Water / Splashing Noise From Behind The Dashboard

[rossv]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone has ever heard a noise similar to running water or like a small waterfall from behind the dashboard?

I just noticed this recently, and after searching on the internet I saw a thread on a US site which said that it was either normal (due to air in the coolant system) or a leaking water pump - depending on who you asked.

Just wondering if anyone here has ever noticed this..?

[Sapphire Cam]

Insane! My IS250 is nudging 7 years now, and never had anything remotely like this. And I never heard/read/seen anything in all my years of keeping up to date on all things "IS250y". Bizarre.

Apologies. Once again - my boring reply to most things like this would - just give your dealership a call. Even if its out of warranty or you aren't affliated with any dealership. It's not solely related to when driving in the wet is it? If so, just wondering if the drainage at the base of your windscreen could be clogged with dirt, leaves, bugs, grime etc.

[rossv]

It happens once I start the car, in dry conditions. I thought that maybe water had been caught somewhere beneath the windscreen, after the recent heavy rain, but I see no blockage at the base of the windscreen.

I removed the engine covers yesterday and took a look. The coolant reservoir was nearly empty, and there was pink residue on the lower part of the engine near the water pump. It's looking like those USA forums were right, and this weird sound is caused by a problem in the cooling system (apparently air). I think my water pump is leaking, and I already made an appointment with my mechanic. If the USA forums are to be believed, this is a very common problem for the 2IS vehicles, although I never saw any posts on the AU Lexus forums about this.

With 84000 km, my mechanic is a little surprised, but many USA members have had their pump fail even earlier it seems. Shame that Lexus covers the engine up so that you can't even see the coolant reservoir without mucking around to remove the covers first. I'd hate for the pump to have failed entirely while I was driving and wreck the engine.. :-(. For the time being I will keep refilling the reservoir with new coolant until I get to the mechanic next week..

My car is 7 years old (I bought it recently), and was serviced regularly at Chatswood since new. Seems like it's just a case of bad luck. Since it has only just started to lose its coolant, I imagine the problem has just begun recently so that's why it was never caught by the previous services.

[chriss89]

i own an 06 is250 and not long after i bought it, my water pump started leaking and had to get it replaced, but dont remember hearing any sounds similar to yours. i happened to notice it when i removed all engine covers and saw the bottom of my engine all pink lol, and yeah back at the time mine had only done about 75kms

[rossv]

Seems to fail pretty early on some vehicles! I guess since you've replaced it you've never had any issues with it again?

The noises went away once I filled the reservoir with coolant, I guess it was caused by the reservoir being empty and air being pulled into the cooling system (according to the US websites its air so that makes sense I guess)..

[ilv1004s]

its a known toyota/lexus thing

water pumps seem to leak out of the factory for most toyota's

[rossv]

Danny,

I see, learn something every day :). Although my dad's Camry has proven to be reliable.

Hopefully the replacement will last a bit longer!

[JUZBLAZE]

I get this water trickling sound in the dashboard area when I first start up the car, I think it's because the A/C? hmm not sure hey...

[E910]

The sound you describ sounds like air trapped in your cooling system. This is usally caused by a slow leak somewhere in the system, water pump, hose, cap etc. You need to "burp" your system to get the air out in the short term, in the long term you need to find & fix the leak.

Remove the radiator cap (when cold) & start the engine. Get an empty 2L coke bottle, 3/4 fill it with water. Place it upside down in the filler neck any any air in the system will bubble up into the bottle

[rossv]

I get this water trickling sound in the dashboard area when I first start up the car, I think it's because the A/C? hmm not sure hey...

If you haven't already, take a look under your bonnet to see if there's any pink staining around the water pump or anywhere down the front of the engine. Also take a look in your coolant reservoir, and see if it's running low.

In my car, the reservoir was close to empty (that shouldn't really happen) and there was pink staining all over the water pump and the front of the engine (the colour of the coolant).

Just got my water pump replaced and the sound is gone. Mechanic told me it was a bit slack that the pump fails so early (I've got 84K on the odometer) but it seems to happen more often than not with the factory pump from what I've been reading...

[rossv]

E910: Thanks for the advice. Water pump was leaking coolant (slowly). When you say radiator cap, do you mean the coolant reservoir?

[Adamandrew]

i occurred to get noticing it when i eliminated all motor includes and saw the end of my motor all light red, and really returning at the time my own had only done about 70 km's . . . .

Our Website