Wind noise in full glass roof new Model S

[nobznss]

I'm going to try the tubing idea. If it works I'll use some weather stripping adhesive to keep it in place at speed. Do you just not use your sunroof or will it stay on with the sunroof up?

 

[CaliMS]

Are you based in San Jose? The Santa Clara service center basically told me the same thing

I'm down in San Diego.

 

[TheSunTheSea]

Update from my side. I picked up my car from the SC after they did some work in the gap between my windshield and glass roof. They weren't able to confirm if it did anything because by the time they were done with the work, it was rush hour and they couldn't drive the car over 60 mph. I decided to take the car home over the weekend anyway. Unfortunately, the fix did nothing to improve the wind noise. I don't notice any difference at all.

Here's the summary of the fix from my Tesla invoice

Concern: Customer: states the panoramic roof has a wind noise. The noise also sounds like it is coming from the driver front window area

Corrections: Interior NVH General Diagnosis

Technician test drove with service manager who verified with owner the noise. Technician taped off the front area and test drove; wind noise still present. Technician the performed service bulletin and added insulation to the front portion between panoramic roof glass and windshield as well as the driver side of roof glass where it meets the frame. Technician was unable to perform final test drive due to traffic. Technician advised to keep vehicle to perform final test drive but owner declined. Owner will take home vehicle and report back if noise is still present.

Pay Type: Goodwill

One main thing I keep mentioning to them about my car is that the gap between the windshield and glass roof is visibly larger than that of other Model S I've seen. The lead technician even measured it and mentioned offhand that it is larger. I still think that's the reason I'm hearing noise. There's too much of a gap there and even with the foam insulation they put, it's not fully covering that gap

At this point I'm not really sure what to do. I could go back again to the SC to try to make adjustments, but they've basically told me things like "well we're not sure if this is normal or not". I feel they're brushing me off.

Should I go to another service center? I've been working with Santa Clara so far.

 

[DKPowers]

Should I go to another service center? I've been working with Santa Clara so far.[/QUOTE]
I'd say tape the whole surrounding of the roof and try to diagnose the problem yourself first.

 

[TheSunTheSea]

This is like finding a needle in a haystack I applied a good amount of masking tape. As you can see I covered a good portion of the gap between the windshield and glass roof (I didn't tape the passenger side since the noise is clearly coming from the driver side). I also taped parts of the triangle window, as well as some other gaps just in case.

Unfortunately it didn't make a difference. The wind noise is still loud above 60 mph.

I've attached pictures of where I've masked off parts of the car. Any suggestions on where else I should tape based on previous experience?

 

[Joe F]

Please remove that tape ASAP. It does not have the type of adhesive you want on your paint. It will not come off clean.

You want "blue painters tape"

You should start with doing the entire windshield to glass roof, not just part of it as shown.

Also, it's not easy to tell from the picture, but in the pic showing the roof, it appears as if the drivers window is not flush with the molding, unless the drivers door is not closed all the way, If the window does not fit tightly to the weatherstrip, you will always have wind noise from there.

 

[TheSunTheSea]

Please remove that tape ASAP. It does not have the type of adhesive you want on your paint. It will not come off clean.

You want "blue painters tape"

You should start with doing the entire windshield to glass roof, not just part of it as shown.

Also, it's not easy to tell from the picture, but in the pic showing the roof, it appears as if the drivers window is not flush with the molding, unless the drivers door is not closed all the way, If the window does not fit tightly to the weatherstrip, you will always have wind noise from there.

You're correct - the driver side window doesn't sit flush with the molding. I've noticed this since I got the car. I just didn't think it was the source of the noise because it seems to be coming from above my head. But with these noise issues you can never truly tell where it's coming from.

Thanks for flagging this - as part of my follow up to the SC I've told them I'd like this adjusted. Hopefully that will fix this...

 

[Robwoodruff]

So again guys. Do you fill in the gaps around the sides of the windshield and the back hatch?

I filled only the front Gap with the tubing 11 months ago. The wind noise completely stops with the gap filled with the rubber tubing. I never tried filling the sides because the noise was gone. The tubing has been in place for 11 months, 30,000 miles of driving at freeway speeds and has not come out and it still does not make any noise.

 

[TheSunTheSea]

This is like finding a needle in a haystack I applied a good amount of masking tape. As you can see I covered a good portion of the gap between the windshield and glass roof (I didn't tape the passenger side since the noise is clearly coming from the driver side). I also taped parts of the triangle window, as well as some other gaps just in case.

Unfortunately it didn't make a difference. The wind noise is still loud above 60 mph.

I've attached pictures of where I've masked off parts of the car. Any suggestions on where else I should tape based on previous experience?

Update: I had the driver side door replaced by service. Apparently the window itself was slightly off where it wouldn't sit properly on the rubber seals, so they replaced it all together. Unfortunately it did nothing to resolve the noise issue.

I'm back at square one heading to service to see where else the noise comes from. They are ruling out the gap between the windshield and glass roof due to the fact they've taped everything off and the noise is still persistent. But both myself and the technician felt the sound was coming from above.

 

[FlatSix911]

Update: I had the driver side door replaced by service. Apparently, the window itself was slightly off where it wouldn't sit properly on the rubber seals, so they replaced it all together. Unfortunately, it did nothing to resolve the noise issue.

I'm back at square one heading to service to see where else the noise comes from. They are ruling out the gap between the windshield and glass roof due to the fact they've taped everything off and the noise is still persistent. But both myself and the technician felt the sound was coming from above.

I had a wind noise that was very difficult to diagnose and fix after repeated attempts to find the source.
The SC finally found that the weather seal behind the door handle had come loose and needed to be reattached.
Tape the outside of the handle and see if you hear any improvement ... hope this helps.

 

[SucreTease]

You're correct - the driver side window doesn't sit flush with the molding. I've noticed this since I got the car. I just didn't think it was the source of the noise because it seems to be coming from above my head. But with these noise issues you can never truly tell where it's coming from.

I just received delivery of my Model S. On the drive home, I also noted that the predominant wind noise seemed to be coming from the top of the windshield. At delivery, I had checked the gap between the glass roof and the windshield and it looked good, so I don't know what to attribute it to. It's definitely more wind noise than I had with my 2015 Avalon I traded in for it and, solely because of this, not as quiet as that car. I do wonder if the wind noise could be due to turbulence caused by the windshield wipers, since they stick further up into the air stream than those of my Avalon (which are tucked further under the hood line).

 

[NOLA_Mike]

I do wonder if the wind noise could be due to turbulence caused by the windshield wipers, since they stick further up into the air stream than those of my Avalon (which are tucked further under the hood line).

You should be able to manually push the wipers back down under the back edge of the hood if they don't park themselves all the way down (I'm on my third Model S and each one had the wipers positioned in a slightly different location when in off position) and then see if that makes any difference.

Mike

 

[TheSunTheSea]

I just received delivery of my Model S. On the drive home, I also noted that the predominant wind noise seemed to be coming from the top of the windshield. At delivery, I had checked the gap between the glass roof and the windshield and it looked good, so I don't know what to attribute it to. It's definitely more wind noise than I had with my 2015 Avalon I traded in for it and, solely because of this, not as quiet as that car. I do wonder if the wind noise could be due to turbulence caused by the windshield wipers, since they stick further up into the air stream than those of my Avalon (which are tucked further under the hood line).

Thanks, I try the windshield wipers and see in that makes a difference.

I got my car back yesterday. The SC made adjustments to the rear door handle (apparently a seal was loose). They also added extra insulation on the driver's side of the windshield. Unfortunately it doesn't make a difference.

I've pretty much resigned to dealing with the wind noise at high speeds now

 

[S100D]

Thanks, I try the windshield wipers and see in that makes a difference.

I got my car back yesterday. The SC made adjustments to the rear door handle (apparently a seal was loose). They also added extra insulation on the driver's side of the windshield. Unfortunately it doesn't make a difference.

I've pretty much resigned to dealing with the wind noise at high speeds now

My 2015 S85D was dead quiet, just like being in a sound room eliminates all noise. My 2016 S90D is much noisier than a 2014 Lexus ES that I owned and at least twice as noisy as my S85D.

 

[avesraggiana]

My 2015 S85D was dead quiet, just like being in a sound room eliminates all noise. My 2016 S90D is much noisier than a 2014 Lexus ES that I owned and at least twice as noisy as my S85D.

I wonder what would account for the difference. Tyres? Less sound insulation in the body panels? I was hoping things would trend the opposite direction since I own a 2017 S75D. Quite a bit of road noise and wind rush noise enters the cabin of my car.

I know the glass on the car is particularly thin because without any effort whatsoever, when standing outside my own car at a Supercharger I can clearly hear other owners as they carry phone conversations over their car’s speakers.

 

[SucreTease]

I know the glass on the car is particularly thin because without any effort whatsoever, when standing outside my own car at a Supercharger I can clearly hear other owners as they carry phone conversations over their car’s speakers.

That is a faulty conclusion from the evidence. This has nothing to do with the glass. This is simply because the speakers are mounted in the doors, and there is insufficient sound insulation between the speakers and the outside of the vehicle. This is an issue with many cars.

 

[S100D]

That is a faulty conclusion from the evidence. This has nothing to do with the glass. This is simply because the speakers are mounted in the doors, and there is insufficient sound insulation between the speakers and the outside of the vehicle. This is an issue with many cars.

My 2015 S85D had the same speakers mounted in the doors and it was dead quiet, so at least in my car the noise is not coming from the door speakers.

Tesla did change the windshield from the S85D to the refreshed S90D. They removed the coating on the windshield. You can now use a radar detector and toll tags now work. The wind noise I hear is coming from the windshield area, not the doors. It is most noticeable when I am driving into a strong headwind. I do think that they reduced the thickness of the windshield so this may have a slight effect on wind noise.

If you have the Goodyear tires, they are noisier than the Michelin Primacy. 21" tires are also noisier than 19" tires. My car was delivered with Goodyear tires and fortunately for me, they were out of round and causing a vibration. The Tesla SC could not balance them so I said I wanted Michelin Primacy. The Michelin tires are quieter.

I have had the car into the SC two times for the noise and they cannot do anything to fix it. I plan to find a very windy day and put painter's tape all around the trim on the windshield and see if this reduces the noise. If it does, my problem has to be around the windshield. I do not have a Pano roof or an all glass roof so I cannot try some of the recommended fixes talked about in this thread.

It is a shame when you spend over $100K for your Tesla and your car is noisier than a $45K Lexus ICE car.

 

[avesraggiana]

If you have the Goodyear tires, they are noisier than the Michelin Primacy. 21" tires are also noisier than 19" tires. My car was delivered with Goodyear tires and fortunately for me, they were out of round and causing a vibration. The Tesla SC could not balance them so I said I wanted Michelin Primacy. The Michelin tires are quieter.

Just ran downstairs to check; our car came shod with the Goodyear Eagle Tourings, 19 inches. Made a note of your Michelin recommendation. I’ve only got the 13,000 miles on the car so it’ll be another year before I’ll get a chance to switch to the Michelin Primacys.

Almost a year ago, I took my 2016 Honda Odyssey Elite minivan, with supposed noise reduction enhancements, to a local auto audio shop to have insulation matting installed in the front wheel fender liners and the firewall and both footwells. It made some difference to the level of road noise coming through, but not much. Certainly not enough to want me to repeat the project on my Model S. I’ll just wait until I have to switch out the tyres.

Thanks for your recommendation.

 

[S100D]

Just ran downstairs to check; our car came shod with the Goodyear Eagle Tourings, 19 inches. Made a note of your Michelin recommendation. I’ve only got the 13,000 miles on the car so it’ll be another year before I’ll get a chance to switch to the Michelin Primacys.

Almost a year ago, I took my 2016 Honda Odyssey Elite minivan, with supposed noise reduction enhancements, to a local auto audio shop to have insulation matting installed in the front wheel fender liners and the firewall and both footwells. It made some difference to the level of road noise coming through, but not much. Certainly not enough to want me to repeat the project on my Model S. I’ll just wait until I have to switch out the tyres.

Thanks for your recommendation.

I just dropped my car off at the SC for the annual service this morning. The assistant Service Manager told me that there is a service bulletin regarding noise coming from the front facia of the Model S. He did not specifically say the air dam, spoiler, or bumper. When pick up my car today, I will ask him to tell me exactly where the noise is coming from and I will reply with that information. He said that he would check my ViN number to see if the service bulletin applied to my Model S90D.

Tesla used both Michelin and Goodyear in the past. I was told on December 2016, that all Model S's come with Goodyear tires now. Replacing the Goodyear with Michelin Primacy will decrease the tire noise.

 

[avesraggiana]

I just dropped my car off at the SC for the annual service this morning. The assistant Service Manager told me that there is a service bulletin regarding noise coming from the front facia of the Model S. He did not specifically say the air dam, spoiler, or bumper. When pick up my car today, I will ask him to tell me exactly where the noise is coming from and I will reply with that information. He said that he would check my ViN number to see if the service bulletin applied to my Model S90D.

Tesla used both Michelin and Goodyear in the past. I was told on December 2016, that all Model S's come with Goodyear tires now. Replacing the Goodyear with Michelin Primacy will decrease the tire noise.

Thanks in advance! And Michelin Primacys they will be next year.