean your car is not of the same Calibre and Distiction as any other Lexus Built Car but the video did seem to suggest that The build Was Ever so slightly Better... Another possible Point To Consider Is That when you hear A Crackle or Creak Coming from Your car Once your Mindset Registers This It has the Capability of Making us Concentrate on this Noise and then Everytime you switch on the vehicle Your first Thought is to Focus entirely on what you expect to Hear.. In Effect The car Takes over your Rational way of Thinking..I Have done this myself in the past as i,m sure lots of L.O.C. members have too...Try What Social Scientists call Systematic Scepticism I.e. ( Making yourself A Stranger in a world That is Familiar to You )..Or On Another Pretext Walking in to your Home as if its the First Time as a Stranger and see How your perception Changes.. I Could be entirely Wrong on both counts david And this is my opinion Only But I hope that possibly Gives a little Scientific Thought to the Problem .......

[Eggie]

Firstly I thought the NX built for uk market all came from Japan.  I happy to be corrected.

regarding the rattles I know its a long shot but when I had one I traced it to the glasses compartment above the rear view mirror.  My glasses when in there were causing the rattle which stopped when I removed them or wrapped the cleaning cloth around them.

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

48 minutes ago, Eggie said:

Firstly I thought the NX built for uk market all came from Japan.  I happy to be corrected.

regarding the rattles I know its a long shot but when I had one I traced it to the glasses compartment above the rear view mirror.  My glasses when in there were causing the rattle which stopped when I removed them or wrapped the cleaning cloth around them.

Tony .. The Lexus NX is also Built in One of Three plants In Ontario Canada Think Its Cambridge..!!! If Its built in Japan Your VIN number starts with a J  Can,t remember of the top of my head what the letter is for Canada...!!!!

[Scotlex]

36 minutes ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

Tony .. The Lexus NX is also Built in One of Three plants In Ontario Canada Think Its Cambridge..!!! If Its built in Japan Your VIN number starts with a J  Can,t remember of the top of my head what the letter is for Canada...!!!!

Good to know. Thanks

[Gary H]

My previous UX was prone for the front passenger seatbelt buckle knocking against the 'B' pillar if it wasn't straight. My NX isn't so bad but it still crops up every so often. Indeed - a case of lean across, adjust it and all is well again until the next few times the passenger seat is in use. 

The only other creak/buzz I've detected so far in 2800 miles is an odd knock coming from the driver's/offside 'B' pillar. Similar to the seatbelt buckle sound on the passenger side - but of course, the seatbelt is in use so it can't be that... 🤔 I've only heard it twice so far and that's been on a notably rough pieces of road. It's not cropped up enough for it to be a concern - just something I'm keeping my ear open for. 

Other than that, I've got nothing else to report on this front so far. 

[Eggie]

2 hours ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

Tony .. The Lexus NX is also Built in One of Three plants In Ontario Canada Think Its Cambridge..!!! If Its built in Japan Your VIN number starts with a J  Can,t remember of the top of my head what the letter is for Canada...!!!!

Not according to Lexus. Please see quote as in lexus uk  magazine which states NX uk spec made in Japan.. not that it matters much :
 

Toyota UKsays:

6 January 2024 at 10:53 am

Hi Gordon, congratulations on your new purchase.

The UK specification Lexus NX is manufactured at the Miyata Plant at Toyota Motor Kyushu and Tahara Plant at TMC.

Thank you for choosing Lexus and we hope you enjoy your new NX when it arrives.

 

[Gureamu]

The seatbelt rattle is a really frustrating one and seems to be due to the use of cheap 'scratchy' plastics on the inside of the B pillar in the NX. In my view these may be appropriate in a Toyota but Lexus should aspire to the quality of say a BMW and banish scratchy plastics from the cabin. They just scream 'cheap'.

[Richolf]

Thanks all, it’s going in again on Thursday.  The dashboard squeak/creak seems to be worse over rougher roads and as the car is heating up.

I definitely agree that once you hear it the mind gets attuned to it and you subconsciously listen for it again.

will be interesting to see what the dealer says.  The loan car I had did not have this particular noise.  It had a couple of rattles but these seemed to come from distinct places.

it does feel like this car simply was not screwed together with the correct torque settings !

I also agree some of the interior seems cheap, my wife’s previous 2 Yarris has been completely rattle and squeak/creak free.  

 

[Gary H]

19 hours ago, Gureamu said:

The seatbelt rattle is a really frustrating one and seems to be due to the use of cheap 'scratchy' plastics on the inside of the B pillar in the NX. In my view these may be appropriate in a Toyota but Lexus should aspire to the quality of say a BMW and banish scratchy plastics from the cabin. They just scream 'cheap'.

Agreed. Especially for the price you pay for the car, you'd expect a much softer plastic, or even for it to be lined - like the interior 'A' pillars running up/down the windscreen. Considering this was a relatively common issue on the UX (and my example was prone to the 'passenger seatbelt buckle knocking syndrome'), I was surprised to see Lexus appear to have overlooked this when they designed the new NX - giving it a similar set up. 

Again, it doesn't seem to be the same prevalent issue in my NX as it was in my old UX, but it still happens. 

16 hours ago, Richolf said:

Thanks all, it’s going in again on Thursday.  The dashboard squeak/creak seems to be worse over rougher roads and as the car is heating up.

I definitely agree that once you hear it the mind gets attuned to it and you subconsciously listen for it again.

will be interesting to see what the dealer says.  The loan car I had did not have this particular noise.  It had a couple of rattles but these seemed to come from distinct places.

it does feel like this car simply was not screwed together with the correct torque settings !

I also agree some of the interior seems cheap, my wife’s previous 2 Yarris has been completely rattle and squeak/creak free.  

 

Good luck for tomorrow and fingers crossed they can deal with it - or at very least source the issue(s) and rectify it on a subsequent visit. Keep us updated. 

My UX did have an odd, muted 'buzz' coming from the centre of the dashboard and it used to occur at a certain 'rev range'. Lower or higher than that and it stopped. It was only a minor thing so I never took it back for it - as I didn't fancy them pulling out the dashboard and potentially not fitting it back correctly again - i.e - more subsequent noises! I just lived with it in the end. It was one of those noises where if you were tuned into hearing it and knew about it - you pretty much knew when it would happen. You couldn't hear it from the back of the car. 

[ArneT]

@Richolf I haven't noticed this on my 2016 NX model. Apart from the advice from others re: seatbelt buckles and glasses holders etc. Have you checked all interior trim panels in the central console/dashboard are securely fitted? I believe many panels are just clicked into place, so one might not have fully clicked in, or if anything is moving perhaps a fastener has snapped?

I have noticed a few noises occasionally, but always discover it is something different I have put in the boot, rear footwell or glovebox and then realise my car is still nice and quiet again once I remove / secure the item!

[Richolf]

Thanks to everyone for their help and comments.  I returned to the dealers today, went out with a very patient and diligent technician who I have met before.  He heard a the same rattle from the left side and a click from the dashboard so good to know I was not overreacting or mishearing.
 

@ArneT you are correct as he confirmed most interior panels are clipped and can sometimes unclip or move.

The left side was caused by a lose dash cam cable and he believes the dashboard was the trim right at the middle front where the alarm light is so he clipped this back into place

Ride back was much better but real test will be back in the cold again tomorrow.

I also looked at the new RX while I was there, the trim throughout seems to be very similar to the NX in that I could not see much if any additional soft touch trim

So far a total of 5 different noises have appeared but hopefully all now fixed (fingers crossed)

 

 

[MarcG]

Sorry Graham

I had a 540i BMW and had the seat belt buckle rattle from the front passenger seat. Took me a while to find it.