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Interior noise reduction

33K views 35 replies 24 participants last post by  Brett56 
#1 ·
Does anyone have advice on how to sound proof a 2013 Limited? The car has 13,000 miles and road noise seems to be increasing. On some road surfaces its hard to hear the radio without raising the volume. The tires are original. Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
#2 ·
Interesting observation. Is the car getting louder or are we just noticing it more? This has happened to me also. There is probaly some truth to the fact that as the car ages, certain components get louder due to wear. Bushings, steering components, shocks, tires, exhaust etc. etc. all wear increasingly getting noisier. Other members who have added soundproofing to their vehicles may want to jump in here and explain some do's and don'ts that work (or don't).
 
#3 ·
I'd think it'd be odd for the vehicle to start exhibiting louder sounds with a mere 13K miles on it. "Noise" is a broad term in this regard. What's loud? Bumps? Wind?

Our Rav is pretty dang quiet I think. I added Thule crossbars which added some whistling noise at higher speeds -- but that's to be expected. Other than that, I'm very satisfied with the noise level.

It's all relative though. I urge you to drive a first-generation Saturn vue if you ever come across one. That should put the "noise" into perspective.
 
#4 ·
Or drive a 03 accord with yakima round bars and bike on top with 100k to 188k miles. U hear the noise! I have oem crossbars and thule 527 paceline and right now its quiet. Alot more than my old car. I wish I had found out about whisper bars along time ago. Kept using round bars.
 
#5 ·
The OP thinks his 2013 is noisier now with 13K than it was new. Has nothing to do relative to other cars or accessory roof rails, crossbars, etc. It could be the tires get noisier as they wear. Might look at the reviews on Tirerack.com?

We just put over 600 miles on our 2014 XLE this weekend on all sorts of roads and I noticed the surface makes a huge difference in road noise in the cabin. This would be a combination of the amount of sound deadening and the tires.
 
#6 ·
From my experience it seems that tires are quieter when new, and slowly get noisier as they wear down.
 
#12 ·
+1 This was very true with our 2010 Venza. It had Toyo open country tires on it and at 42000, I replaced them with Yokohama YK580's. It's much quieter now. Old tires still had tread that would have lasted 5000-8000 more miles.
 
#7 ·
When I started driving my RAV over a year ago, I did notice that it was not as quiet as I would like, but initially I dismissed it thinking that I would get used to it. Well, this did not work out. As time went, I found both the level and the "tone" of the noise to be too obtrusive, eventually being one of the issues that made me sell the RAV.

I don't think my RAV got progressively more noisy with time, but I certainly became more aware about the issue.

In my opinion, Toyota just cheapened out on the noise insulation in the RAV. Camry, which has exactly the same engine, is much more quiet. My new Venza's engine is about as noisy as the RAV's with the hood open, but once inside the car the difference is HUGE. Also, any external noises (from tires, other cars, etc.) are much better dampened in the Venza, Camry, HIghlander, ... It's not rocket science, Toyota just saved a few dollars by skimping on sound insulation in the RAV. Unfortunately the only fix would be to add sound insulating / absorbing material to doors, headliner, firewall and wheel wells to a similar level as Toyota does in the Camry, Highlander, ... etc.
 
#9 ·
I personally think Toyota skimped on the sound insulation on our 2014 Limited. It rain last night while going home from shopping and the rain drops sound like it was hitting tin cans. We also have a 2011 Sienna Limited and the rain does not sound like our new RAV4. I also checked for the foam found in my Sienna and previous Camry wheel wells and it's not there.
 
#11 ·
Road noise

Road surface and tires makes a huge variation in interior noise. However, tires are even more important. My 2013 Rav LE still has the 225/17 Michelin Lattitude Tour HP which were made to improve MPG. They are "okay" for noise but the quietest tire for any SUV is the Michelin Defender. My next tire will be Defender.
 
#15 ·
Road surface and tires makes a huge variation in interior noise. However, tires are even more important. My 2013 Rav LE still has the 225/17 Michelin Lattitude Tour HP which were made to improve MPG. They are "okay" for noise but the quietest tire for any SUV is the Michelin Defender. My next tire will be Defender.
Jimbo, I certainly agree. Tire selection can make a HUGE difference, based on my observation in the vehicles I have owned and driven since driver training in 1961... No idea on my new RAV though, and as for our 2000 RAV, we really haven't had the opportunity to pick tires based on noise... always more of a $$ thing.
 
#14 ·
I have noticed there's a "rattling" sound coming from top where the interior and the glass meets...when I touched it..it moved back and forth, which validates the "sound" and at the same time, I noticed the design of the "interior" was poorly produced...if you all have time, take a moment and look up top where your rearview mirror and the interior meets...and see what you see...any pictures would help validate this issue...I will post pics up soon.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Nothing is wrong only if they do the underside rust proofing correctly;
(1) - first the cleaning (they generally just pressure washer to spray loose dirt off)
(2) - you think they will wait hours for the underside to absolutely dry before they apply the rust proofing? This is my biggest concern as they generally will just use pressured air to blow the water off instead of waiting for the underside to dry which is not quite enough...
(3) - as soon as you applied the 3rd party rust proofing to your vehicle, you know your factory rust warranty (if it's still valid at the time) is immediately void, taken over by that 3rd party company (i.e. Ziebart), right!?

Ultimately, for sound deadening, nothing beats adding Hushmat or alike from the inside under the carpet... as Azjeff had posted.

BTW, there is also the trunk area (behind the trunk cover, below and around the spare tire) ,engine bay area (please use heat resistant version of the mat on firewall, underside of the hood) and behind each door panel can add more sound deadening material...
 
#21 ·
New cars today don't NEED rustproofing like they did 20 years ago. Most people don't keep their new car long enough to see any value in rustproofing. The 2nd or 3rd owner might. I was born and lived in western Pa for 48 years so no stranger to rusty cars.

If underbody coating is a viable soundproofing method is it in use today OEM in new cars we say are quiet inside? Did a little searching and it seems like this soundproofing is regular rustproofing goop sprayed on 2 - 4 times as thick. Wonder how much weight it adds? Do they offer a sound reduction guarantee?

For me, I work on my cars and want no part of having to deal with that stuff all over the undercarriage. I left rusty cars in Pa 10 years ago, if we still own this RAV in 10 years (our goal) it will look just like it does now underneath. If the interior noise becomes unbearable I'll soundproof right or trade it. Give it a shot and let us know what you think. $299 is less that a different set of tires.
 
#23 ·
I had hushmat installed in the doors of my 2011 Limited, two layers, one on the outer shell, one on the inner. Made a significant difference.

Going to get new tires tomorrow, ones that are rated by consumers on Tirerack as quiet. The stock tires are rated poorly all around, including the noise level. In my opinion, installing good tires is the single most effective action that can be taken to reduce interior noise.
 
#29 ·
Going to get new tires tomorrow, ones that are rated by consumers on Tirerack as quiet. The stock tires are rated poorly all around, including the noise level. In my opinion, installing good tires is the single most effective action that can be taken to reduce interior noise.
Got those new tires this morning, Firestone Destination LE2 in the stock size. Took them out on the highway on the way home. Much quieter than the original Bridgestone Dueler H/T 687, particularly on concrete hi way surfaces, where the original tires were just loud. And less expensive to boot.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I seriously considered having a good local shop pull the seats and moulding on the inside of the wheel wells and install soundproofing. (One forum member soundproofed his entire vehicle and said one item made the MOST significant difference in sound reduction was floor insulation.)
But I also find the seat bolsters way too firm and uncomfortable and lower back support lacking. On top of all that the ride is rough and even punishing on many of the roads I must travel. So I decided not to spend all that money and perhaps still not find the car comfortable. These things didn't bother me during my three test drives nor during the first two weeks of ownership. They kind of crept up on me and then got worse (subjectively) as time went on. This is my experience, but I notice others find the ride and/or noise level in the car seems to get (perceptively) worse with time.

I did want to share the findings of the member who completely soundproofed his RAV one part at a time--he even did the headliner!
 
#25 ·
You could always trade up to a Venza; I hear they're da bomb! ?
 
#27 ·
Yikes! I test drove a Venza and found the ride quality much worse than the RAV. The interior is lower quality than expected at the price point and visibility is terrible. I know there is someone on here who hates the RAV and praises the Venza, but I completely disagree. Now the Highlander is a different story. Way more car than I need though; most of the time I ride alone.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Don't let a certain individual hear you say that aloud - you'll get excommunicated, excoriated and exorcised, and all at the same time too! ?
 
#33 ·
Our 13 XLE was rattling like it had 100K miles on it so I took it in and asked the dealer to figure out the problem. They isolated the noise to the sunroof mechanical parts and removed the headliner to install a sunroof silencer sub assembly part # 63021-06030 under warranty and I could not be happier. The car is quieter than the day we bought it no rattles and minimal road noise. If you're experiencing rattles and creaks over every bump and turn get the sunroof looked at.
 
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