How to locate wind noise problems in cars caused by trim and seals around windows

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How to locate wind noise problems in cars caused by trim and seals around windows

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6 жыл бұрын

In this video I show how an air compressor can really help to identify the precise location of a rubber window seal problem. I also show how ordinary tape can be used to verify the location of the problem. (You can actually drive around with the tape too.)
This video was made while troubleshooting a problem with a Tesla Model X, but I've also done this with other cars.
I did this same thing years ago with an Olds Cutlass. In that case it had a whistling noise due to the way trim was mounted near the mirror. The "tape trick" identified the location, and the dealership then fixed the trim.

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@mrbenzina32 Жыл бұрын

Great to watch someone being methodic when diagnosing or investigating automotive issues. Thanks for the video. Great tips and explanations 💯

@WilliamBennerJr Жыл бұрын

Thanks again for the kudos!

@chrisheffernan7540 3 жыл бұрын

What a brilliant idea. I have been fighting wind noises on my GMC extended cab truck for the longest time. Now I can finally solve this mystery. Thank you so much for sharing. Can't wait to try it out on my vehicle.

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

Two points: Compressed air (like I used here), and also electrical tape! You can tape various areas outside the car and then drive and see if it's quiet. If so, pull off the tape little by little until you localize the problem.

@ilikeantea 3 жыл бұрын

I fixed my wind noise issue with the tape technique. I can't believe this is the first video suggesting this method, simple yet very effective. My car is a 2012 Citroen DS4 and the noise was coming from the between the door and the small window that's attached to the body.

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

Glad it helped!

@crewmax4240 4 жыл бұрын

Great idea! Saves me having to test drive so many times!

@WilliamBennerJr 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, exactly, and on noisy roads, sometimes it's hard to tell where the sound is coming from, and if you've really made an improvement or not.

@Oockeshoek 5 жыл бұрын

Great idea on the compressed air! I have a cheaper car with a steal door frame and was thinking of improving the seal between the frame and the body of the car, this way I can actually quickly test if it improves at all.

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it! It was something I just thought of kind of in the moment. But it worked pretty well. The location of the noise wound up to be pretty surprising in my case...

@davevanwhalen2693 Жыл бұрын

I just bought a 2022 Toyota Corolla and I noticed when I'm on the highway, I can hear some wind which I thought for sure with a new car you won't. Thanks for the video pretty cool what you guys did.

@WilliamBennerJr Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comments. What you're talking about happened to my new Cutlass Supreme back in the '90s. On that I used what I call the "tape method" -- placing tape at every seem until the noise went away, then slowly moving pieces of tape until it came back, to locate just the spot. Years later we used the compressor, but I think fewer people have access to this...

@PidoraSou 3 жыл бұрын

Great work! Very useful info. Appreciated!

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@magnumkenn 4 жыл бұрын

Appreciate your insight and tips. Thanks so much

@WilliamBennerJr 4 жыл бұрын

Glad I helped!

@appleseedmvp 5 жыл бұрын

That is very good idea, thank you sir!

@donx03 4 жыл бұрын

Nice

@nowornever81 5 жыл бұрын

Wish that mechanics were as understanding as this one

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Hehe, I wish so too! But if they had been able to find the original problem with my Oldsmobile years ago, I never would have developed the "tape trick" and then never would have extrapolated to this "compressed air trick" either...

@sriharij2139 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you sir, On my brand new civic in six month i hear the same and in one area it seems that the seals are slight off. However this will help me to demonstrate the issue in the service center so that i can try to fix it the first time. Thanks a ton again

@WilliamBennerJr 4 жыл бұрын

Glad you found the video to be of service

@BabbyFM Ай бұрын

Was the dealer ever able to fix your problem ?

@workingTchr 10 ай бұрын

I had thought of the outer tape idea but not the incremental removal to find trouble spots so thanks for that. I was doing something else that involved a "smoke test" using mineral oil smoldering in a jar and maybe I'll try that just to see if outside air can get in. Surprising that one side of the Tesla would be so much different than the other. I rode in an X a week ago and was shocked at how loud it was. Maybe this is a known problem.

@WilliamBennerJr 10 ай бұрын

Mine is a relatively early Model X. The newer ones are certainly better in every way. I've done acoustic readings of this car and my old hybrid Highlander and they were pretty similar. The newer ones are definitely quieter.

@peterm8848 3 жыл бұрын

I found it ! The issue was the windscreen installation in the factory used a new type of glue. This is a common fault in many Mercedes and smart cars 3 years old. You can check by pushing on windscreen if it moves and your getting whistling it's likely to need glue again and refitting.

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

WOW that's something! I never heard of that, but thanks for the feedback. Exactly how did you find it? Just pushing on the windshield while driving down the road?

@freezin48 Жыл бұрын

😊

@agustinbautista305 Жыл бұрын

this video help me out a lot thank you

@WilliamBennerJr Жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it!

@morganmendieta3738 9 ай бұрын

OMG this was so useful thank you

@WilliamBennerJr 9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@pmantock 3 жыл бұрын

Cool will try this thanks to you both

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, I think in the video, and in my own written introduction, there is a lot of good information for you to try.

@RaluRagna 4 жыл бұрын

Nice tip, thank you sir

@WilliamBennerJr 4 жыл бұрын

So nice of you

@ehomood 5 жыл бұрын

thanks ,, Great idea

@thelastgoodnight9887 3 жыл бұрын

Great idea thanks. 👍👍

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

You bet!

@leewarren8247 3 ай бұрын

thank you so much for your useful idea

@WilliamBennerJr 3 ай бұрын

You are most welcome

@jtlgarage2238 5 жыл бұрын

thanks sir u help me a lot ;)

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Glad I could help!!!

@sumeetc1 Жыл бұрын

Very helpful

@WilliamBennerJr Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kudos!

@manojmohan9667 5 жыл бұрын

This video helped reduce my wind noise significantly. Besides the front windows that you have shown, is there anywhere else on the model X you recommend examining and putting tape?

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Not tape, but you should examine the adjustable bumpers on the hatch back. See another video I made about that.

@tomoquads3975 5 жыл бұрын

your a genius gonna try this on my q60

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Hehe. Thanks for the kudos. In the past, I found what I call "the black tape method" to be entirely workable. But it requires some effort, plus, if you have a very subtle air leak, then the black tape method could be less definitive. I found this compressed air trick worked really well at locating the specific area of my wind noise. In the end it was pretty surprising. Areas that looked very suspicious did not cause any wind noise, and the area that looked the most innocent was the problem. Plus, there was a lesson that no matter what I did inside the car, I was not able to really locate or even effect the wind noise. Only external stimulus was effective. Good luck finding your wind noise!

@timeless8135 2 жыл бұрын

good method

@margeauxjenkins12 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!!!!!

@SFATFACL Жыл бұрын

awesome

@davejohnson9989 3 жыл бұрын

Great vid. All I kept on thinking when u went between the door and car was close the door....fix sound and now how to buff out scratches. Lol. Jk. Great vid

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

Glad it helped

@stevenpetaki2738 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video! What product (seal) would be recommended to add between the door & OEM seals?

@WilliamBennerJr 2 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure what to recommend. It probably is on a case by case basis. When we found a kind of "whistle" on my Olds Cutlass, they just used regular foamy weather stripping. On this Tesla Model X, I used Epoxies, etc. model T50-3112, which is a "filled epoxy". That worked quite well.

@xFrozenxSnowx Жыл бұрын

The seals not sitting flush or looks uneven when comparing both side is because the seal is not pushed in all the way. There is a notch hidden behind the trims at the top. It is hard to push the seal into the notch but you can do it with a trim tool and some elbow grease. Good lighting is needed to see if the seal is inside the notch.

@WilliamBennerJr Жыл бұрын

Mine is serial number 31000. On each side the seal is a little bit different, but once I fixed the part shown the seal is good on both sides, even though they look different.

@xFrozenxSnowx Жыл бұрын

@@WilliamBennerJr yeah. Tucking in the seal somewhat lessened the noise on driver side and eliminated on passenger. Will have to do your tape and air compressor method to find the remaining culprit on the driver side. Tesla quality has not gotten better and it is 2023

@nerdalertreviews4389 5 жыл бұрын

This reduced my noise by 50%! Thanks ! Is there more noise reduction u have solved for model x??

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Check out my other video where I discuss noise coming from the hatch back. There it was a black Model S, but all of the same points apply.

@Necromaniac24 5 жыл бұрын

I noticed this whistle coming from somewhere, but only when I would be going over 100 🤔 I may try this tape trick if it gets worse at lower speed I don't drive over 100 unless I'm passing at 140 😂

@lsedanolg 3 жыл бұрын

You better be in germany

@jobinjoy8260 3 жыл бұрын

Get a door visor... It will help even when it's raining.

@leetingler619 7 ай бұрын

Another problem is when you replace a cracked windshield the sealant is not always applied well and it will start to separate and the noise will travel across generally the bottom of the windshield. You can use your video camera on your smartphone to record this for evidence to show your installer. 😅

@WilliamBennerJr 7 ай бұрын

AHA intersting. I saw the windshield being replaced on my Highlander a while ago. That guy did a good job.

@tedruud8965 11 ай бұрын

The wind tunnel noise in my 2003 s-10 ZR 2 is coming from my dash, underneath I think but you can't feel any air movement but it gets louder the faster I go or if the wind is blowing

@WilliamBennerJr 11 ай бұрын

WOW interesting. Try applying tape everywhere you can in the front of the car and see if that influences the sound in any way. I hope you'll be able to locate a place where the tape really helps, and then concentrate on that area.

@sa1f43 3 жыл бұрын

You're a genius lol. Iam mind blown by this idea

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

It's one of those things where, if we didn't happen to have the air compressor close by, I wouldn't have thought of it either...

@lmh-mv3ec 2 жыл бұрын

Hi, brilliant idea! Can i use painter's tape will it have the resolution?

@WilliamBennerJr 2 жыл бұрын

I think any tape will do, as long as it will stay put while driving down the road. When I used black electrical tape so many years ago, that was before painter's tape was available and before there were Home Depots...

@lmh-mv3ec 2 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamBennerJr thank you, for the methology! God bless and love.

@keithwesleyhu8446 4 жыл бұрын

Do you have the video for the tape method on windsheikd?

@WilliamBennerJr 4 жыл бұрын

I wish I did. You should have seen my old Cutlass on which I had to do this technique...

@ilamalihilustan22 Жыл бұрын

We have local shops here who puts refill air in tyres (normal car maintenance) Is it the compressed air that you are talking about?

@WilliamBennerJr Жыл бұрын

Yes exactly. These air hoses can be "connected" to tire inflator-type attachments, or to ones where you squeeze the trigger and it will put out air. The latter is typically used at machine shops and the like, to blow off parts after they've been machined.

@Leo_seguridad 2 ай бұрын

I noticed my bottom part of window silver molding is detaching hopefully if i fix it, it'll.stop wind noise.

@WilliamBennerJr Ай бұрын

Fingers crossed!

@TheLoneRanger1992 4 жыл бұрын

my whistle is coming from the passenger top right hand side of the window in the corner any idea how i can do that

@WilliamBennerJr 4 жыл бұрын

You could use what I call the "tape method". Just buy a roll of black electrical tape, and tape up every gap -- everywhere. Then drive the car. Hopefully the noise will be gone... Then you remove the tape one piece at a time, driving the car each time, until you find the piece of tape (and thus the area) that makes a difference. Then look very closely at what makes that area so vulnerable -- what's wrong, etc. In a worst case scenario, just leave the tape in place ;-)

@chracatoa 5 жыл бұрын

Nice video! Do you think I could use a gas station compressor to diagnose the wind noise in my car? I don't have an air compressor. I checked one today quickly, but they seem to be weak. Maybe it's just my impression.

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

When you have your own compressor (or a friends), they usually have this kind of air tip on it. Gas stations don't have that kind of tip... In this case I think you should start with what I call the "black tape" approach. It means you place tape in various places of the car, and see if the wind noise is affected. Hopefully it will be, in which case you remove the tape, little by little, in sections until the wind noise starts up again. Then this will help you to isolate where the noise is coming from, and you can attack that specific area.

@AhamedIfham 5 жыл бұрын

I dont have compressed air. Can we try this trick with a hair dryer or something else?

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Pangolin's mechanical engineer Ryan suggests "canned air" which might be purchased from Walmart or a hardware store. I think a hair dryer would make so much noise that it would be hard to distinguish that from any wind noise caused by the rushing air...

@amazingworldofnature5123 4 жыл бұрын

useful idea #amazingworldofnature

@1guyns 2 жыл бұрын

2017 Chevy Tahoe with a GM Bug shield causing a wind noise whistling..

@WilliamBennerJr 2 жыл бұрын

AHA, I can well imagine that!

@Babalutu573 3 жыл бұрын

Hi there, It’s my first time having a Tesla, i got the Model Y, ny first EV actually. I’m hearing some sound it’s as if it’s a car window left open, while the rest are closed, that annoying noise that has a pressure like quality to the ears. Is that what a wind noise is? Thanks.

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

Yes it could be. As a "test", what you could do is get a role of black tape, and get in the car and close the doors, and then have your spouse "tape up" all of the joints, including those on the windows, doors, etc. Then go for a ride. If the sound is gone, then your spouse can remove pieces of tape one by one until the sound comes back. The last piece of tape to be removed will reveal the location of the problem, at which time you can take it to the SC and point out where the problem is.

@LowEndPCGaming 3 жыл бұрын

Could be the rear hatch needing the 4 rubber pieces aligned. Look at the video about the trunk buffering noise he has made. Fixed it on mine

@madmartinline6 Жыл бұрын

I just found by chance that the excess wind noise that my ears were tuned into on my 2018 vw golf, was coming from the wing mirror. Not the wing mirror itself but the small gap between the mirror glass & the mirror housing. The gap is now covered in black tape which doesn't look very good I must admit but the relief from the noise is worth it. Has anyone any ideas on how to fix it without all the tape ?

@kaspars804 11 күн бұрын

Did you fix it?

@madmartinline6 6 күн бұрын

@@kaspars804 no.the relief only lasted a few days.I then fitted some wind deflectors, but they have made the wind noise even louder. Does make the car look nicer though !

@DxModel219 2 жыл бұрын

tesla says its wear and tear and wouldn't cover it. I complained and they did it for free... but the sound is still there probably worse now. Have to bring back and have them work on it again.

@WilliamBennerJr 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the note. I've found patient persistence works best when dealing with the service centers. So far they've been good to me, although it does take more than one try from time to time...

@mamu679 9 ай бұрын

I have a similar issue with my 2016 MX, but on the passenger side. It starts at 120km/h, gets nasty at 140 and is awful above 200km/h (German autobahn). I figured out that at the section shown at 3:43 with the two fingers, the pressure from the rubber towards the little window is not strong enough. This leads to the fact, that the front edge of the regular (large) window is facing the wind (there's a 2mm edge), because the small window is too much inside.. I figured this out by pressing from inside like here: 6:48. This is fixed when somesthing is put between the rubber and the little glas (section as shown at 3.43) pushing the little window 2mm more towards the outer side eliminating the "edge". Maybe I have to put something inside the original rubber seal, let's see how I can do it...

@WilliamBennerJr 9 ай бұрын

Glad you figured it out. Now that you know where the problem is, Tesla may be able to fix it for you.

@mamu679 7 ай бұрын

Wheamwhile I figured out something additionally. In the rubber seal, there is already a kind of harder foam piece or something similar which sled down from the position as indicated in my first post. I was able to push it upwards using my thumb and index finger and now the whole thing is fixed without additional items.

@sunblue6447 3 ай бұрын

@@mamu679 😀Moving the foam tube to the correct position resolved my issue. No more wind noise from the window. Thanks.

@gregjohnson2073 Жыл бұрын

What year is the Tesla?

@WilliamBennerJr Жыл бұрын

2017 model

@syedullah613 2 жыл бұрын

Problem is under the Mirror chrome handle.

@WilliamBennerJr 2 жыл бұрын

Problems could be anywhere. In my case, it was where I was pointing. I applied some epoxy and it has worked for years.

@saltlife_7916 3 жыл бұрын

I have a fairly new Honda Pilot and has the same problem

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

I hope the hints here will help you to identify and solve the problem.

@331SVTCobra 2 жыл бұрын

And to FIX the noise????

@WilliamBennerJr 2 жыл бұрын

Hehe. Depends on the source. On my Oldsmobile, they actually installed foam weather strip under the chrome body part that was causing the whistle. On this Tesla I used a "filled epoxy" from Epoxies, etc. because we have a lot of that in stock. Worked great!

@MizzAn63lin3 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Bought brand new car and have wind noise🤬

@WilliamBennerJr 3 жыл бұрын

Yes I know what you mean. We got lucky with my wife's Model S, but with my Model X, it had the noise since Day 1. There are several techniques to locate it, and once you do, the service center will be able to fix it. Of course it would be nice if the service center could locate it themselves, but those guys are so busy these days they don't have time to give the needed and deserved attention...

@MrGalapagos77 5 жыл бұрын

Tesla X got wind noise issues ?

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Actually for me, only in that singular area that was easy to fix.

@MrGalapagos77 5 жыл бұрын

$80,000 car shouldn’t have wind noise issues

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

Sure but in the case of my car I got it "used", and so I'm not sure if the cause of my problem was because of build quality or because of something the previous owner had done. Because of that, I'm not ready to place blame with Tesla. The main point was to help people find other wind noise, whether it be on Tesla cars or others.

@Jhpc399 7 ай бұрын

@Deadpoolmasterchief 5 жыл бұрын

Wow Tesla’s became so popular that more and more people buy them and they are now regretting it cause Tesla’s quality control is bad

@WilliamBennerJr 5 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't say that Tesla had more quality control problems than other American car companies. In fact, when I developed my "tape technique" was because of a similar problem with an Oldsmobile. I do believe Tesla quality has gotten better over the past year, and will continue to do so.

@jeffreygoss8109 5 жыл бұрын

I would say Tesla’s gc has dropped off on the model 3. They can’t build them fast enough to meet production requirements. And we all know that when share prices fights across who wins. It’s a shame.

@Deadpoolmasterchief 5 жыл бұрын

I hope it does cause i might want one one day