sound insulation LE versus limited?

[bqst]

I've heard the lexus ES has more sound insulation than the equivalent toyota camry. Since there's no lexus version of the sienna, is there a difference in the amount of sound insulation depending on the trim level? Does the limited have more sound deadening material than the LE? Or are they all the same?

Thanks.

-Ben

[skinny2]

I don't know for sure but I've noticed the wheel wells are carpeted on our Ltd which is something I haven't seen on a non-luxury vehicle in awhile. Can anyone confirm if the carpeted wheel wells are standard on the LE/XLE as well?

I don't really think the Sienna is quiet but a lot of it has to do with the tires. The 18" "high performance" Goodyears that came on our Ltd are loud. I also felt the AWD with Runflats were loud as well. We just recently switched to 17" Blizzaks for winter and on the highway...they're extremely quiet. Much better than the Goodyears. But in typical Blizzak fashion, once you get down into the lower speeds they sound like an all-terrain tire.

I have no idea why Toyota felt compelled to put a high performance tire on these...but we'll be switching to a touring tire. The suspension and steering have such sloppiness from the start that the tire will be the last thing to give up!

[naturoses]

Originally Posted by skinny2

I don't know for sure but I've noticed the wheel wells are carpeted on our Ltd which is something I haven't seen on a non-luxury vehicle in awhile. Can anyone confirm if the carpeted wheel wells are standard on the LE/XLE as well?

I don't really think the Sienna is quiet but a lot of it has to do with the tires. The 18" "high performance" Goodyears that came on our Ltd are loud. I also felt the AWD with Runflats were loud as well. We just recently switched to 17" Blizzaks for winter and on the highway...they're extremely quiet. Much better than the Goodyears. But in typical Blizzak fashion, once you get down into the lower speeds they sound like an all-terrain tire.

I have no idea why Toyota felt compelled to put a high performance tire on these...but we'll be switching to a touring tire. The suspension and steering have such sloppiness from the start that the tire will be the last thing to give up!

Skinny2: you are spot on. I completely agree with you.

I have 2011 Limited AWD and it is LOUD plus at highways speeds I hear a "lot of wind noise", may be it is the direction of the wind makes me feel that way. On certain smooth roads on highway, it is really quiet. Except for loudness, I absolutely love my Sienna. It the best decision I made in terms of space etc.,

[nth89]

Carpeted on XLE as well.

Originally Posted by skinny2

I don't know for sure but I've noticed the wheel wells are carpeted on our Ltd which is something I haven't seen on a non-luxury vehicle in awhile. Can anyone confirm if the carpeted wheel wells are standard on the LE/XLE as well?

I don't really think the Sienna is quiet but a lot of it has to do with the tires. The 18" "high performance" Goodyears that came on our Ltd are loud. I also felt the AWD with Runflats were loud as well. We just recently switched to 17" Blizzaks for winter and on the highway...they're extremely quiet. Much better than the Goodyears. But in typical Blizzak fashion, once you get down into the lower speeds they sound like an all-terrain tire.

I have no idea why Toyota felt compelled to put a high performance tire on these...but we'll be switching to a touring tire. The suspension and steering have such sloppiness from the start that the tire will be the last thing to give up!

[bqst]

Thanks for the insightful responses. Our LE AWD is very loud on the highway as well, but I didn't realize it's likely because of the tires. It's a bummer to hear the limited is also noisy in this way.

Cost aside, is there such a thing as a quiet runflat? We're already well over 20k, so we'll be looking at new tires in a year or so.

Thanks again.

-Ben

[skinny2]

My bet would be the LE FWD will be the quietest of the bunch assuming there's no extra sound insulation in the upper models. The 17" tires are a touring which should be quieter. Does your LE have the carpeted wheel wells? You can see it pretty clearly in the rear.

I've seen some complaints about wind noise but ours is very quiet in that regard.

[bqst]

Originally Posted by skinny2

Does your LE have the carpeted wheel wells? You can see it pretty clearly in the rear.

Our LE does indeed have carpet covering the interior side of the wheel wells. Doesn't seem to be enough though, as there's plenty of highway tire noise getting through it...

I agree that wind noise is quite low. I originally though we were hearing a combination of wind and tire noise, but it turns out to be more tire related. Once in a while we hit a stretch of highway with a freshly paved surface that the run flat tires are quiet on, and in those situations there's very little other sound to be heard.

I know most folks complain about run flats not lasting long enough, but I'm thinking it'll be great to replace them with something quieter when they do!

-Ben