'04 Wind noise in driver side window!

zacek · 10-21-2003, 08:19 PM

Has anybody found a fix for the annoying wind noise off the driver window in a 2004 WRX/STi? Someone mentioned it was coming from the mirror's tag sticker, however I removed this and the noise is still there. Any clues?

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zacek · 10-22-2003, 07:30 PM

?

02R6 · 10-22-2003, 07:45 PM

My '02 has done the same thing since I bought it (new). It got a tad worse when I installed those JDM side visors. I have no idea how to fix it and it bugs the hell out of me.

Ideas (and I'm not taking off those expensive visors)?

Kean · 10-22-2003, 08:04 PM

Are you sure it's not due to the seal around the window? I recall I had a similar problem when my car was new. After I shut the door I had to "jink" the window down/up to re-seat it. It took care of the wind noise.

- Kean

Snitt · 10-22-2003, 09:30 PM

I hear mine with the window down. It's definitely coming from the mirror. Oh well, it's too cold for that now, so maybe it'll go away by spring.

JH225 · 10-22-2003, 09:39 PM

It comes from the gap between the mirror housing and the window. While driving, roll the window down, put a couple of fingers on the mirror housing and it goes away.

How to fix it? Get a mirror that doesn't have a gap, put a mini spoiler on your mirror housing

, or just live with it.

KanosWRX · 10-22-2003, 10:02 PM

I get the noise from the seal around the window, if I push on the ruber while driving I can make it worse, so I know its deffinetly that. plus when I role up the window after it reaches the top it makes a creaking noise. maybe subaru will cover it.

driver8 · 10-22-2003, 10:19 PM

mine does it too, but it's from the idjit who put my tint on - he sliced a small piece of rubber off around where it goes over the window. I can usually get it to go away by rolling down the window a little, then back up again.

Hank3 · 10-22-2003, 10:24 PM

If it's a whistling noise at certain speeds, it most likely the side mirror. I had it for a while and could not figure out what it was. What eventually got rid of it was, believe it or not, just swiveling it a few times. Once I did it, it went away for a while. When it came back, I swiveled it again and it's gone...currently I'm whistle-free

c_hunter · 10-22-2003, 10:50 PM

If it's coming in from the "gusset" area (near the mirror), you can adjust both the window and gusset as needed. See this:

http://members.cox.net/craig.hunter/gusset/

These are pics from my wife's 03 Forester. I just replaced the gusset with a new one, and adjusted it properly. Made a huge difference in noise -- the car is very quiet now. If your rubber trim is not too out of whack, you can probably just adjust your existing piece.

Craig

02R6 · 10-22-2003, 11:52 PM

Mine isn't a whistling noise. Before I put the visors on I could roll the window down, mess with the rubber seal, put the window up, and the noise was almost nonexistent.

Now, with the side visors on, adjusting the rubber seal doesn't do much, if anything.

So, I don't know whether or not I should buy a new rubber seal or just deal with the air leak.

cnk · 10-22-2003, 11:55 PM

My car used to be silent until I put the side visors on. It's just a fact of having the side visors. They are known to cause more wind noise. I have learned to ignore it. . just like I ignore the creaking and clunking from my pillowball mounts.

Calvin

zacek · 10-23-2003, 05:16 PM

the noise is definitely coming from the mirror as teh noise is there wheter is up or down and it comes at speed of over 40mph. I need to figure out what to cover that gap with. Gel-Silicon?

humm, the window gusset huh? I'll take a look at it.

c_hunter · 10-23-2003, 08:59 PM

Tell you what, the best thing to do is get some electrical tape and, one by one, tape over various suspect areas and take a test drive. That's how I was able to isolate the gusset problem on the Forester. You can tape over the window seals, the mirror gaps, etc. When the noise goes away, you have found the source. From there, you can investigate more permanent fixes.

lupohki · 10-23-2003, 09:45 PM

Check out the side mirror covers on the 3D model:

http://accessory.subaru.co.jp/impreza/3d/index.html

Would those solve the whistling noise?

There seems to be 2 covers .. one for the piece between the mirror and A pillar, and another for the mirror itself. At ~$100 a set, I think they're prime replica candidates.

FryRice · 10-23-2003, 11:29 PM

Might want to check if you got any sticker on all the doors too........ Someone close the door with the seat belt in it... made some loud noise, so... yea.

O yea did took the sticker off the mirror (when you fold it you see a sticker) could be that too

fishfry · 10-23-2003, 11:43 PM

For the people that have wind noise from the rubber seal, I also have that, Subaru "fixed" it once but it didn't do anything.

Infymus · 10-24-2003, 12:10 AM

Silly that after all this time they still haven't fixed this.

Do this...

When you get in your car and shut the door, after you turn it on, roll the window down an inch and then right back up. I think you'll find the noise goes away after that.

I am in total habit every time I get in both my WRX or my wife's 02' LLB wagon, is to roll down/up before I get going. Haven't heard that wind noise since.

Kean · 10-24-2003, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Infymus
Silly that after all this time they still haven't fixed this.

Do this...

When you get in your car and shut the door, after you turn it on, roll the window down an inch and then right back up. I think you'll find the noise goes away after that.

I am in total habit every time I get in both my WRX or my wife's 02' LLB wagon, is to roll down/up before I get going. Haven't heard that wind noise since.

hmmmm.....I thought I mentioned that already a few posts ago.

Actually, I beleive some BMW's do this automatically for you. .....cool little feature.

gproach · 10-24-2003, 01:11 AM

I had this problem with my '02 RS. Every time I went over 90 mph, it would make this awful sound. I asked my local service tech about it ( I was then in Indiana) and he said that because we don't have a door frame above the window, people often use the window to shut the door.

This torque on the window glass causes the seal between the left miror/visor and the window to seperate, thus causing your problem with the noise. I have heard from the master tech that this is a common problem and all they have to do is tighten the seal. I had them do this on my RS, and there were no noise problems after that.

Even if you have aftermarket mirors, you might want to take your car in to your local subaru mechanic and see if he can help you fix this issue. When driving a Subaru, you should only hear the engine, transmision, and suspension, just like a preformance BMW or Audi.

I believe that the reason some BMW's and Porche's automaticly roll up/roll down the windows is that they have curved glass panels. In order to open the door to one of these streamlined beasts, the glass must lower, so it will not shatter. I know that the carrera's have this feature, but it might be intergreated in some other models as well.

George

02R6 · 10-24-2003, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Infymus
When you get in your car and shut the door, after you turn it on, roll the window down an inch and then right back up. I think you'll find the noise goes away after that.

Believe me, I've tried that. It doesn't work (for me).

I don't use the window to shut the door either.

Infymus · 10-24-2003, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kean
hmmmm.....I thought I mentioned that already a few posts ago.

Actually, I beleive some BMW's do this automatically for you. .....cool little feature.

Well he wouldn't have believed me until I made my post, since you know, I am so awesome. . .

I think the BMW feature is kinda a depressurize tactic because when all windows are up it creates an air pocket that can make the door not close as easily. Windows down removes the pocket and the doors shut more firmly.

STR8OUT · 10-24-2003, 01:26 PM

Yep, I get this noise too...it annoys the hell out of me....

I'm gonna work on a fix real soon. This is definetely a leak in the seals and not the so called "whistling mirrors" that happens when you get over 130mph.

baja128 · 05-01-2007, 01:51 PM

I have an 04 outback, and a 03 Baja. I get what I would call a loud Squeal mostly at highway speeds when the wind hits right. It can last for 5-10 seconds at a time. I can not figure out where it is coming from. It drives me nuts. Any Answers??

robbieshonda · 05-01-2007, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JH225

It comes from the gap between the mirror housing and the window. While driving, roll the window down, put a couple of fingers on the mirror housing and it goes away.

How to fix it? Get a mirror that doesn't have a gap, put a mini spoiler on your mirror housing

, or just live with it.

haha electric tape cover the gap haha it goes away. I do it for long drives cause it annoys me bigtime.

10-21-2003, 08:19 PM	#1
zacek Scooby Specialist Member#: 19467 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Chatsworth, CA. Vehicle: 02 WRX WR Blue	'04 Wind noise in driver side window! Has anybody found a fix for the annoying wind noise off the driver window in a 2004 WRX/STi? Someone mentioned it was coming from the mirror's tag sticker, however I removed this and the noise is still there. Any clues? * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

05-01-2007, 01:51 PM	#24
baja128 Scooby Newbie Member#: 147777 Join Date: May 2007	Squeal I have an 04 outback, and a 03 Baja. I get what I would call a loud Squeal mostly at highway speeds when the wind hits right. It can last for 5-10 seconds at a time. I can not figure out where it is coming from. It drives me nuts. Any Answers??

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10-22-2003, 07:30 PM	#2
zacek Scooby Specialist Member#: 19467 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Chatsworth, CA. Vehicle: 02 WRX WR Blue	?

10-22-2003, 07:45 PM	#3
02R6 Scooby Specialist Member#: 22157 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Westerville, OH Vehicle: '02 WRX '04 350Z Cause We Are The Aquateen	My '02 has done the same thing since I bought it (new). It got a tad worse when I installed those JDM side visors. I have no idea how to fix it and it bugs the hell out of me. Ideas (and I'm not taking off those expensive visors)?

10-22-2003, 08:04 PM	#4
Kean Scooby Guru Member#: 25187 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: So. CA Vehicle: '08 Foz Prem TGM '10 Challenger R/T Blk	Are you sure it's not due to the seal around the window? I recall I had a similar problem when my car was new. After I shut the door I had to "jink" the window down/up to re-seat it. It took care of the wind noise. - Kean

10-22-2003, 09:30 PM	#5
Snitt Scooby Specialist Member#: 36361 Join Date: May 2003 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Canton, Ohio Vehicle: 2004 WRX Cobb Stg II WR Blue	I hear mine with the window down. It's definitely coming from the mirror. Oh well, it's too cold for that now, so maybe it'll go away by spring.

10-22-2003, 09:39 PM	#6
JH225 Scooby Newbie Member#: 44341 Join Date: Sep 2003 Vehicle: 04' WRX San Remo Red	It comes from the gap between the mirror housing and the window. While driving, roll the window down, put a couple of fingers on the mirror housing and it goes away. How to fix it? Get a mirror that doesn't have a gap, put a mini spoiler on your mirror housing , or just live with it.

10-22-2003, 10:02 PM	#7
KanosWRX Scooby Specialist Member#: 17904 Join Date: Apr 2002 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: NOVA -> HI -> NOVA Vehicle: 010 STI Black	I get the noise from the seal around the window, if I push on the ruber while driving I can make it worse, so I know its deffinetly that. plus when I role up the window after it reaches the top it makes a creaking noise. maybe subaru will cover it.

10-22-2003, 10:19 PM	#8
driver8 Scooby Specialist Member#: 6997 Join Date: May 2001 Chapter/Region: South East Location: lahrnceville, GA	mine does it too, but it's from the idjit who put my tint on - he sliced a small piece of rubber off around where it goes over the window. I can usually get it to go away by rolling down the window a little, then back up again.

10-22-2003, 10:24 PM	#9
Hank3 Scooby Guru Member#: 16157 Join Date: Mar 2002 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Tallahassee, FL Vehicle: '03 Mazda P5 <>< '02 WRX & '08 MS3 SOLD!!!	If it's a whistling noise at certain speeds, it most likely the side mirror. I had it for a while and could not figure out what it was. What eventually got rid of it was, believe it or not, just swiveling it a few times. Once I did it, it went away for a while. When it came back, I swiveled it again and it's gone...currently I'm whistle-free

10-22-2003, 10:50 PM	#10
c_hunter Scooby Specialist Member#: 32434 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wmsbg, Virginia Vehicle: 05 Outback XT 5EAT Gold/Black	If it's coming in from the "gusset" area (near the mirror), you can adjust both the window and gusset as needed. See this: http://members.cox.net/craig.hunter/gusset/ These are pics from my wife's 03 Forester. I just replaced the gusset with a new one, and adjusted it properly. Made a huge difference in noise -- the car is very quiet now. If your rubber trim is not too out of whack, you can probably just adjust your existing piece. Craig

10-22-2003, 11:52 PM	#11
02R6 Scooby Specialist Member#: 22157 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Westerville, OH Vehicle: '02 WRX '04 350Z Cause We Are The Aquateen	Mine isn't a whistling noise. Before I put the visors on I could roll the window down, mess with the rubber seal, put the window up, and the noise was almost nonexistent. Now, with the side visors on, adjusting the rubber seal doesn't do much, if anything. So, I don't know whether or not I should buy a new rubber seal or just deal with the air leak.

10-22-2003, 11:55 PM	#12
cnk Scooby Guru Member#: 10757 Join Date: Oct 2001 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: NJ Vehicle: 2013 BRZ Limited 6MT DGM	My car used to be silent until I put the side visors on. It's just a fact of having the side visors. They are known to cause more wind noise. I have learned to ignore it. . just like I ignore the creaking and clunking from my pillowball mounts. Calvin

10-23-2003, 05:16 PM	#13
zacek Scooby Specialist Member#: 19467 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Chatsworth, CA. Vehicle: 02 WRX WR Blue	the noise is definitely coming from the mirror as teh noise is there wheter is up or down and it comes at speed of over 40mph. I need to figure out what to cover that gap with. Gel-Silicon? humm, the window gusset huh? I'll take a look at it.

10-23-2003, 08:59 PM	#14
c_hunter Scooby Specialist Member#: 32434 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wmsbg, Virginia Vehicle: 05 Outback XT 5EAT Gold/Black	Tell you what, the best thing to do is get some electrical tape and, one by one, tape over various suspect areas and take a test drive. That's how I was able to isolate the gusset problem on the Forester. You can tape over the window seals, the mirror gaps, etc. When the noise goes away, you have found the source. From there, you can investigate more permanent fixes.

10-23-2003, 09:45 PM	#15
lupohki Scooby Specialist Member#: 3457 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: Alexandria, VA Vehicle: 2008 STi DGM	Check out the side mirror covers on the 3D model: http://accessory.subaru.co.jp/impreza/3d/index.html Would those solve the whistling noise? There seems to be 2 covers .. one for the piece between the mirror and A pillar, and another for the mirror itself. At ~$100 a set, I think they're prime replica candidates.

10-23-2003, 11:29 PM	#16
FryRice Scooby Specialist Member#: 38402 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Francisco Vehicle: 2004 WRX~vf34 SOLD EVO MR	Might want to check if you got any sticker on all the doors too........ Someone close the door with the seat belt in it... made some loud noise, so... yea. O yea did took the sticker off the mirror (when you fold it you see a sticker) could be that too

10-23-2003, 11:43 PM	#17
fishfry Scooby Newbie Member#: 31298 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: orange county, CA	For the people that have wind noise from the rubber seal, I also have that, Subaru "fixed" it once but it didn't do anything.

10-24-2003, 12:10 AM	#18
Infymus * Banned * Member#: 20588 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Vehicle: I'm Harrassed By NASIOC Mods	Silly that after all this time they still haven't fixed this. Do this... When you get in your car and shut the door, after you turn it on, roll the window down an inch and then right back up. I think you'll find the noise goes away after that. I am in total habit every time I get in both my WRX or my wife's 02' LLB wagon, is to roll down/up before I get going. Haven't heard that wind noise since.

10-24-2003, 01:11 AM	#20
gproach Scooby Newbie Member#: 30739 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Vehicle: 2004 Impreza WRX Java Black	I had this problem with my '02 RS. Every time I went over 90 mph, it would make this awful sound. I asked my local service tech about it ( I was then in Indiana) and he said that because we don't have a door frame above the window, people often use the window to shut the door. This torque on the window glass causes the seal between the left miror/visor and the window to seperate, thus causing your problem with the noise. I have heard from the master tech that this is a common problem and all they have to do is tighten the seal. I had them do this on my RS, and there were no noise problems after that. Even if you have aftermarket mirors, you might want to take your car in to your local subaru mechanic and see if he can help you fix this issue. When driving a Subaru, you should only hear the engine, transmision, and suspension, just like a preformance BMW or Audi. I believe that the reason some BMW's and Porche's automaticly roll up/roll down the windows is that they have curved glass panels. In order to open the door to one of these streamlined beasts, the glass must lower, so it will not shatter. I know that the carrera's have this feature, but it might be intergreated in some other models as well. George

10-24-2003, 01:26 PM	#23
STR8OUT Scooby Specialist Member#: 15533 Join Date: Feb 2002 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: W.C., PA - taco heaven Vehicle: 2010 Dodge Ram Hemi boat, dirt bikes, bobcat	Yep, I get this noise too...it annoys the hell out of me.... I'm gonna work on a fix real soon. This is definetely a leak in the seals and not the so called "whistling mirrors" that happens when you get over 130mph.