Wind/road noise from doors/windows -- fix it for good

[PNWLeccy]

Has anyone tried blocking off the bottom of the chrome window trim on the front windows?
View attachment 533776

I’ve taped the bottom of chrome trim and that didn’t seem to do anything. All of the A pillar wind noise for me is stopped by taping down the triangle seals near the side mirrors. Mine are bowed out and when flush with the window it removes all the fluttering noise from the front. I’ll just have to see if I can get a replacement for this rubber triangle or try to reshape it a bit with a heat gun.

 

[destructure00]

I've done a handful of highway drives and my wind noise is gone.

I’ve taped the bottom of chrome trim and that didn’t seem to do anything. All of the A pillar wind noise for me is stopped by taping down the triangle seals near the side mirrors. Mine are bowed out and when flush with the window it removes all the fluttering noise from the front. I’ll just have to see if I can get a replacement for this rubber triangle or try to reshape it a bit with a heat gun. View attachment 536588View attachment 536590

I think this is what you're talking about....reshaping this part to sit flush against the window is what finally killed the noise for me.

 

[PNWLeccy]

I've done a handful of highway drives and my wind noise is gone.



I think this is what you're talking about....reshaping this part to sit flush against the window is what finally killed the noise for me.

View attachment 536605

Yea exactly. Both the part you circled on the outside of the window as well as the deformations on the inside. Did you use a heat gun to reshape that part? All I’ve got is a hair dryer at the moment but maybe that will work? ‍ Haha

 

[destructure00]

Yea exactly. Both the part you circled on the outside of the window as well as the deformations on the inside. Did you use a heat gun to reshape that part? All I’ve got is a hair dryer at the moment but maybe that will work? ‍ Haha

I did use a heat gun, and pressed on it with a metal putty knife to get it flat and keep from touching it and burning myself. I'm not sure if a hair dryer will get hot enough, it's thick. But no harm in trying and reporting back

 

[tilt]

All I’ve got is a hair dryer at the moment but maybe that will work?

I used a hair dryer and it worked fine. Might take a little longer, but it got the job done.

 

[bleebdat]

Does this help?

I just adjusted my driver side window using your video as a tutorial and it greatly reduced my wind noise, thanks a bunch!

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Thanks for the link. This looks like an interesting kit. Especially the frunk and trunk which is not included in the BASENOR kit I currently have installed. Might give this a go or try putting some similar seals on the frunk/trunk.

You'll get to experience ripping off the trunk seals shortly after putting them on because they make the trunk very hard to close and they do nothing to keep dirt or noise out.

The frunk seal is just ridiculously useless, but at least it doesn't make the lid hard to close.

These kits are thrown together without much thought to cash in on some quick money from people that want to solve a real problem, but they don't work.

Buy it and you'll see what I mean.

 

[StarHunter]

Echoing what TLLMRRJ mentioned above. The noise reduction kit from RPM that I purchased was useless. The installation of the trunk seal would prevent the trunk from closing. You would also need to modify the door ones for the drainage holes. They also do not seal properly either. I installed the front door ones first and accidentally saw the seal through rear door jam when working on the rear ones and I can see that the seal did not compress at all...I'll probably give Basenor kit a try next. My main goal is to keep door jams clean and not so much on noise reduction side tho.

 

[olerass]

Thanks for the heads up @TLLMRRJ and @StarHunter. Unfortunately I already bought the kit and also unfortunately, I completely agree with your assessments. The trunk seal is USELESS. I noticed it immediately when trying to put it on. It would seal against the existing rubber on the base of the trunk around the bottom area which makes no sense. I thought maybe the sides would be better, but I quickly realized that putting a seal where they recommend also makes no sense since it doesn't contact the surface at all next to the headlights. Didn't expect this from RPM Tesla. It's borderline fraud IMO. Very disappointed.

 

[XLR82XS]

Echoing what TLLMRRJ mentioned above. The noise reduction kit from RPM that I purchased was useless. The installation of the trunk seal would prevent the trunk from closing. You would also need to modify the door ones for the drainage holes. They also do not seal properly either. I installed the front door ones first and accidentally saw the seal through rear door jam when working on the rear ones and I can see that the seal did not compress at all...I'll probably give Basenor kit a try next. My main goal is to keep door jams clean and not so much on noise reduction side tho.

Agreed - seals kits don't do s**t for noise reduction. I don't care what the YouTubers say. The $15 seal kit on amazon is fine just to keep the jambs clean.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YNYNGWY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2M5TZHFQKRDAT&psc=1

 

[StarHunter]

Thanks for the heads up @TLLMRRJ and @StarHunter. Unfortunately I already bought the kit and also unfortunately, I completely agree with your assessments. The trunk seal is USELESS. I noticed it immediately when trying to put it on. It would seal against the existing rubber on the base of the trunk around the bottom area which makes no sense. I thought maybe the sides would be better, but I quickly realized that putting a seal where they recommend also makes no sense since it doesn't contact the surface at all next to the headlights. Didn't expect this from RPM Tesla. It's borderline fraud IMO. Very disappointed.

I have got some other things from RPM Tesla and experience has been alright. The noise reduction kit totally ruined it...might be better off with just going with much cheaper kit on Amazon

 

[not4antoher]

I have installed 'D' shape seal around the driver's side door window seal, but I haven't noticed any noise reduction improvement.
The windows already adjusted to inward.

 

[Perscitus]

Recently completed D shape behind B pillar gaskets (both sides of the B pillar camera trim, against the tail end of the front windonws and leading edge of rear seat windows, for a total of four pieces) and behind C pillar gasket (tail end of rear passenger window just before the little Cali-break-in-spree windows).

In each case, I supplemented the D type seal with a B type seal to shape the window seal a bit as postes by others earlier in the thread.

Wrapped up with a B type seal on top of the triangle piece by the mirrors and a cut up B type seal in the triangle piece guide for the glass to support and even out that seal.

A month or two ago I did the A pillar neoprene string and inside foam fill.

So far so good, wind noise much reduced at 50-80mph. Ocean and mountain cross winds, head winds etc.

 

[bobd78]

My M3P has been troubled with mostly wind and road noise originating from areas or in ways that don't seem right since I got it 1 year ago. I've been at my local service center 4 times with the issues, and every time they make it worse, so I decided to try and fix it myself.

For the past few months I've spent almost every weekend of free time in a combination of driving trying to locate the issue areas, going back home to fix, going out again in what seems like an almost endless cycle without really great results. It's gotten better for sure, but I still have issues, particularly with the frameless windows and/or A-pillars. Unfortunately I've run out of ideas -- and the ones I've already tried might also not be the best since I lack expertise and go solely by gut feeling.

What I have done so far (basic stuff):

- Mounted extra door seals in all doors (BASENOR Mode 3 Door Seal Kit)
- Mounted frunk and trunk isolation mats from Torque Alliance
- Replaced floor/frunk/trunk mats with 3dmaxspider
- Added rpm tesla wind noise reduction kit

Combined these made a noticeable difference - mostly in reduced road noise, and less dirt on the insides (bonus).

To fix wind noise I've tried fiddling with the window seals. The first thing I noticed was that inner piece didn't seal tight against the windows in several places. This was concluded by sliding a plastic applicator from a vinyl kit between the window and seal:

View attachment 529186

I also found that the outer-most rubber that contacts the window (the part to the right of the plastic tool, under the widow, just before the center glass piece) had gaps in some places so it also didn't make window contact. My logic tells me that this is not right, and that the way to fix it is to either push the windows further inwards or push the seals outwards. I read that windows can be tilted inwards by screws behind the door panels, but I couldn't find any videos on how to do this and decided to try and fix it the other way (this may be a wrong decision?).

I've inserted D-type door seals behind the seal liner itself to push it out (on all 4 windows, this only shows the back):
View attachment 529190 View attachment 529191

I also added B-type door seals behind the inner flap to push it outwards (sorry the shots are from different sides, hope it's still clear):
View attachment 529192 View attachment 529193

These changes made a significant difference to the noise coming from the back parts of the windows. What I can't figure out now is where the remaining noise is coming from. There's normal wind noise coming from the windshield of course, but there's also a kind of rustling noise that's especially apparent with strong side winds. It sounds like it's coming from the upper part of the window/seals. However, even though there are some areas here that are not perfectly tight against the window, I'm not sure that's the issue though since the window seals tight against the seal on the top. This is one of the problematic areas due to bulging in the seal:

View attachment 529196
The upper part of the window seal is much stiffer than the back part, and it doesn't seem possible to insert anything under the seal itself or the (large) inner flap to push it out.

Another potential source of issues could be the triangle pieces next to the side mirrors. It sounds like some wind noise is coming from here as well but I'm not sure how to fix it. The triangles don't seem to be sticking out enough to cause noise, as I've seen on some M3s.

View attachment 529203 View attachment 529204

I also tried adding B-type seals to different positions on the inside of the door, to make the door shut tighter against the triangle/plastic piece. This helped a little, but the noise is still not eliminated.

View attachment 529206

Any ideas on how to improve here is greatly appreciated.

I hope some kind souls could share ideas for how to fix the remaining noise. If not, then at least I hope you can use my approach above to eliminate some of your own.

Thanks for the detailed information and wish I could help. I plan to take mine in to the service center for the first time for wind noise and I am curious as to what they say they did in your four visits to fix the problem?

 

[bobd78]

curious if you had specific wind noise which was cured after installation

 

[EmOne]

Is this still a problem with wind noise on recently manufactured cars? Or just older ones.
It is the main reason my wife did not want this model when she test drove it last year. Too much wind noise at that time.

Based on my buddy's late 2019 and my 3/20 purchases, I think it has definitely gotten better; the wind noise on mine is seemingly fairly diffuse suggesting getting close to engineering goals, and subjectively modest.

 

[asian_xl]

^will it cause drainage problem?

 

[Neskiredk]

I’m gonna try A bunch of these fixes this week. Tesla service center has so far been unable to help with wind noise for from passenger window. Changed the seal, no dice.

 

[Zen_3]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Model 3, 6/25. Since day one, I’ve had loud wind noise from the driver’s side window, right at the B pillar.

I took it into the service center and they gave me the runaround. Saying that electric vehicles have more wind noise the ICE cars. We also have a Model Y which is dead quiet (I realize now that I got lucky here) and told them as such. They took the car for a day, “brought it to the Fremont factory” but no difference in the noise.

I hit the internet and found this thread. After a couple of attempts with the B type seal that helped a bit. I doubled down and filled the entire window seal with the D type seal all the way down the front of the door by the A pillar.

Totally fixed the noise. Car is significantly quieter! For my issue, I believe that it was the top corner of the seal around the window next to the B pillar, that I kept it one piece, not cut. Running it all down the front of the door by the A pillar was overkill, but I was getting desperate and I didn’t want to pull the door apart and adjust the window.

I used the same D type seal mentioned in this thread. Here’s the link again:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KA10CCO?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I’m not sure if the sticky of the seal will hold up, but I’ll update this if anything changes.

Thank you, everyone in this thread for all your work.

 

[taka2001]

My M3P has been troubled with mostly wind and road noise originating from areas or in ways that don't seem right since I got it 1 year ago. I've been at my local service center 4 times with the issues, and every time they make it worse, so I decided to try and fix it myself.

For the past few months I've spent almost every weekend of free time in a combination of driving trying to locate the issue areas, going back home to fix, going out again in what seems like an almost endless cycle without really great results. It's gotten better for sure, but I still have issues, particularly with the frameless windows and/or A-pillars. Unfortunately I've run out of ideas -- and the ones I've already tried might also not be the best since I lack expertise and go solely by gut feeling.

What I have done so far (basic stuff):

- Mounted extra door seals in all doors (BASENOR Mode 3 Door Seal Kit)
- Mounted frunk and trunk isolation mats from Torque Alliance
- Replaced floor/frunk/trunk mats with 3dmaxspider
- Added rpm tesla wind noise reduction kit

Combined these made a noticeable difference - mostly in reduced road noise, and less dirt on the insides (bonus).

To fix wind noise I've tried fiddling with the window seals. The first thing I noticed was that inner piece didn't seal tight against the windows in several places. This was concluded by sliding a plastic applicator from a vinyl kit between the window and seal:

View attachment 529186

I also found that the outer-most rubber that contacts the window (the part to the right of the plastic tool, under the widow, just before the center glass piece) had gaps in some places so it also didn't make window contact. My logic tells me that this is not right, and that the way to fix it is to either push the windows further inwards or push the seals outwards. I read that windows can be tilted inwards by screws behind the door panels, but I couldn't find any videos on how to do this and decided to try and fix it the other way (this may be a wrong decision?).

I've inserted D-type door seals behind the seal liner itself to push it out (on all 4 windows, this only shows the back):
View attachment 529190 View attachment 529191

I also added B-type door seals behind the inner flap to push it outwards (sorry the shots are from different sides, hope it's still clear):
View attachment 529192 View attachment 529193

These changes made a significant difference to the noise coming from the back parts of the windows. What I can't figure out now is where the remaining noise is coming from. There's normal wind noise coming from the windshield of course, but there's also a kind of rustling noise that's especially apparent with strong side winds. It sounds like it's coming from the upper part of the window/seals. However, even though there are some areas here that are not perfectly tight against the window, I'm not sure that's the issue though since the window seals tight against the seal on the top. This is one of the problematic areas due to bulging in the seal:

View attachment 529196

The upper part of the window seal is much stiffer than the back part, and it doesn't seem possible to insert anything under the seal itself or the (large) inner flap to push it out.

Another potential source of issues could be the triangle pieces next to the side mirrors. It sounds like some wind noise is coming from here as well but I'm not sure how to fix it. The triangles don't seem to be sticking out enough to cause noise, as I've seen on some M3s.

View attachment 529203 View attachment 529204

I also tried adding B-type seals to different positions on the inside of the door, to make the door shut tighter against the triangle/plastic piece. This helped a little, but the noise is still not eliminated.

View attachment 529206

Any ideas on how to improve here is greatly appreciated.

I hope some kind souls could share ideas for how to fix the remaining noise. If not, then at least I hope you can use my approach above to eliminate some of your own.

Found this very helpful post, thank you! For the B-type and D-type seals, what product did you use?