Is interior noise a "feature" of RAV4?

[Freedom55]

Yes, the noise comes mostly from the tires but with all the mods I've done, on smooth pavement there's hardly any noise now, just on rough pavement and perhaps on wet pavement too but I have to try again when it rains to feel the difference.

[Freedom55]

I bought Consumer Reports "Best & Worst New Cars" special edition because they did a nice test on tires and I want to get quieter ones in the Spring; of course, I read the whole magazine and I was surprised to see how many vehicles they tested have road noise...We're not alone, it appears the disease has spread to the whole auto industry.

[NEWRAV4]

Mine makes some kind of buzzing (not rattles) interior noise on rough roads

It has less than 2k miles

Fairly quiet on smooth surfaces

[Freedom55]

Final chapter (I hope!): I had to remove some of the rear cargo area panels to wire up an additional back-up light so I added more sound insulation to the right side cargo area, removing the panel completely after unscrewing the rear lower seat belt retaining bolt. From the driver's seat, the road noise was coming primarily from that area and I had some material left, both Dynamat equivalent and 2" fire resistant recycled cotton batt so I used them up and I have no more left...and I'm a bit fed-up with all that work and sore finger tips, time to take a break!

I'll see in the Spring if my Toyo A20's are still too noisy to my taste and I'll change them probably for softer riding Yoko Avid Ascend. As I mentioned in another thread, my WS70 Blizzak's are surprisingly very quiet and soft riding but they are 225/65/17 not 235/55/18 like the OE Toyo A20's. Not quite a Lexus yet but much better IMHO.

[Freedom55]

I have a sunroof so I'm thinking of doing the rear part of the headliner one day as with my latest mods, the minimal tire noise left seems to come from there.

Now I hear the engine noise a bit more under moderate to heavy acceleration as someone said before it was kind of masked by tire and road noise. Any ideas for soundproofing under the dash and possibly cowl fire panel? There is some thin felt pads but they were mounted before assembling the rest of the mechanical and electrical components; I don't want to take apart major components like steering column, brake booster, A/C etc. Perhaps cutting the existing felt pads to gain some access and applying Dynamat to the bare sheet metal? How about the plastic panels under the dash board, they have very little felt so adding Dymamat could help too? Thanks for helping me Lexusize my ride!

[doane2u]

I'm actually quite happy with how quite my 2010 is.. maybe because I was moving up from a 2002 RAV4 and not from some very quite car before? They have really improved things over the years, especially wind and road noise. Anyway, I guess it would be nice to have it quieter, but so far it seems really quite to me as it is.

[btargosh]

Sound deadening can be done at any Audio dealer , a good product is Hush Mat ; Two layers in the doors ,one in floors and in Headliner . About 1100 .

[Freedom55]

Thanks but I was looking for cheaper do-it-yourself stuff i.e. less than $100...I looked again under the dash tonight and I have a few ideas that I may try.

[Freedom55]

O.K I bit the bullet this morning and partially removed the front carpeting, the console side panels, the door sills, the foot well panels and the under dash panels. I added two layers of Dynamat equivalent in areas that were bare metal up to about 8" on the firewall and I covered the holes near the foot wells. Then I added black recycled rubber mats used as underflooring or as non slip steps for winter (about 1/2" thick) as far up the firewall as I could; this was leftover material from another project so it did not cost me a cent and I can easily remove it if I take the vehicle to the dealer for servicing. I also put two layers of Dynamat equivalent to the under dash panels.

The engine noise is reduced but I can't really tell about tire noise as I went for a short ride to the local library and book store. I'm about to call it quits until Spring unless I decide to do the rear part of the roof if the weather is not conducive to any sporting activity...!

[Freedom55]

I cut to fit then wrapped a 2"X16"X48" recycled fireproof cotton batt in black cotton/polyester material I found in the house and I slipped that under the dash...Now my RAV engine sounds like a Lexus! I don't think I will go to the trouble of soundproofing the rear portion of the roof (I don't find the wind noise too disturbing contrary to tire and engine noise); enough bruises and cuts on my hands and forearms not to mention a sore back which was in a bad shape to start with (I had a lumbar sprain about 3 months ago and it's still bothering me). One must know when it's time to throw in the towel!

As I said before, I'll see in the Spring when I'll re-install my Toyo A20 all season tires if it's worth to get quieter/softer riding tires or not such as Yoko Avid Ascend.